A Whisper in the Dark
(NoShame Region 0 NTSC DVD)
(1976)
review by Meatsock

I see a distinct pattern forming with these Italian films. No Shame is releasing every film ever made by a director with a vowel ending their last name. The latest, A Whisper in the Dark is a pre- Sixth Sense "I see dead people" thriller that was as chilling as a baked potato. I can pretty much sum up this film by comparing it to sex with my wife - slow and sloppy.

As dysfunctional families go, A Whisper in the Dark features one of the most deliberate examples - a cheating husband, delusional wife, pair of bratty twin daughters and lofty quasi-homosexual son that sees a vengeful dead fetus. Out of all of these quirks, it is the dead fetus that draws the focus of the film. We find the wife (Delon) has lost her senses because of the dead child. She's pretty much a cold fish in the sack, so "Real American" husband (Law) turns to her best friend and the hired help to grease his gonads with girlie goo. I'm also thoroughly convinced that the "twin" daughters were both rejected for the part of Veruca Salt in Willie Wonka, as they are the most abrasive personalities I have ever seen. The one child "star" that could even compete on the level of agitation would be the infamous "Bob" from House by the Cemetery.

So with all of this adultery and hijinks going on in the house, what's to be of the son (Poggi) that swears he sees his imaginary friend? Well, the family calls in an expert shrink (Cotten), of course! Using the most ineffective form of therapy I have ever seen (failed abduction therapy), this world renowned psychiatrist comes off more like Italy's version of Albert Fish. Secretly watching the child's every move, then sneaking off into a corner to flog his naked ass with a barbed switch, or stick a thorny rose stem in the hole of his penis. Creepy old fuck.... wait a minute... I'm a creepy old fuck, too.

Touted as an "Italo-Gothic Classic" by No Shame films, one would have to wonder what the subpar gothic films of this era would come off as. Honestly, there aren't many more films that could be as dull as Whisper, but I'm sure if there are they'll be surfacing under a new distributor with an affinity for all things "Italo". I guess one must be well versed in Italian foreign films to appreciate the "sensual" score from Pino Donaggio, or standard cinematography by Claudio Cirillo. Come to think of it, the blurbs on the back of the package read more like a wine list than a summation of appreciation.

As per the standard, No Shame packages the film with a booklet packed with talent bios and scribes on various gothic films of the time. There's a terribly incoherent interview with the hairy eared cinematographer Claudio Cirillo, who also does his best to say director Marcello Alipandri's name more times than Tampax runs commercials during Oprah. What I really got a hoot out of was the original theatrical trailer, which makes the film seem more dark and deviant than it ever could be. Hell, Tim Burton could have digitally remastered the set and it wouldn't be any more gothic than a Batman cartoon.

When it's time to pony up and make sense of the No Shame conundrum, one must weigh the extras versus the actual film content. In the two cases that I've been exposed to as of yet, the extras on the disc seem a bit too redeeming for the film they accompany. My only fear of this type of situation is that one of these days "Torso" is gonna get a release complete with no interviews, original trailers or any sort of controversial added items. That would be a complete Shame