Upon second viewing, I'm lowering my rating. I still found the first hour engaging, but, once the action moves to a pedestrian-free, trafficless Rome, the film as a whole jumps off a cliff (pun intended). The action setpieces become increasingly ridiculous, the story devolves into a series of flip-flops and reversals, and the number of times one of the characters pontificates about "The Key" is comical.
Overall, a huge let-down from the previous installment.
I'm wrecked. This has to be one of the saddest films I've ever seen.
Every character (even when they think they're happy) and every scene (no matter how apparently joyous) is suffused with almost unbearable pain, heartache, & melancholy.
I ached for these people. Even when Miguel was being a selfish dick, I understood the cultural forces that made him that way -- and only felt sadder at what he would eventually do to himself and those he loved.
You know…
Brutal, bleak, bloody, and brilliant.
If the sight of Vincent Price in period costume leads you to think this is just another campy, '60s drive-in horror pic, you could not be more wrong. There are no pits or pendulums here, no masques of Red Death, no Houses of Usher. In fact, despite the title, there is nothing supernatural in this movie at all. The only horrors present are those of religious fanaticism and sexual sadism.
Personally, I see the film…
