La casa sperduta nel parco (1980)

Director:

Ruggero Deodato

Writers:

Gianfranco Clerici
Vincenzo Mannino

Release Date:

February 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Delivers Shocks To The Maximum ... Pushes The Limits Of Acceptability

Plot:

Two lowlife punks invite themselves to a party at a posh villa and after being taunted by their snobbish hosts, hold everybody hostage and subject them to various torture and mayhem.

Plot Keywords:

Party | Villa | Park | Mentally Challenged | Rape

Cast

David Hess	...	Alex (as David A. Hess)
Annie Belle	...	Lisa
Christian Borromeo	...	Tom
Giovanni Lombardo Radice	...	Ricky
Marie Claude Joseph	...	Glenda
Gabriele Di Giulio	...	Howard
Brigitte Petronio	...	Cindy
Karoline Mardeck	...	Susan
Lorraine De Selle	...	Gloria
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Susan Spafford	...	Lisa (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Pat Starke	...	Gloria (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Frank von Kuegelgen	...	Ricky (voice: English version) (uncredited)

Directed by
Ruggero Deodato

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Gianfranco Clerici
Vincenzo Mannino

Produced by
Franco Di Nunzio	....	producer
Franco Palaggi	....	producer

Original Music by
Riz Ortolani

Cinematography by
Sergio D'Offizi

Film Editing by
Vincenzo Tomassi

Production Design by
Massimo Antonello Geleng

Costume Design by
Massimo Antonello Geleng

Makeup Department
Raul Ranieri	....	makeup artist (as Raoul Ranieri)
Nerea Rosmanit	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Vito Di Bari	....	unit manager
Giovanni Masini	....	production manager

Art Department
Rodolfo Ruzza	....	props

Sound Department
Bruno Longobardo	....	sound mixer
Alfonso Montesanti	....	sound engineer

Camera and Electrical Department
Paolo Cavicchioli	....	still photographer (as Paolo Maria Cavicchioli)
Stefano D'Offizi	....	chief electrician
Enrico Lucidi	....	camera operator
Enrico Maggi	....	assistant camera
Sergio Profili	....	key grip

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Lucia Costantini	....	wardrober

Editorial Department
Rita Antonelli	....	assistant editor
Luciano Vittori	....	color consultant

Other crew
Claudia Florio	....	continuity
Armando Pace	....	cutting room assistant

Production Companies

• F.D. Cinematografica

Distributors

• Bedford Entertainment (1985) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Trio (1985) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Vestron Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS) (as "The House on the Edge of the Park")
• Shriek Show (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• DMEG (2004) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Kaninchen Media Corp. (2005) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Adige Film 76 (1980) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Another World Entertainment (2007) (Denmark) (DVD)
• Atlantic Film (2012) (Finland) (DVD)
• Cinefear (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Firebox (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Panarecord (????) (Italy) (VHS)
• Shameless Screen Entertainment (2011) (UK) (DVD)
• Skyline Video (????) (UK) (VHS)
• Sunrise Tapes (1983) (Belgium) (video) (Betamax)
• Sunrise Tapes (1983) (Netherlands) (video) (Betamax)
• Video Forum Pictures (????) (UK) (VHS)
• Video Instant Picture Company (VIPCO) (????) (UK) (VHS)

Also Known As:

"House on the Edge of the Park" - USA
"The House on the Edge of the Park" - International (English title)
"Der Schlitzer" - West Germany
"Ház a park szélén" - Hungary (imdb display title)
"La maison au fond du parc" - France
"Talo puiston laidalla" - Finland
"Talo puiston perällä" - Finland
"The House at the Edge of the Park" - Belgium (English title) (video box title)
"To spiti stin akri tou parkou" - Greece (video title)

Runtime:

91 min | UK:79 min (heavily cut)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:Refused Classification | Singapore:(Banned) | Sweden:15 (uncut) | Norway:18 (uncut) (2007) | Finland:(Banned) (1986) | Finland:K-18 (2007) | Canada:(Banned) (Ontario) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Italy:VM18 | UK:(Banned) (1984-2002) | UK:18 (heavily cut) | USA:Unrated | Norway:(Banned) (video rating) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Incir De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

F.D. Cinematografica

Trivia:

Alex's first rape victim is in fact David Hess' wife, acting under the name Karoline Mardeck. (There is an interview with her on the Region 1 Shriek Show DVD.)

Quotes:

[first lines]
Alex:Helooooo lady!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Horror Business (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Sweetly

A rape classic

Let's be honest here: you didn't come to this for an elaborate mise-en-scene (such a horrible word) that reveals an allegory on the displacement of modern man. Hell, you don't even know what a mise-en-scene is. You don't care. It sounds like something you would like to punch a hole through. Do you like balloons or ribbons? No, you're a guy who likes guy stuff: dynamite, karate, trucks, kickass movies.

No, you came to this because you know David Hess is going to hole up in a fancy cottage house holding hostage a host of snotty New York characters who think they are too good to boogie down with disco. Because he's going to be wearing a lemon yellow jacket and something close to an afro and he's going to oogle and leer at women in that perverse way between rapist uncle and protective big brother. Giovanni Radice is going to be his imbecilic sidekick. Girls are going to get undressed whether they want to or not, a razor is going to be put in use.

So by all accounts this must be the brutal, intense, grueling experience other viewers describe. Deodato is involved and that used to mean something back in the day. But it's not, not really, and I'm not just preening with aloof jadedness here.

No, it's glorious exploitation as the term used to have meaning. Hysterical, cheesy, dirty, but so enjoyable. There are no politics here, just one long sexual fantasy about forceful sex and degradation that can be enjoyed equally well from both ends. David Hess exudes raw animal magnetism and gets to have his way, that is until the mandatory moral denouement. The ladies get to enjoy being had or play along for the game. That is all.

Now the guerrilla shots from inside a moving car at the beginning of the film that capture night rolling down on New York, these are pure film poetry to my mind. As far as a film New York off the beaten track is concerned, I rate these highly and next to Jean Rollin's cold cityscapes from Lost in New York.