Macabre 4K 1980 Ultra HD 2160p

A New Orleans housewife leaves her daughter and son home alone to meet her lover. While with him, she receives a call that her son has died. Reckless driving rushing to her house results in a horrible accident. The lover dies and she is sent to a mental institution to recover from the psychological trauma. Upon her release a year later she moves into the boarding house where they would rendezvous. The landlord has passed away and her blind son is left to maintain the house. With every day that passes, his lust for her grows while she remains true to her lover. The situation comes to a "head" on a weekend visit with her daughter. All secrets will be revealed and no one will be the same. Inspired by actual events.

User Review

The scariest thing about this movie is that everything that happens in it actually happened, as the opening caption states. Personally, I can’t wrap my head around the idea that something like this could have happened to anyone, anywhere. As the plot unfolds, you begin to feel genuine horror at what you’re seeing on screen. While Robert Duvall tries to unravel the mystery of Jane Baker, his tenant—still unaware of what a Pandora’s box he’s trying to open—the viewer, too, can puzzle along with him over what Jane is hiding in her locked freezer.

Jane, a middle-aged woman with two children, is still quite beautiful. She has a lover, Fred, whom she loves passionately and meets at a rented apartment. Her teenage daughter knows about this and despises her mother for her lies and infidelity. During one of their trysts, her daughter Lucy calls her mother and tells her that her little brother has drowned in the bathtub. In a fit of hysteria, Jane and her lover rush home, but their car crashes, killing Fred. Jane is admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

That is the setup of the plot. The main action unfolds a year later, when Jane returns from the clinic and moves into an apartment with Robert Duvall, a young blind man who has been in love with her ever since the days when she used to meet her lover at their house.

In this film, everyone wants something. Robert dreams of Jane, fully aware of the futility of his hopes. And he weeps silently at night, hearing the creak of the bed in Jane’s room, her moans of love, and her conversations with Frank—the very same Frank who has been dead for a year. During the day, he tries to figure out what is really going on in his house, in Jane’s room.

Jane longs for nights of love with Frank and lives for nothing else. During the day, she wanders aimlessly through the city and visits Frank’s grave at the cemetery. And at night, having built an altar from his belongings left in the room, she makes love to him in her fantasies.

Lucy wants power over her mother, her father, and Robert—over everyone. She is convinced of her right and her righteousness, and that is what makes her so terrifying. She is a cruel, heartless, ruthless, and intelligent creature who easily identifies people’s weaknesses and then, with relish and as if by accident, stabs them with the needles and pins of her words.

- Mom, will I also get lots of little wrinkles around my eyes?

Veronica Sinni has done an excellent job of creating the image of a little monster with the face of an angel, who easily manipulates people for her own whims and pleasure. Looking at her contemptuous, arrogant gaze and icy smirk, you get the feeling that you’re watching another installment of *The Omen*. Indeed, the only thing missing for a complete resemblance is the number 666 on the back of her head.

In this movie, everyone is hiding something. Robert tries to hide his love for Lucy’s mother from her. To no avail. Nothing escapes this little beast.

Lucy hides the fact that she drowned her little brother to bring her mother back home and ensure she would be plagued by guilt for the rest of her life—a plan she executes brilliantly.

As for what Jane herself is hiding, it would be better if no one ever found out… But Robert discovers her secret. Much to everyone’s misfortune.

Lamberto Bave has succeeded in creating an atmosphere of mystery and fear in this film. Even the house itself, filled with all sorts of strange trinkets, figurines, and dried flowers, seems as dead and old as its surroundings—and simply filled with ghosts. It’s a peculiar, enormous house—a coffin devoid of life. And only the blind Robert moves silently through the house by touch, like a ghost forever plunged into darkness.

In this film, I discovered the actor Stanko Molnar, who portrayed Robert Duvall—an unfortunate blind young man—with surprising subtlety and precision. Lamberto Bava cast him in several of his films and particularly valued his talent for accurately conveying all the psychological nuances of his characters’ states of mind. I completely agree with him on that. :) Also, after watching this film, I realized what the phrase “mad passion” truly means. I’ve never seen a more vivid illustration of this concept. Yes, in my opinion, this film rightfully belongs among the top five Italian horror films of all time.

Info Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265 (84.7 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Info Audio

#Italian: FLAC 1.0
#English: FLAC 1.0

Info Subtitles