Murder Rock – Double Disc Special Edition
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B Film: C+
It is
always funny when in analyzing thrillers, there is the psychotic committing the
acts and the psychological reasons for it.
Set in and from 1984 at the height of Jazzercise, exercise, sexercize,
neo-Disco and the influence of Flashdance,
you have to wonder why Lucio Fulci’s Murder
Rock is a rare such thriller set at this time. It gives Michael Sembello’s Maniac a new context, but also makes us
ask, did the killer go on the spree because of the music and dancing or just
the leg warmers and day-glo clothing? Is
it that those who dancercise and act too sexy must die? Well, the film is not great, but not bad, yet
cannot help but come across as dated like the “energy crisis” basis for the
James Bond film The Man With The Golden
Gun.
It is a
product of its time, but unlike something like the awful James Bridges disaster
Perfect (1985) with then-in-the-rut
John Travolta and in-transition Jamie Lee Curtis, it is not a merely bad time
capsule. Instead it is a strange
thriller that is always out of its element whose giallo elements never quite
cohere with the happy 1980s aesthetic.
Fulci comes up with some good moments, but basically uses the backdrop
as casually as any other, which is one of the reasons why it never gels. It even takes place in New York, but never
totally captures the city at that or any other time. The result is an isolated feel that may have
prevented the film from dating in some respects, though failing at others. This is one you’ll have to see for yourself.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image has color that is slightly off and
detail that is inconsistent. However,
cinematographer Giuseppe Pinori’s camerawork is a plus and makes this watchable
though the flaws. The Dolby Digital 2.0
Stereo has no major surrounds, whether in English or Italian, though the
Italian is weaker overall. Keith
Emerson’s score is the total opposite of his great work as part of Emerson,
Lake & Palmer (or Powell, when the late, great Cozy Powell was once their
drummer). Extras are especially
noteworthy, including trailers for several Shriek Show releases including this
film and a feature length Italian audio commentary with Pinori and journalist
Federico Caddeo on DVD 1. The second
disc has a set of Fulci trailers for some of his other films, lead actor Ray
Lovelock in two interview featurettes, Pinori in another interview featurette
that is exceptional and a long look at Fulci with multiple interviewees entitled
Tempus Fugit. Even if the film falls short, the set does
not and is worth a look.
- Nicholas Sheffo
