This 86%-Rated Italian Horror With Terrifier Star Is a Must-See for Any Fan of Damien Leone's Franchise
While Art prepares to return to the screens with the fourth movie, the wait can be brightened by an Italian horror with an unusual concept.
Are you missing Terrifier? The Well, an Italian horror film that combines gothic mysticism, splatterpunk and the aesthetics of classic giallo is at your service.
And the lead role is played by Lauren LaVera – the star of the last two installments of Terrifier.
What Is The Well About?
Lisa is the daughter of a restorer. One day, she travels to the remote Italian village of Sambuci to restore an early 16th-century painting in the walls of a centuries-old mansion.
Strange things begin to happen in the house: the owner's daughter warns of danger, ghosts of the past flicker behind the door, and the owner of the painting grows more nervous by the day.
Parallel to these events, a completely different story is unfolding. On the bus to Sambuci, Lisa meets three biologists who have come to town to study the soil near the villa. On the first night, someone attacks the guests and takes them to a small dungeon with a stone well in the middle. Gradually, two seemingly unrelated lines begin to intertwine.
The Well Has Brilliant Practical Effects that Will Scare Even the Hardcore Horror Fans
The work of Carlo Diamantini, who created the plastic make-up and practical effects for The Well that are capable of shocking even seasoned horror fans, deserves special attention.
The deliberate rejection of computer graphics in favor of physically perceptible horror clearly benefits the film.
Torture scenes, a sinister entity that prefers to hide in the shadows, fleshy metamorphoses – Diamantini works confidently with the faces and bodies of the actors, leaving the viewers no chance to doubt the realism of what is happening.
The Well Is a Wild And Inventive Mix of Genres
We have a real genre combo: an ominous mansion, a mysterious countess, a painting with a secret, a curse, a suspicious girl, an unknown monster, a crazy killer and his sophisticated tortures.
The Well is full of references to the works of Lucio Fulci, Mario Bava and early Dario Argento, but at the same time they are reminiscent of the cult Hostel and the recent The Rental.
The Well Is Perfect for Italian Horror And Slasher Fans
Made for old-school Italian horror fans and modern gore lovers, the movie balances tradition and innovation, scaring, shocking, and at times even delighting with its inventiveness.
Despite its somewhat superficial portrayal of characters, The Well will deservedly take its place in history, if only for its extraordinary attempt to combine the elegance of Renaissance horror with unbridled gore.