Reveniens Review from The Enchanted Architect!
So when Severed Cinema fave, Domiziano Cristopharo, sent me a short movie, Reveniens — which once upon a time belonged to an anthology film, and is now in the process of being restructured to become one of a whole creature in another anthology flick, Nightmare Symphony — I was raising my eyebrows. The fact that the screenplay is by Antonio Tentori made me smile. The chap who had a hand in Island of the Living Dead Lucio Fulci’s late career fun filled masterpiece, A Cat in the Brain and Frankenstein 2000 (amongst others), was having a go at a short zombie tale, it set my pulse running high I can tell you!
Opening on a high note, courtesy of the throbbing electronic sounds by Antony Coia – the fella who composed Scarecrowd and Xpiation (both of which are reviewed on Severed) we watch a man and his dogs cheerily trotting into the woods whilst we hear the traditional doom laden and scaremongering breathing plus a camera POV turn from behind a tree – yep, it’s a zombie, gotta be!
The hollow breathing persists as our wanderer stops by a stream to wash his face and roll a cig. He senses something is amiss nearby, but isn’t too sure — you can tell by his expression. Suddenly a green and mossy severed hand grabs him and he crawls away into the path of a moldy featured walking corpse which leans over him. Thus we hear his shriek of terror and pain echo over the region.
Let’s meet our pack of three meat feasts, I mean our trio of people in a van, one of whom is pregnant (cue a magnificent brief glimpse of the unborn which happens at moments along the way). They pass a cemetery, one grave is empty we see, and suddenly a pasty-faced ghoul wanders into the road. The van is stopped, and our main man gets out. Seeing zombies approaching from most angles, he gets the two ladies out for a run. However the pregnant girl is dragged under the van. I assume it’s her mother who attacks the zombie, pulling it out from under neigh whilst the rather useless man holds her daughter back. The crusty ghoul kills the woman. Oh cool, the lad has a gun. He shoots a second zombie and they both escape into the woods.
Oh, you fucking what???? These zombie buggers can get up after a point blank bullet in the head. Yeah, game changer. We’re in Return of the Living Dead territory now – without the black humour of course. Anyway, they chance upon a derelict looking building and find another ghoul inside. Finally safely secure within, they soon discover they aren’t alone.
Meanwhile, hoards of zombies gather outside…
Reveniens is Latin for “coming back” and this is a very apt name for this short atmosphere-shrouded movie. Domiziano’s use of the locations is nothing short of superb. He uses nature herself as a tool in this quick terror ride — the trees, the undergrowth, it all speaks volumes, increased by the ominous soundtrack, of course. Domiziano wisely chooses not to rush things, allowing the menace to grow until we are all within the edifice for the ultimately downbeat conclusion. No explanations, there doesn’t need to be a reason, it’s all the more better without one.
The zombies could well be laughed at by those unwilling to see past the modern era of The Walking Dead style walkers. Some of the make-up is very connected to the ‘80s (Zombie Lake and Zombie Creeping Flesh). Green, daubed on with a bit of decomposition, plus a lot of blood. Personally, I prefer this to a lot of modern visions of zombies. It adds a bit of fun and love to everything. I have to say, aside from that, some of the facial make-up used more close-up really made me speak aloud, proclaiming, “What the fuck?” due to some pretty inventive looks for the ghouls.
This could be as traditional as Domiziano goes. It’s an old school horror, and a treat for those with a love for the golden era when the Italians dominated so many genres, especially the realms of terror and fantasy. Reveniens is about as close as you can get (aside from the little epics by Chris Milewski) to discovering a ‘new’ late ‘70s and ‘80s Italian horror work. My god, I miss those wonderful art forms. Thanks Domiziano for bringing back a small powerful version of such a glorious lost era. I can actually forgive the dodgy CGI towards the finale.
Directed by: Domiziano Cristopharo | Written by: Antonio Tentori | Produced by: Domiziano Cristopharo | Cinematography by: Domiziano Cristopharo | Edited by: Domiziano Cristopharo | Special Effects by: Athananasuis Pernath, Alessandro Basso | Music by: Antony Coia
Cast: Wayne Abbruscato, Aurora Kostova, Elio Mancuso, Alvia Reale | Year: 2015/2019 | Color: Color | Language: English | Country: Italy | Runtime: 22 mins
Distributor: The Enchanted Architect
