B-MENTIA 15

2014 is not only the Cabal’s 15th Anniversary. It’s also mine, at Braineater.com. To celebrate my own site’s Anniversary, I’ve decided to review one of my favorite Italian horror films. And for my Roundtable entry, my Anniversary-themed flick, I’m going with the Bollywood remake of that same Italian horror film.

Sette Note in NeroFirst up, there’s Lucio Fulci’s 1977 giallo Sette Note in Nero (Seven Notes in Black), also known as The Psychic. Since it’s nominally a mystery, I’ve done two entirely different reviews for this movie: one without spoilers and one with LOTS of spoilers. The first review is ridiculously short, and the second is ridiculously long. You might want to read them both: even though it’s a murder mystery, Sette Note is not the sort of film that loses its interest when you know what’s going to happen in the end.

Sette Note in NeroIn any case, I recommend you read at least one of them before proceeding to my Roundtable entry: 100 Days (1991), the Indian version of Fulci’s film.

I’ll give you a moment to let that sink in: Bollywood Fulci… with singing and dancing. But don’t get any ideas about a Ziegfeld Zombie or Busby Berkeley’s Beyond. 100 Days is a surprisingly entertaining thriller, in which an anniversary brings with it a cruel twist of fate. Given a choice between the two films, I much prefer original; but then, I am not the target audience for 100 Days. All things considered, this total re-interpretation of Sette Note in Nero is a great example of how to make an authentic local version of a movie without simply going through the motions.

(That said, though, you’ll certainly see things in 100 Days you’d never expect to see in a giallo…)

100 Days

Will Laughlin is the Braineater.