Joe D'Amato's "Rosso Sangue" aka. "Absurd" of 1981 is sometimes named a sequel to D'Amato's shocking highlight "Antropophagus" of 1980. This is not really true, as while both films star George Eastman as the vicious villain, and both films are extremely gory, the story lines have nothing at all to do with each other. I loved "Antropophagus", which is not only tremendously gory, shocking and disturbing, but also scary as hell. I also enjoyed "Rosso Sangue", but it is not nearly a great as its aforementioned predecessor. The film is, once again extremely gory, and exploitation-icon George Eastman is once again predestined for the role, but the film is not nearly as scary as "Antropophagus", and neither is it anywhere near as shocking. A small town is infested by a genetically mutated man (Eastman), who has the urge to brutally murder everybody he sees, as a result of a nuclear experiment gone wrong. Not only does he have the urge to murder, however, his mutations also made him very strong and immune to injuries... The film's main qualities are the great score, the extreme gore, and George Eastman. The huge Eastman really is one intimidating fellow, who always fits in his mostly sardonic roles. His greatest moments were Mario Bava's 1974 masterpiece "Cani Arrabiati" ("Rabid Dogs"), and "Antropophagus", but Eastman truly is an enrichment to any of the films he starred in, and "Absurd" is no exception. While he is not quite as scary-looking as in "Antropophagus" here, Eastman single-handedly carries the film with his maniacal performance. The other performances are quite forgettable, but this is not really of any importance. Overall, this is not nearly as great as "Antropophagus", but it is definitely a film that any fan of the very brutal kind of Horror/Exploitataion should enjoy. Recommended to my fellow Italian Horror buffs.
Review of Absurd
