The Killer Reserved 9 Seats

L'Assassino Ha Riservato Nove Poltrano

The Killer Reserved Nine Seats

Italy 1974

D: Giuseppe Bennati

P: Dario Rossini for Cinenove Produzione (P Manager: Domenico Bologna)//St & Sc: Biagia Proietti, Paolo Levi, & Giuseppe Bennati//E: Luciano Anconetani//M: Carlo Savina//Art D: Vincenzo Gusepi//Costumes: Mario Chiari

Cast: Rosanna Schiaffino, Chris Avram, Eva Cenmerys, Lucretia Love, Paola Senatore, Gaetano Russo, Andrea Scotti, Edoardo Filippone, Antonio Guerra, Howard Ross (Renato Rossini), Janet Agren.

Theater director Patrick Davalos and a group of actors and actresses arrive at his newly acquired Gothic-styled stage. We have Rebecca, Patrick's sister; Russell, the lead in his new play; Doris, Rebecca's lover; Lynn, Patrick's daughter who has incestuous desires for her father; Vivian, Patrick's ex-wife and Kim, Patrick's latest girlfriend. Soon after their arrival, they find themselves locked inside with no escape. While Kim is on stage acting out a part in the new production, she is brutally stabbed by a character in a weird mask. As more and more people are killed off, it's revealed that the same thing happened there a hundred years ago. Is it the Davalos family curse come to life or just the sick fantasies of a psychopath being acted out?

This was director Giuseppe Bennati's last film. He was mainly known as a documentary filmmaker who received his start back in the forties. Knowing that, he certainly didn't seem to mind detailing all the sex and violence the seventies demanded of its films. The cast here is rich with actresses (from the reputable Rosanna Schiafino to future drug addict and porno star, Paola Senatore) and actors who were often found in the Gialli of the seventies. Chris Avram gives a standout performance as the egotistical yet pitiful director who maintains his character's sympathy even while berating his fellow cast members. The film is a rare example that mixes elements of the Italian Thriller with the supernatural. The surprise ending foreshadows the one found years later in Lucio Fulci's THE BEYOND. This trashy mixture of breasts and blood won't garner any points with the Art Cinema crowd, but for fans of sex and horror films, it's a must see. Also, you have to wonder if Michele Soavi wasn't just a little bit influenced by this film when he decided to make his debut with STAGEFRIGHT. 

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