|
Vengeance review
:. Director: Anthony M. Dawson (aka Antonio Margheriti)
:. Starring: Richard Harrison, Claudio Camaso
:. Running Time: 1:40
:. Year: 1968
:. Country: Italy/West Germany
|
Directed by Anthony Dawson, better known as Antonio Margheriti for his horror films, Vengeance asserts a certain originality by belonging to the gothic western sub-genre.
Richard Harrison interprets Rocco, a bandit who decides to settle the score after his protégé is murdered by former partners.
While the American title (Joko invoca Dio... E muori in Italian) and the theme song give a rather clear idea of the not very innovative topic of this film, Vengeance prevails above all due to its penchant for the gothic, which saves the picture from banality. Thus the emphasis is put on nighttime scenes and the use of caves as a setting, while one of the main characters clearly refers to vampires. This lugubrious style isn't that surprising when you know that Antonio Margheriti made his name with Cannibal Apocalypse and most especially with Blood for Dracula and Flesh for Frankenstein which he co-directed with Paul Morrissey.
While the action sequences are efficiently directed, one cannot say in the same for a script that does not embarrass itself with logic, offering instead some rather absurd narrative shortcuts. The film also reserves some twists to try to spice everything up. As for some obvious influences, the prison sequence is reminiscent of Rio Bravo while Richard Harrison is a pale imitation of Clint Eastwood.
In the end, this is a not very substantial western not totally devoid of appeal.
Fred Thom
 more Spaghetti Western Reviews
Cult Cinema Reviews 2012 - present
Cult Films: 1998 - 2011 Reviews
|
|
