Morituris: Legion Of The Dead is an Italian horror film recently released on Blu-ray by Synapse Films with special effects work from perhaps the king of Italian special effects Sergio Stivaletti. I had high hopes that this would be a return to Italian horror greatness but then I saw that this film was made in 2011. All expectations were tossed out the window as I figured I'd have heard something about it in four years if it was worth a damn. Well, the movie isn't terrible but it also isn't going to make Italy relevant in the world of horror again either. While Stivaletti can still do great things with his practical effects makeup, Morituris felt like two different movies with the first part being an overdrawn rape/revenge type film without any of the revenge satisfaction. It is brutal and nasty but takes too long and doesn't give the audience the satisfaction of the antagonists getting their just due. That would be where the resurrected Roman gladiators come in but they don't really provide the revenge either as they attack everyone and for as long as is it takes to get to their part of the movie it is a bit of a let down. The movie isn't bad, but it takes too long to get where it should be and then offers too little of what we came to see.
Next up was a viewing of a childhood favorite, Return Of The Living Dead 2... with the French audio track. Why did I watch this with the French audio track, you ask? Well I've seen the movie plenty of times over the years but it has been a very long time since I've been able to see it with the original soundtrack which is only available on the DVD on the French track. I didn't miss anything in the movie as I know exactly what is going on but the French audio did give me drunken giggles. The original soundtrack is superior to the edited one in the film but not enough to make a big deal out of. The movie is a great cheeseball flick and very similar to the original but the soundtrack isn't even comparable to the original which has one of my favorite soundtracks of all time.
Fuck The Green Inferno. This movie is total and complete crap. That's it.
Lastly was a rather boring and uneventful film from Amicus - The Blood Beast Terror. Peter Cushing completists are really the only people that need to check it out. I can't say its really awful, and watching it after The Green Inferno certainly made it seem a bit more palatable. It is well acted but there's so little going on that it just doesn't matter. The end gets a bit more interesting but much too little, far too late.
Today's Rundown
Morituris - 5.5/10
Return Of The Living Dead 2 - 8/10
The Green Inferno - 2/10
The Blood Beast Terror - 4.5/10
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