The Well

Lisa arrives at a castle to fulfill a commission her father's restoration studio has received. She is to clean and restore a mysterious old painting that is clogged with soot from a fireplace so that it can be sent to auction. The deadline of 14 days is lethal. Lisa's work is going well, but during the uncovering of the painting, very vivid and frightening nightmares begin to haunt her, and she has no idea what has befallen the three students she briefly encountered on the bus ride. This gothic witch horror film is firstly a reminder that Italian horror hasn't died, and secondly that Federico Zampaglione is a very good director – his third film for me, and I was very pleased with it. Apart from the traditional colour scheme, with blue and red predominating, there is no shortage of excellent gore. The make-up effects are also excellent. I liked that despite the contemporary visuals there was an evocation of older Italian horror films, and there's no shortage of worms and rats either. Of course, this is a B-movie and perhaps only a moron would expect a first rate piece. Even the ending is sort of in the Italian school and I commend it. 4.5*, and I’m rounding up. (2024-09-14)

The Italian version of Castle Freak! A great tribute to Italian trash films of the 1970s and 80s and the famous Lucio Fulci. The Well is a likable horror B-movie that looks slightly made for TV, the plot is pretty rubbish and it can't be said to be a good film, but the horror is functional and combines elements of the occult and exploitation, which I love and are very rare these days, so I can't be dissatisfied. The female lead is very pretty, the setting of an Italian castle, the disgustingly over-designed monster- or rather mutant (perfect make-up effects!!) and most importantly the excellent gore! Fuck me, some of the scenes were over the top, and the brutal scenes are surprisingly not few. It's got pace, it's functional horror-wise and fans hungry for gore and quality make-up effects can't complain, but it's not much for the average random no names. 7/10 (2024-09-06)

If someone really talented in directing had taken this on, it could have easily been my new horror darling. It has all the appealing attributes, from the setting of an old castle in the Italian countryside, to the witch theme, to the nicely designed monster in the basement (or rather at the bottom of the well). Unfortunately, Federico Zampaglione shoots with such a "degree" of imagination and creativity that it ends up looking like a thirty-year-old TV movie. But whatever. At least it reminded me of the old Italian trashy shockers and Castle Freak. Sometimes even this kind of B-movie, even if it grossly fails to live up to its potential, is enough for mild satisfaction. The make-up effects and the gore were very good. (2024-09-05)