Three Faces of Terror (2004)

...or I TreVolti del Terrore as the original title is has gotten a lot of bad rep from fanboys all over the world, but I think this basically has to do with the fact that it's shot on digital video - something that would be totally okey if a talentless hack like Andreas Schnaas was the man behind the movie, but in a case like this a disaster according the expert. Let me tell you that Three Faces of Terror is far from a disaster, while not exactly a masterpiece either. We're talking an ultra-cheap anthology movie and nothing else...

In the first story two grave robbers, thieving from an ancient Etruscan burial ground, gets in trouble when one of them tries out a ring which passes a werewolf curse to him! The second one is about a woman who wants to look like her best friend and goes to a plastic surgeon, which is the biggest mistake she's done. The third story is about three friends and a very dangerous sea monster eating its way through their camping site! The wrap-around story is set on a train where John Phillip Law plays a mystical hypnotist who claims that he can see the past of the passengers...

Three Faces of Terror is directed by special effects maestro Sergio Stivaletti. This is not the first directing job he's done. After Fulci's death he took over the wheel for The Wax Mask, a movie that turned out alright - but probably very far from the masterpiece it could have been with the Godfather of Gore being the boss. An upcoming project is the highly interesting The Profane Exhibit, an anthology filled with extreme interesting directors. But lets go back to this anthology. It suffers from a very low budget, but come on - both you and me have seen crappier movies shot on film and in a case of nostalgia decided those shit-flicks to be "underrated" and "very interesting". Here we have a competent set of three movies, the first and last the best one - mostly because they have more atmosphere and more (and better) effects. The first one, the werewolf-story, is actually really decent with some fun gore and a werewolf-suit that looks okey most of the times, when it's in the shadows! The transformation scene is good also, if you count how low the budget probably was.

The second story is less interesting because it looks cheap and has uninteresting actresses in the leads. The only really fun thing with it is the Lamberto Bava-cameo, lovingly poking fun at himself during a scene at the set of "Demons 7" and a failed special effect (including a cameo by the director, Stivaletti, himself). The last story, with the sea monster, begins boring but ends up being a silly and fun monster romp with a cool (and cheap) creature. It also has something Lovecraftian...

So, nothing special - but far from bad. This is cheap and fun, but could have needed more gore and maybe a stronger middle story and some more work on the last (and the first also by the way. The highlight of the film is John Phillip Law who plays four different characters and is excellent in everyone of them. Another cameo is by Claudio Simonetti who gets killed by the werewolf while trying to seduce a young woman by a pool.

Give it a try. And remember, it might have been shot in English, but the Italian track is way better and more convincing. It will help you appreciate this cheapie more.