Italian horror is back with a vengeance in the ultra-scary feature The Well, directed by Federico Zampaglione with a screenplay by Zampaglione and Stefano Masi. Lisa (Lauren LaVera) has traveled to a small Italian village in the sticks to restore a smoke-damaged painting. On the train, she meets Madison (Courage Oviawe) and Tracy (Taylor Zaudtke), two biologists traveling with their guide Tony (Gianluigi Calvani). They are doing a study in the forest outside of the village and will be camping, but Lisa hopes to see them again during her visit.
In town, she meets local pub owner Marcus (Jonathan Dylan King), who is a cutie and a friendly one. Lisa arrives at the mansion, where Emma (Claudia Gerini) immediately takes her to the gigantic frame with the blackened canvas. Emma informs Lisa that it is very important that she work around the clock, as the painting needs to be restored by a quickly approaching date in order to sell it. While using her tools to remove the soot to reveal the images underneath, Lisa meets Emma’s spooky young daughter Giulia (Linda Zampaglione), who seems displeased.
“…Tracy, Madison, and Tony wake up in individual cells lined into the walls of an ancient underground chamber.”
Meanwhile, at the biologist camp, something horrible happens at night. Tracy, Madison, and Tony wake up in individual cells lined into the walls of an ancient underground chamber. In the middle of the circular dungeon is a large stone well with noises coming up from deep below.
Italy had a golden age of horror for thirty years in the late 20th century, with a parade of operatic, blood-soaked classics unrivaled in extremity. Many of these films were heavily censored in various countries, leaving it up to the laserdisc market in Japan to preserve the uncut prints. By the ’90s, Italy’s fear factory ground to a halt as markets and budgets shrank. However, the classic spaghetti nightmare movies amassed a following as the laser discs fed a thriving market of Japanese subtitled bootlegs.
Then, at the turn of the century, the U.S. finally saw uncut, remastered prints of these movies on VHS and DVD through companies like Anchor Bay and Blue Underground. But it was all gore-soaked nostalgia until The Well. We had rumblings that a return to form was on the horizon. First, it was when the Italians released their best post-apocalypse film yet. Then, we saw earnest attempts at reviving the Anthropophagus and Diabolik franchises. It is The Well that has brought the beloved spaghetti nightmare back from the grave.
"…has brought the beloved spaghetti nightmare back from the grave."
