Estratto dagli archivi segreti della polizia di una capitale europea - Whirpool

Digitmovies issues for the very first time two till now unreleased scores by M° Stelvio Cipriani: "Estratto dagli archivi segreti della polizia di una capitale europea" (aka “Tragic Ceremony”) and "Whirpool" (aka “Perversion Flash”). "Estratto dagli archivi…" was partially directed by the master of the Italian Gothic movie genre, Riccardo Freda ("L'orribile segreto del Dr. Hichcock" and "Lo spettro"), but due to production problems, Freda abandoned the set and the movie was completed by Filippo Maria Ratti ("La notte dei dannati"). Despite the title which may recall a police movie, the movie is a real horror film. Because of troubles with their car during a vacation, three guys and a girl are forced  to spend the night in a villa, hosted by an ambiguous couple (Luigi Pistilli and Luciana Paluzzi) devoted to black masses. The girl (Camille Keaton, known from "I Spit on Your Grave") is going to be sacrificed during a ceremony, but her friends save her and carry her away while all of the sect adepts kill each other in the villa with unprecedented violence. Later on, the guys little by little die in atrocious ways, only the girl will “survive” who will be confined to a clinic, but her existence will take a dramatic epilogue. Powerful through the special effects by Carlo Rambaldi who gives his best in the bloody slaughter in the villa (heads cut in two parts by swords, decapitations, etc), the Freda/Ratti movie differs from the Gothic horror movies of that time both with regard to the mysterious elements (before leaving the villa, the guys stop at a gas station, but when they come back from the villa, the gas station seems to have been closed for years) and to the historic period the plot is set in: the early ‘70s. The only fault of the movie is the outlandish finale with the madhouse's doctor's very long explanation of the facts to the police including the esoteric part, without having ever been present during all the events. A curiosity: in the Spanish version released on DVD, the final part of the doctor’s explanation is missing. "Whirlpool" (Aka “ She Died with Her Boots on”) is a Spanish movie shot in 1970 by director José Larraz (director of the cult movie "Vampyres") and released some years later in Italy with the title "Perversion flash" starring Karl Lanchbury, Vivian Neves and Pia Andersson. The movie is a good erotic thriller with strong morbid elements. In an house an aunt, her nephew and a friend delight in erotic games. A girl is involved in this relationship; when the situation becomes dangerous, murder is the only solution. The lake location, several macabre elements (dolls tied on the walls, the photo of a screaming girl), a good direction and decent actors make this movie a real jewel of the Iberian thriller genre. For this CD (total time 64:49) we could use the stereo master tapes of the original sessions which gave us the chance to realize a product for the joy of the genre enthusiasts. For “Estratto…” Stelvio Cipriani has written  little, but effective music based on a beat ballad with a bizarre text sung by male voice, introduced during the Main Titles (Tr.1) and then reprised with instrumental variations in Tr.2, Tr.3, Tr.4, Tr.5, Tr.9, Tr.10, Tr.11. Cipriani has composed another main theme with a Gothic flavour which we can hear performed by church organ in Tr.6,Tr.7,Tr.12, but which reaches its apotheosis in the version for piano and symphonic orchestra for the bloody slaughter at the villa sequence (also used for the trailer) in Tr.8. For “Whirpool” Stelvio Cipriani has written a dark and romantic theme introduced in the Main Titles performed by a big orchestra with female vocalisms and beat rhythms  (Tr.13). Suspenseful and mysterious atmospheres are obtained through organ, harpsichord, rhythmics and strings in Tr.14, Tr.18, Tr.20, Tr.24, Tr.25, Tr.26. The main theme returns in Tr.19 and in the conclusive “Finale” (Tr.32). The suspense in the movie is broken up by a lively shake dance floor (Tr.22). Two OSTs properly rescued and preserved on CD devoted to M°Stelvio Cipriani which will make so happy his fans and the fans of the horror and noir genres.