11 December 2024
Zeder (1983)
93 min.
Directed by Pupi Avati.
With Gabriele Lavia, Anne Canovas, Paola Tanziani, Cesare Barbetti, Bob Tonelli, Ferdinando Orlandi, Enea Ferrario, Alessandro Partexano, Marcello Tusco.
A mystery of the undead from director Pupi Avati (1976's moody The House with the Laughing Windows).

Novelist Stefano (Lavia) receives a second hand typewriter as a gift from his wife Alessandra (Canovas).

But soon he discovers strange passages still legible on the ink ribbon. They speak about supernatural zones called "K Zones" where the dead can come back to life.

His interest piqued, Stefano sets out to find who the typewriter's previous owner might have been.

Could the writer have been a strange archaeologist named Paolo Zeder?

Regardless, will Stefano find this netherworldly place where the dead are reanimated? Or will he simply find himself dead?

Lavia (who appeared as Carlo in Argento's Deep Red) delivers a confident performance as the lead, and there's some nice stylistic touches by director and screenwriter Avati in this acceptable genre entry.

None of it reaches the level of the director's earlier chiller House with the Laughing Windows, but this one's a painless watch, and lovers of bewildering Italian thrillers will no doubt find this better than most.

Also known as Revenge of the Dead.

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