Damned In Venice aka 'Nero in Venezia' (1977) Directed by UgoLiberatore Music by Pino Donnagio
This fascinating movie is an Italian is a horror/giallo taking narrative influence from the Omen which tells of a blind kid in his teens who predicts a series of brutal deaths and the birth of an demonic child which he eventually kills in a horrible sequence by impaling him on a spiked sculpture (!!!!). As a reward for his troubles he gets his sight back however in an end sequence hinting at the invulnerability of evil we learn the demonic baby has returned from the dead.
What really makes this film for me is the Venetian setting. It seems this location perfect for the Baroque tone of Italian movies of this type. As in WHO SAW HER DIE a wintry Venice is presented but whilst that film concentrated on the claustrophobic maze elements of the Venetian Renaissance-esque buildings and alleyways (as did DON'T LOOK NOW) contrasted against the huge spaces of water. DAMNED IN VENICE for me has an agoraphobic quality dwelling exclusivly on the misty stretches of water and vulnrability of the blind kid in these circumstances. However the interior shots have more of a claustrophobic feel. The film has a real emotional punch to it mainly due to Pino Donnaggio beautiful score. 'Damned.....' also has a kind of surreal quality to it as the film seems to have a 'white light' about it. This is most aparrent in the flash back sequences but I also remember one other scene when three people are standing in a room and there is a window in the background from which a really bright shaft of light forces its way through the shutters. This is also a movie of considerable gruesomness and the effects are convincing. Of course I could not right a review of this film without mentioning the scene where the baby is thrown into the spikes. This is truely shocking yet almost a bit comical as it is not incredibly graphic. Its certainly unexpected! Yes the film does have its downsides the main being the narrative is poorly developed in the way on screen characters seem to know things about these evil goings on without being explained just so they can direct the audiance. This leads to the plot being very artificial. In the end the film succeeds though......
review by James Blackford
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