A Whisper in the Dark is another new DVD release from NoShame films, and while the film itself looks absolutely stunning, less can be said about the film’s plot contents.
It all starts with a family–particularly the family’s young son, Martino. He has an imaginary friend named Luca. Luca also just so happens to be the name of Martino’s mother’s aborted child. Martino’s mom, Camilla, is paranoid about this name resemblance, and often stresses out because of this. She thinks that the “imaginary” Luca could very well be her son in ghost form, while her unfaithful husband, Alex, thinks just that the thought of Luca coming back as an invisible friend of his son is absolutely ridiculous.
In short, Camilla is right, and while the idea of a stillborn child coming back to try to find love within his family is an admittedly creepy concept, the writers just don’t toy with the idea enough to make it truly spine-chilling. Instead, they just focus on antics on par with something seen in a movie like Problem Child, which, boils and ghouls, sucks.
There’s the scene where a woman finds a frog in her bathtub while bathing. Then there’s the playground swing cranium collision, and the kinda-spooky-but-very-predictable blindfolded “invisible” kiss from Luca to his mother. These attempts at scares could be acceptable if accompanied by more goose bump-giving moments, but in Whisper in the Dark, there are none to be found. In fact, the only death scene in the film occurs when, while bathing, a doctor trying to analyze Martino’s mind (played by Joseph Cotton) tries to press the service buzzer. The button is mysteriously not on the buzzer, and the doctor is electrocuted. In addition to being just about the pansiest way to die I think I’ve ever seen in a horror film, the worst part about this death is that it is not even shown on camera—as if a buzzer falling in water and electrocuting a man is just “too much” for the audience to take in. Trust me, in a 100-minute slow-paced ghost story with not too many chilling moments, there’d have to be a hell of a lot of depravity crammed into the film in order for it to be deemed a movie with “too much to take in”. I know this film is supposed to be a pretty subtle ghost story, but it is lacking a “shocking” scene (pun very yet apologetically intended) to up its scare factor.
On the plus side, I must say that A Whisper in the Dark sports some very gorgeous Kubrick-esque scenery and direction and a superb soundtrack. Thanks to NoShame’s outstanding remastered version of the film, every color (and there a ton of very eye-pleasing ones) is so vibrant and glorious that it really does make watching the film as a whole worthwhile. Also, Marcello Aliprandi’s direction is, unlike the film’s story, very creative and artistic. As an aspiring director myself, there were shots in the film that I really stared at in awe and hated myself for not thinking of positioning the camera in such a manner as Aliprandi does in the film. The soundtrack is also very suspenseful and top-notch…it’s just a shame the music has nothing visual to support it.
NoShame’s DVD release is, as usual, perfect. The DVD comes with an 8-page booklet featuring an essay titled “Things That Go Bump in La Notte” and bios of a few of the cast members, while the disc itself contains an interview with Claudio Cirillo, the film’s cinematographer, an exclusive intro from Cirillo, the original Italian theatrical trailer, and a poster and still gallery.
If you’re willing to give A Whisper in the Dark’s long and at times slightly uninteresting story a chance, the film is not a total loss. The aspects of the scenery and direction give the film a few more positive credentials and make it worthwhile viewing and owning for at least fans and collectors of obscure Italian ‘70s cinema.
-Spooky Steve
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
