Zeder

Rating:
Summary: Five stars for the film, but, oh, the DVD...ugh!!!
Review: This film is also released under the cheesily named title of "Revenge of the Dead," and the quality of that DVD release is apparently just as lousy.

This is a wondeful film by Pupi Avati. Apparently there is a crystal clear copy available in Europe in the PAL format, Region 2, letterboxed, uncut, and all.

What needs to happen is someone with brains needs to release this film in its proper format on DVD in the States. Yes, "Pet Semetary" is very similar and was perhaps inspired by "Zeder," but otherwise, this is a truly original film.

Rating:
Summary: One man's search for an ancient secret...
Review: ZEDER is a slow moving thoughtful horror film and not for viewers who are looking for instant thrills and chills. Reviewer Tim Lucas called ZEDER "an unflinching adult meditation on death and separation." And I completely agree! Although there are some chilling moments in ZEDER, especially towards the end, it really is a thinking person's horror film and deals with many complex issues besides death and separation, such as perception and assumptions versus reality and coincidence. In other words, what we think we know or want to believe is not always the truth...or is it?

Director Pupi Avati (HOUSE WITH LAUGHING WINDOWS) does a great job of creating an unnerving and creepy atmosphere of mystery in his films and ZEDER is no exception. Although the movie is slow moving, I didn't find it dull and I think Avati's style had a lot to do with why I enjoyed the movie so much. Like David Lynch, Avati can make a small village populated by unusual people suddenly seem like one of the creepiest places you've ever visited.

It stars Italian actor and Argento favorite Gabriele Lavia (DEEP RED, INFERNO, SLEEPLESS, etc.) as the writer Stephano. He plays a good "every man", but lacks that certain charisma that helps lead actors carry a whole film. Still, he is not bad in his role and that "every man" quality makes him watchable. You will dig his fashionable early 80s Euro look!

The DVD quality is not very good and the movie would really benefit from a better quality widescreen release. Hopefully that will happen, but in the meantime I still think ZEDER is worth seeking out.

Fans of Stephen King's PET SEMETARY might also enjoy this film since there are a few similarities. I thought it was amusing that Avati's film and King's book were released the same year. There must have been something in the air in 1983 that effected them both.

Rating:
Summary: THE 5 STARS ARE FOR THE FILM, NOT THIS TRANSFER.
Review: ZEDER is without a doubt one of the most atmospheric, intelligent and underrated little-known horror masterpieces ever committed to film.

It contains one of the best opening sequences to be found in fantasy cinema, and after that strong start never lets the viewer down by degenerating into genre cliche, maintaining a palpable aura of mystery to the end, and always suggesting more than it shows. The protagonist's investigation makes it, happily, a damned sight closer to M.R. James than to the execrable Stephen King (whose 'Pet Sematary', which cannot hold a candle to this film, is often mentioned in conjunction with it). ZEDER is a rare and mysterious gem, a real find for brighter fans of horror.

So can someone explain to me why this DVD release that was so welcome and so unexpected is not only not letterboxed, but appears to have been mastered from the ugly videotape of the butchered American version, 'Revenge Of The Dead'?

Glad as I am to be able to add this film to my DVD collection, this edition is a real disappointment: honestly, if you're going to release a film like this one, in this format, wouldn't it make sense to keep in mind who its likely audience is, and what that audience's expectations are likely to be? There really is no excuse for this kind of thing when Anchor Bay has been showing us how it should be done for a number of years now -- but never with a film the calibre of this one.

Having said that, don't miss ZEDER. Now if someone (hopefully more caring) would only release Avati's other horror films, which, to the best of my knowledge, have never had a release in North America.

Rating:
Summary: THE 5 STARS ARE FOR THE FILM, NOT THIS TRANSFER.
Review: ZEDER is without a doubt one of the most atmospheric, intelligent and underrated little-known horror masterpieces ever committed to film.

It contains one of the best opening sequences to be found in fantasy cinema, and after that strong start never lets the viewer down by degenerating into genre cliche, maintaining a palpable aura of mystery to the end, and always suggesting more than it shows. The protagonist's investigation makes it, happily, a damned sight closer to M.R. James than to the execrable Stephen King (whose 'Pet Sematary', which cannot hold a candle to this film, is often mentioned in conjunction with it). ZEDER is a rare and mysterious gem, a real find for brighter fans of horror.

So can someone explain to me why this DVD release that was so welcome and so unexpected is not only not letterboxed, but appears to have been mastered from the ugly videotape of the butchered American version, 'Revenge Of The Dead'?

Glad as I am to be able to add this film to my DVD collection, this edition is a real disappointment: honestly, if you're going to release a film like this one, in this format, wouldn't it make sense to keep in mind who its likely audience is, and what that audience's expectations are likely to be? There really is no excuse for this kind of thing when Anchor Bay has been showing us how it should be done for a number of years now -- but never with a film the calibre of this one.

Having said that, don't miss ZEDER. Now if someone (hopefully more caring) would only release Avati's other horror films, which, to the best of my knowledge, have never had a release in North America.