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Released by: Shameless Films
Released on: 10/1/2007
Director: Ruggero Deodato
Cast: Michael York, Donald Pleasance, Edwige Fenech
Year: 1988
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The Movie:
While not one of Ruggero Deodato's better known pictures (it seems everything he's done since Cannibal Holocaust lives in that film's shadow), 1988's Phantom Of Death is an interesting Giallo-ish thriller that shows that he was just as at home directing thrillers as he was more savage fare.
The film follows a man named Robert Dominici (Michael York), a professional pianist at the top of his game, who seemingly out of nowhere contracts a horrible disease that cause his skin to basically rot and which makes his body age very quickly. This obviously takes quite a hefty toll on a man who uses his fingers for a living (no dirty jokes, please) and who used to train in the martial arts with guys in ninja suits! Regardless, Robert carries on as best he can, entertaining his lady friends, Susanna (Mapi Galan) and Helene (Edwige Fenech), and living the good life of the aristocratic upper class.
When a sexy female doctor with a connection to Robert winds up dead, however, things start to get strange. A police inspector named Datti (Donald Pleasance) gets on the case but not nearly as quickly as he should as before you know it, Susanna winds up dead as well. Datti figures this has all got to have something to do with Robert, but he has no idea what, why or how so how can he stop him before he strikes again and kills off Helene or whatever other foxy chick should happen to cross his path?
One of the better later giallos to come from the end of the genre's cycle, Phantom Of Death isn't the best that the genre has to offer but it certainly is an enjoyable and entertaining slasher picture. Deodato sticks to what makes the genre work - sexy women, bloody kill scenes, a reasonably interesting mystery and plenty of style to make up for periodic lack of substance - and he pulls it off admirably. The cinematography from Giorgio Di Battista ensures that the film looks slick and moody from start to finish and it does a great job of capturing the brightly lit rooms that the first half of the film plays out in as well as the dimly light and macabre looking locations where the finale occurs. Plenty of atmospheric lighting compliments things nicely and an enjoyable score courtesy of Pino Donaggio definitely enhances the already palpable mood that Deodato (firmly entrenched in Argento territory here what with the artists and the murders coming together as they do) and company have created.
Of course, on top of all of this is a great cast. Michael York, in an interesting part for him, does a good job of playing the slowly unraveling male lead while supporting performances from sultry Edwige Fenech and sex-kittenish Mapi Galan certainly don't hurt things in the least. Rounding the cast out nicely is Donald Pleasance in a role not too far removed from that of his most famous part, Dr. Loomis from John Carpenter's Halloween. While Pleasance may be treating on familiar ground here, at least he does it well and puts some enthusiasm into it and Phantom Of Death (also known under the more appropriate though less sensational title of Off Balance) is all the better for his efforts indeed.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The 1.66.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer on this DVD is actually quite good. The progressive scan transfer is a little soft in some scenes and it does have the odd speck of print damage in addition to some mild grain but detail levels stay reasonably strong throughout and color reproduction looks nice and lifelike. There aren't any problems with mpeg compression artifacts or edge enhancement worth noting and aside from a couple of murkier darker scenes the image looks nice.
The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono mix is on par with the video in that while it isn't reference quality it's certainly more than acceptable. Dialogue stays clean and clear and there aren't any problems with hiss or distortion to report. Once or twice the dialogue is a little bit low but this is a random occurrence and not a constant problem at all. By and large, the movie sounds pretty good.
As is the norm with Shameless' output, we get some animated menus, chapter selection, a theatrical trailer for the feature and trailers for a few other DVD releases available from their catalogue
The Final Word:
Shameless' release might be light on supplemental material but it presents Phantom Of Death, an underappreciated later era giallo, in nice shape and completely uncut.