Death in Haiti

Al Tropico Del Cancro

Death In Haiti

Italy 1973

D: Gian Paolo & Edward G. Muller (Edoardo Mulargia)

P: Pino De Martino & Andrea Di sangiuliano for 14 Luglio Cinematografica (P Manager: Marcello Tranchini)// St & Sc: Edoardo Mulargia, Antonio De Teffe & Antonio De La Loma//DP: Marcello Masciocchi//E: Cesare Bianchini//M: Piero Umiliani// Makeup: Carlo Renzini//Color

Cast: Anthony Steffen (Antonio De Teffe), Anita Strindberg, Gabriele Tinti, Umberto raho, Stelio Candelli, Gordon Felio, Kathie Witt, Richard Osborne, Bob Lemoine, Pierre Richard Merceron, Fred Adé.

Fred and Grace Ryan have arrived in Haiti to try and revitalize their marriage. At the same time, Fred wants to visit Dr. Williams, an old friend who is quite mysterious about his work. Before long strange things begin to happen to those who are associated with the good doctor. One of his assistants turns up dead while the other, Kratz, has disappeared. It seems Williams has discovered a new hallucinogen and several unscrupulous individuals will stop at nothing to get it. Fred uses his wife to locate the doctor's secret notes and tries to sell them, only to discover they are fake. A man claiming to be Kratz offers to sell Fred the real formula and so he sets off to an abandoned sugar cane mill to make the deal. Williams is also headed to the same place to discover who is imitating his assistant (Williams discovered Kratz's body earlier in the film) and the actual killer.

Without question, the real star of this film is the island of Haiti. Mulargia and Lomi use the mysterious voodoo rituals to create a constant state of uneasiness for both the actors (Strindberg's character is always uncomfortable whenever she's surrounded by the Haitian people) and viewers. The slaying of animals, either those used in the religious ceremonies or at a local slaughterhouse where the body of one of the characters is discovered, hammers home the primitiveness of the surroundings. Strindberg has her usual nude displays on view, but the hallucinations she suffers from midway into the film are both disturbing and visually stunning. The production took full of advantage of the decaying countryside, especially for a murder sequence that takes place at a rundown rum factory. No way money could buy you such production values. Anthony Steffen (who had a hand in the screenplay) is great as the shady but ultimately heroic Dr. Williams. As usual for a Steffen production, he makes sure there is at least one scene where he gets the Hell beat out of him. Was the guy a closet masochist? Director Edoardo Muller, born December 10, 1925, does a great job mixing both slick camera movements and hand-held frenzy when needed. Mainly known for his Westerns, he finished his career making two women in prison films (also with Steffen), Orinco, Prigioniere Del Sesso & Femmine Infernali. As with this film, those films benefitted from Mulargia's affinity for a tropical setting

http://www.eurotrashcinema.com/