If you happen to run into an Italian horror movie fan, ask them what they favorite time period in the genre is. The odds are really good that they'll say the 70s to the early 80s. This was the heyday of this kind of film. This was when Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci were bringing this unique brand of entertainment to the world, with some lesser quality support from the likes of Aristide Massaccesi and Umberto Lenzi. However, the mid 80s saw a decline in this genre and despite the fact that directors like Argento continued to work, the movies got worse and worse. In fact, it's been years since I saw an Italian horror movie. Well, movies tend to run in cycles and most everything comes back eventually, thus the newly released Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show attempts to resurrect the genre.

Alessio Rinaldi (Giuseppe Soleri) is a young film director looking for his big break. His attempts at writing his own scripts have fallen short, and his producer arranges for him to spend some time with horror novelist Ubaldo Terzani (Paolo Sassanelli). As research, Alessio buys all of Ubaldo's books and begins to have vivid nightmare. So, Alessio leaves his girlfriend, Sara (Laura Gigante), behind and heads to the city of Torino. There, he meets Ubaldo, and is surprised to find a charming, aristocratic man. Ubaldo welcomes Alessio into his home and the two begin to work on a script. Alessio tries to make himself at home, but he continues to have the nightmare. For Ubaldo's part, he attempts to loosen up Alessio by taking him to a party, which is filled with women and degradation. As the days progress, Alessio begins to suspect that Ubaldo may not be as normal as he seems. When Sara comes to visit, the truth is revealed.

I would love to tell you that with Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show, Writer/Director Gabriele Albanesi has ushered in a new era of Italian horror, but that is not the case. The movie gets off to a good start, as it opens with Alessio having a nightmare a dark figure in a hat and black gloves. This evokes the disguised killers from the works of Dario Argento and Mario Bava and it looks as if the film is going to pay homage to the classics of the genre. Then, the movie brings in a classic plot device as the young writer is sent to visit the older writer in his large home. Peruse any book on horror film history and you'll see that this setup was used a great deal in the first half of the 20th century, where we travel with an innocent character into a mysterious environment. (It looks as if this is also being used in the new Daniel Radcliffe movie The Woman in Black.) The first act also features a nasty special effect from genre vet Sergio Stivaletti. We can assume that Terzani is supposed to be a fictionalized version of an Italian Stephen King-like character, and judging by the nightmares his novels create, we expect him to be a monster, but Alessio is surprised to find an urbane gentleman.

After this, the whole movie falls apart. I can't think of a recent film which offered so few surprises. For those of you who are still interested in Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show, I won't spoil it for you, but suffice it to say that Terzani is more than he appears to be and bad things ensue. Once the movie surprises us with Terzani's appearance and demeanor, any other attempts at suspense or mis-direction go out the door. We soon become confident of what is going to happen and the movie plows down that road, grabbing every cliché along the way that it can. It’s clear that the finale is supposed to be surprising, but only the densest of viewers won’t see it coming.

The most disappointing thing about Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show, is that the second half doesn’t fulfill any of the promises made by the first half. The movie is not a homage to the classic Italian horror films or gialli. In fact, it plays as a very straight-forward thriller. There is a somewhat gory moment in the third act, but it’s more clinical than grotesque. Something which I did not like was when the movie sank into fanboy territory. Yes, Alessio is a young filmmaker who likes horror films, and I liked the movie posters in his room (especially the Italian one for Michael Soavi’s Stagefright.) But, I found Alessio’s “Fulci Lives” t-shirt to be a bit much. And then we have the seen where Clive Barker’s talents are called into question. OK, I get it movie, you’re too cool for school. But, why didn’t you focus some of that passion onto the movie itself?

As Dario Argento hasn’t made a decent movie in 25 years, I would welcome the return of Italian horror. No one could make incredibly loopy, yet intriguing movies like the Italians in their heyday. My understanding is that the Italian filmmaking community now shies away from the genre, and this sentiment is echoed in one of the opening scenes of Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show. So, how ironic that Albanesi has made such a toothless, pedestrian film.

Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show has one of the worst titles ever on DVD courtesy of Raro Video. The film has been letterboxed at 1.85:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image is very sharp and clear, showing only trace amounts of grain and no defects from the source material. I’m not sure how this movie was shot, but it has a very crisp and clean look. The level of detail is pretty good and the colors look fine. The image is never too dark or bright, and artifacting is kept to a minimum. The DVD carries an Italian Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track which provides clear dialogue and sound effects. This is a very active track, even at low volume. The music permeates the surround channels and the rear speakers are active throughout. The stereo effects are good, most notably those which alert us to things occurring off-screen.

The Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show DVD has a few extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Writer/Director Gabriele Albanesi and Italian screenwriter Antonio Tentori, who appears in the film as himself. This is in Italian with English subtitles. "Laura Gigante Screen Test" (3 minutes) shows the audition for the actress who plays Sara. "The Hunted" (24 minutes) is a short film by Albanesi, which is letterboxed at 1.33:1. The DVD offers two TRAILERS for Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show, both of which appear to have been made for English-speaking audiences.