Bonking The Biddies: The Dead Are Alive (1972)

The Dead are Alive (L'etrusco uccide ancora) (Italy, 1972)
Rating: ***1/2
Starring: Alex Cord, Samantha Eggar, John Marley

With a very misleading title and video boxart, where it showcased what appears to be a living corpse with half of its face rotting off, I wouldn't be surprised if you were expecting a zombie movie. Well, make no mistake, this is a lie as The Dead are Alive is far from a cannibalizing undead film despite its tagline “There’s No Place To Hide When… THE DEAD ARE ALIVE!” and it is, instead, a purebred Italian giallo. And a good one at that!

Jason, an archeologist with a drinking problem, visits the countryside with his crew to excavate and study an Etruscan tomb. He's staying in the mansion owned by a renowned orchestra conductor named Nikos, and his wife Myra, whom the latter Jason once had a romantic flair with until the relationship went bitter due to his drinking.

On the following day, a couple of teenagers were found bludgeoned to death inside one of the tombs at the dig site, just right before another girl is found killed a little later. All signs point to Jason as a possible suspect, mainly because of his habit of blacking out after binging a bottle and always ending up present near the bodies. However, it appears he may not be the only one getting tangled in this mystery as we also have a curly-haired gay choreographer who has a habit of disappearing after practice, a woman with a past and a horribly burnt scalp, a possible cult, and even the Etruscan god itself (!), all being considered as possible suspects to this series of murders. Whoever is behind the killing are likely to do it again and Jason, running short on time to prove himself innocent, has no choice but to investigate...

While not as outlandish and obscure as director Armando Crispino's more favored giallo outing Macchie solari (1975), AKA "Autopsy", for his debut giallo film, The Dead are Alive is still a riveting Euro-Horror that's high on the mystery and creepiness, albeit its lengthy running time.

Narrative-wise, I like the archeological premise of this film as it's an unusual (if not rarely tackled) subject to focus on, adding the possibility of a supernatural or supernaturally-inclined motive for the deaths. The first act of the film gets rather productive with the characters as they're introduced in depth, letting us know at least a bit of what may be running through their heads and the troubles they're dealing with, leading to some possible red herrings to fuel the twist and turns of its mystery. As it all strolls further along, the melodramatic love triangle between Jason, Myra and Nikos do starts to get it the way in a not to welcome fashion.

Around these parts, the film relies on a lot of exposition and narrative to get the story going, in turn dulling down its main casts into your classic giallo stereotypes of cheating wives and unfaithful lovers, straying down the familiar path of hidden pasts that may or may not point him/her out as the culprit. The dilemma's something we've seen before, thus becoming a chore to watch at some point. Thankfully, by the time another pair of teens get killed off, the third act finally unravels towards a poetic (if not basic) climax involving one of the leads being stalked and hunted by the actual killer.

When it comes to the murder horror aspect of the film, the kills here differ from the usual blade stabbings as the killer uses an archeological probe that was meant to capture the insides of a tomb without fully damaging it. An interesting idea added to these killings is that whenever the killer's about to murder or is at least nearby, they play and leave a cassette player booming away an orchestral composition, as a form of a calling card. The score, both from the red herring tape and the entire movie itself, was provided by Mondo Cane's Riz Ortolani, which did an outstanding job. The film also boasts some beautiful country side shots and some great cinematography; especially during the last act where it's full use of shadows and corners brought up the much needed intensity of the danger.

Looking past the misleading marketing this film has, this is a definite keep for all giallo enthusiasts. While most would prefer the hallucinatory nature of the director's next crime mystery effort, or some would be wondering when will the zombies make their shambling entry, The Dead are Alive (1972) is a clever and beautiful giallo that really deserves a lot more eyes viewing it.

Bodycount:
1 male and 1 female bludgeoned to death with probe
1 female found beaten to death
1 male found beaten to death
1 female beaten to death with probe
1 male dies from a drug overdose
1 male gets a glass shard to the gut
Total: 7