PopHorror Let's Get Scared
P.O.E. 2: Project of Evil is the second entry in the P.O.E. anthology series, and the film delivers seven tales from eight directors, a very ambitious undertaking exploring the literary works of Edgar Allan Poe. Once again, Italian director/producer Domiziano Cristopharo was very involved. The P.O.E. films continue to impress me by having international directors in the spotlight to add different flavors to the filmmaking mix.
Running at 92 minutes, P.O.E. 2: Project Of Evil is full of precise, to the point tales that keeps everything at a nice pace. I’ve seen P.O.E. 3 and 4 (read my review for part 4 here) thus far and P.O.E. 2: Project Of Evil is probably one of the meaner, nastier films in the series. I noticed there was more gore and violence in this one compared to the others as well.
The first tale in Project of Evil is titled “The Pit And The Pendulum” and it was directed by Donatello Della Pepa and Cristino Morroni. It features a man who is trapped in a white room. Soon, madness overcomes him, and it becomes hard to tell if what he sees is all in his head or if the events are actually occurring to him. Different things start to appear in the endless white room that tests the man in outrageous ways. Come to find out, all is not what it seems in this white room. This opener was a great psychological trip into horror and insanity. It was effective and had a nice twist of an outcome.
“Alone” is the next segment and was directed by Angelo and Giuseppe Capasso. This one stars Angelo Campus who has been abducted and bound by a character known as Pepper Face (Dario Biancone). Pepper Face has a plan of revenge against Campus’s character, who has ridiculed him. Pepper Face tortures his captive, but when the prisoner regains consciousness, he makes a gruesome discovery. I was confused because Pepper Face claims he didn’t do some of the more horrendous things, but its not explained if he really did or not. There is a camera which seems to be watching the whole event unfold as part of some experiment but that’s never fully explained, either. However, “Alone” was one of the gorier and more twisted tales.
“Loss Of Breath” was directed by Edo Tagliavini, and it explores the story of adult film star Francesco Falcon, who was played by real life Italian adult film actor, Francesco Malcom. Falcon is an egotistical madman in a feud with an another adult filmmaker, Manero, whom we never see. One day while filming a raunchy scene on set, Falcon loses his voice completely. In total shock of what has happened, he sends home everyone on the film set and tries to figure out what to do. Before Falcon can come to grasp with what has happened his rival Manero has sent a couple of goons to dish out some punishment on him. “Loss Of Breath” was okay. It had some cringeworthy effects but the ending wasn’t plausible. Despite this, it was still entertaining and a fun watch with a healthy dose of nudity and violence.
“Morgue Street” is a crazy, sexy, violent and drug-fueled tale from director Alberto Viavattene. We get a couple of junkie prostitutes named Anna (Federica Tomasi) and Lisa (Desiree Giorgetti). The girls are doing some under cover business with a client. After he leaves, they shoot up, but then they are attacked by an ape/gorilla/man in a costume named Bobo (Mario Cellini). The sadistic mammoth slices and dices them with a straight razor while having sex with them. There were some great lines as well, like, “She can slam the ham but she can’t handle the juice.” This story is probably one of the most insane tales on here because of the graphic gorilla sex and violence.
“The Tell Tale Heart,” directed by Nathan Nicholovitch and starring David D’ingeo, tells the story of a vagrant male prostitute who murders a client. He ends up exiling himself in the remote wilderness where he punishes himself for his sins. This tale is definitely one of the more bizarre in Project of Evil, but it’s shocking and crazy enough to be an enjoyable journey.
“The System Of Dr. Tarr and Professor Feather” was directed by Domiziano Cristopharo. It features a theatrical style short revolving around the residents of a haunted mental institution and the bizarre goings on there. It plays out in a very campy, tongue-in-cheek fashion.
Finally, “Premature Burial,” directed by Giuliano Giacomelli, is the tale of a man buried alive and his subsequent struggle to escape. This one has some great atmosphere and features an intense, claustrophobic situation. The ending of “Premature Burial” is very similar to the ending of Lucio Fulci’s film, The Beyond, featuring rotting zombies rising from the grave, albino-eyed people and even the Fabio Frizzi-like music.
P.O.E. 2: Project Of Evil compiles a great collection of shorts ranging from violent and gory to the surreal, bizarre and campy. It’s a unique collection that is worth seeking out. So far, this series has been showing a tremendous amount of promise with its current four installments and is a formidable force in the horror anthology subgenre.
