Bruno Mattei
Encyclopedia
Bruno Mattei was an Italian
film director
, screenwriter
and editor who gained a cult following for a wide variety of exploitation film
s that covered many genres, ranging from women in prison (WIP) to zombie films. He used many pseudonyms, predominantly Vincent Dawn (choosing that surname as a nod to George Romero's Dawn of the Dead).
's 1969 film 99 Women. He had earlier edited Franco's "Count Dracula" (1969), and in early 1975, he wrote the screenplay for the Joe D'Amato
film Demon Rage and edited D'Amato's Black Eva. He became a full-time director in 1977 when he made several erotic Nazi death camp films, which he followed up with some porno documentaries (such as Sexy Night Report and The True Story of the Nun of Monza). Next, he directed two of his most infamous horror shockers, The Other Hell and Virus: Hell of the Living Dead
(which has since become regarded by horror fans as his greatest horror film).
After directing two Caligula
-inspired rip-offs and two Emanuelle women-in-prison films starring Laura Gemser, he made the delirious Rats: Night of Terror (a low budget science fiction
film of which he was very proud), and the ultra-gory Zombie 3 (which he completed for director Lucio Fulci
in the Philippines, after Fulci took ill). Mattei was also an assistant director on Lamberto Bava's film "Devil Fish" (1984).
He didn't turn out much work in the 1990s (although during this period he directed the infamous made-for-TV film Cruel Jaws
, a rip-off of Steven Spielberg's Jaws
). Later in 2001, Mattei returned to filmmaking, this time for the direct to video market. He directed several erotic thrillers before returning once more to the Philippines
, where he shot two more cannibal films, another women-in-prison film and two final zombie movies.
He made around 50 films all told, many of which were very low budget. His work has attracted a significant cult following. His films tend to be appreciated for their unique dialogue, low budgets and gory special effects. He is sometimes referred to as the "Ed Wood of Italian filmmaking". Although Hollywood film critics undoubtedly regard him as a hack, it should be remembered that Mattei worked with many well-known cult filmmakers like Jesus Franco, Joe D'Amato, Lucio Fulci and Claudio Fragasso, and got to direct such well-known stars as Lou Ferrigno, Reb Brown, Donald Pleasance, Christopher Connolly and even Richard Harris (!). On an interview segment contained on Anchor Bay
's DVD release for Hell of the Living Dead
and Rats: Night of Terror, Mattei claimed that he would like to reshoot all of his films, as he finds them "ugly".
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and editor who gained a cult following for a wide variety of exploitation film
Exploitation film
Exploitation film is a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex,...
s that covered many genres, ranging from women in prison (WIP) to zombie films. He used many pseudonyms, predominantly Vincent Dawn (choosing that surname as a nod to George Romero's Dawn of the Dead).
Biography
Mattei got his start in Italian cinema by editing more than 100 films between the 1960s to the early 1970s. In 1974, he earned his first directorial credit, directing 20 minutes of additional hardcore footage for the French release of Jesus FrancoJesús Franco
Jesús "Jess" Franco is a Spanish film director, writer, cinematographer and actor. His career took off in 1961 with his cult classic The Awful Dr. Orloff, which received wide distribution in the United States and England...
's 1969 film 99 Women. He had earlier edited Franco's "Count Dracula" (1969), and in early 1975, he wrote the screenplay for the Joe D'Amato
Joe D'Amato
Joe D'Amato, was a prolific Italian filmmaker who directed roughly 200 films, usually at the same time acting as producer and cinematographer, and sometimes providing the script as well...
film Demon Rage and edited D'Amato's Black Eva. He became a full-time director in 1977 when he made several erotic Nazi death camp films, which he followed up with some porno documentaries (such as Sexy Night Report and The True Story of the Nun of Monza). Next, he directed two of his most infamous horror shockers, The Other Hell and Virus: Hell of the Living Dead
Hell of the Living Dead
Virus: Hell of the Living Dead is a 1980 horror film, specifically a zombie movie, directed by Bruno Mattei.The film is also known as Virus , as well as Night of the Zombies and Zombie Creeping Flesh.-Plot:The film opens at a top secret chemical research facility called Hope Center #1 where a...
(which has since become regarded by horror fans as his greatest horror film).
After directing two Caligula
Caligula
Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...
-inspired rip-offs and two Emanuelle women-in-prison films starring Laura Gemser, he made the delirious Rats: Night of Terror (a low budget science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film of which he was very proud), and the ultra-gory Zombie 3 (which he completed for director Lucio Fulci
Lucio Fulci
Lucio Fulci was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is perhaps best known for his directorial work on gore films, including Zombie and The Beyond , although he made films in genres as diverse as giallo, western, and comedy...
in the Philippines, after Fulci took ill). Mattei was also an assistant director on Lamberto Bava's film "Devil Fish" (1984).
He didn't turn out much work in the 1990s (although during this period he directed the infamous made-for-TV film Cruel Jaws
Cruel Jaws
Cruel Jaws, also known as The Beast and Jaws 5: Cruel Jaws, is a 1995 mockbuster, based on the 1975 classic, Jaws and its sequels. The film stars Richard Dew and was directed by infamous Italian filmmaker Bruno Mattei . The movie utilizes footage from from the Jaws series, Deep Blood, and The Last...
, a rip-off of Steven Spielberg's Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
). Later in 2001, Mattei returned to filmmaking, this time for the direct to video market. He directed several erotic thrillers before returning once more to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, where he shot two more cannibal films, another women-in-prison film and two final zombie movies.
He made around 50 films all told, many of which were very low budget. His work has attracted a significant cult following. His films tend to be appreciated for their unique dialogue, low budgets and gory special effects. He is sometimes referred to as the "Ed Wood of Italian filmmaking". Although Hollywood film critics undoubtedly regard him as a hack, it should be remembered that Mattei worked with many well-known cult filmmakers like Jesus Franco, Joe D'Amato, Lucio Fulci and Claudio Fragasso, and got to direct such well-known stars as Lou Ferrigno, Reb Brown, Donald Pleasance, Christopher Connolly and even Richard Harris (!). On an interview segment contained on Anchor Bay
Anchor Bay
Anchor Bay may refer to:* Anchor Bay, California, a small coastal community in northern California* Anchor Bay, is a bay in Malta, also known as Prajjiet or Popeye Village Bay* Anchor Bay Entertainment, a home video company...
's DVD release for Hell of the Living Dead
Hell of the Living Dead
Virus: Hell of the Living Dead is a 1980 horror film, specifically a zombie movie, directed by Bruno Mattei.The film is also known as Virus , as well as Night of the Zombies and Zombie Creeping Flesh.-Plot:The film opens at a top secret chemical research facility called Hope Center #1 where a...
and Rats: Night of Terror, Mattei claimed that he would like to reshoot all of his films, as he finds them "ugly".
Death
In early 2007, Mattei's health becan to decline rapidly after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Despite his doctor's warnings, he went through with a surgical operation to have the tumor removed in May of that year. After the surgery, he fell into a coma from complications, and died a few days later on May 21, 2007 at age 75.Selected Filmography as Director
- SS GirlsSS GirlsSS Girls is a 1977 Nazi exploitation film by Italian exploitation film director Bruno Mattei. This was the first film of former film editor Bruno Mattei. It stars Macha Magall and Ivan Stacotti.-Background:...
(1977) aka Private House for the SS - SS Extermination Love Camp (1977)
- Emanuelle's Erotic Nights (1977)
- Emanuelle and the Porno Nights (1977)
- Sexy Night Report (1977) aka Mondo Erotico
- The Other Hell (1980) aka The Presence, aka Guardian of Hell
- The True Story of the Nun of Monza (1980)
- Virus: Hell of the Living Dead (1980) aka Night of the Zombies, aka Zombie Creeping Flesh
- Porno Holocaust (1981) Mattei co-directed this with Joe D'Amato (uncredited)
- Nero and Poppea: An Orgy of Power (1982)
- Caligula and Messalina (1982) aka Caligula's Perversions
- Violence in a Women's PrisonViolence in a Women's PrisonViolence in a Women's Prison is a French-Italian women in prison film directed by Bruno Mattei and released in 1982....
(1982) aka Caged Women - Women's Prison Massacre (1983) aka Emanuelle Escapes From Hell
- Seven Magnificent Gladiators (1983, starring Lou Ferrigno) Mattei co-directed this with Claudio FragassoClaudio FragassoClaudio Fragasso is an Italian screenwriter and film director of mostly low-budget exploitation films.- Filmmaking history :...
- Rats: Night Of Terror (1983) Sci-fi thriller (one of Mattei's favorite projects)
- Monster SharkMonster SharkMonster Shark is a 1984 Italian horror film, and one of several environmental disaster films to emerge following the success of the 1975 film Jaws, including films such as: Great White, Orca, Piranha, Tentacles and Tintorera.- Plot :The film takes place along...
(1984) Mattei was second-unit director on this Lamberto Bava film - White Apache (1986, Spaghetti westernSpaghetti WesternSpaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
) - ScalpsScalpsScalps is a 1983 American horror film directed by Fred Olen Ray that revolves around a vengeful Native American spirit.-Plot:Six college archeology students work on a dig in the California desert, despite the warnings of a professor and the town drunk. When the group digs around in an Indian...
(1986, Spaghetti westernSpaghetti WesternSpaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
) - Double Target (1987) starring Bo SvenssonBo SvenssonBo Svensson is a Danish professional football player, who plays as a defender for Mainz 05 in the German Bundesliga. He has played two games for the Denmark national football team.- Biography :...
& Donald PleasenceDonald PleasenceSir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades... - Strike CommandoStrike CommandoStrike Commando is a 1987 action film, starring Reb Brown, Christopher Connelly and Alex Vitale. The film, directed by Bruno Mattei, was shot on the Philippines due to low budget. The sequel, Strike Commando 2, was released in 1988. The movie is often called a rip off of Rambo: First Blood Part II,...
(1987) starring Reb BrownReb BrownReb Brown is an American actor.Known as superhero Captain America in the TV pilot/movies, he's also known for the 1983 cult classic, Yor, the Hunter from the Future, as well as the scifi film, Space Mutiny, and for the collaborations with director Bruno Mattei in films Strike Commando and Robowar ...
& Christopher ConnellyChristopher ConnellyChristopher Connelly was an American actor best known for his role as Norman Harrington in the successful prime time ABC soap opera Peyton Place... - Cop Game (1988, Crime drama)
- Robowar (1988, Science fiction film) starring Reb Brown
- Strike Commando 2Strike Commando 2Strike Commando 2 is a 1988 action film, starring Brent Huff, Richard Harris and Mary Stavin. It follows Bruno Mattei's Strike Commando , where Reb Brown play the lead character .Internationally, the movie has gained a cult following because of its kitsch, cliched, formulaic...
(1988) aka The Diabolical Trap, starring Richard HarrisRichard HarrisRichard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer.... - Zombi 3Zombi 3Zombi 3 is the 1988 followup to Zombi 2, itself an unofficial sequel to 1978's Dawn of the Dead . Beyond its title, Zombi 3 has little to no relation with the characters or plotlines of Zombi, Zombi 2 or in fact any subsequent Zombi' films...
(1988) co-directed with Lucio FulciLucio FulciLucio Fulci was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is perhaps best known for his directorial work on gore films, including Zombie and The Beyond , although he made films in genres as diverse as giallo, western, and comedy...
in the Philippines (uncredited) - Zombi 4: After Death (1988) Mattei co-produced this film, but he let Claudio Fragasso direct it
- Born to FightBorn to Fight (1989 film)Born to Fight is a 1989 action film, starring Brent Huff, John van Dreelen and Mary Stavin. The film was shot on Philippines due to low budget in 1988 and is the third time − after Strike Commando 2 and Cop Game − when Brent Huff worked with director Bruno Mattei.-Plot:Super tough Vietnam...
(1989, War movie) - Shocking Dark (1989) aka Terminator 2
- Desire (1990)
- Dangerous Attraction (1994)
- Eyes without a FaceEyes Without a FaceEyes Without a Face is a 1960 French-language horror film adaptation of Jean Redon's novel, directed by Georges Franju, and starring Pierre Brasseur and Alida Valli. During the film's production, consideration was given to the standards of European censors by setting the right tone, minimizing...
(1994) aka Madness - Cruel JawsCruel JawsCruel Jaws, also known as The Beast and Jaws 5: Cruel Jaws, is a 1995 mockbuster, based on the 1975 classic, Jaws and its sequels. The film stars Richard Dew and was directed by infamous Italian filmmaker Bruno Mattei . The movie utilizes footage from from the Jaws series, Deep Blood, and The Last...
(1995) aka The Beast, aka Jaws 5 - Ljuba (1996) aka Body and Soul
- Killing Striptease (2001) aka Belle Da Morire
- Snuff Trap (2003) aka Snuff Killer-La Morta in diretta
- Land of Death (2003) aka Nella Terra dei Cannibali/ In the Land of The Cannibals, aka Cannibal Ferox 3
- Mondo Cannibal/ Cannibal World (2003) aka Cannibal Holocaust 2
- Killing Striptease 2 (2005) aka Belle Da Morire 2
- The Jail: A Woman's Hell (2006) aka Lost Soul
- Island of the Living Dead (2006)
- Zombies: The Beginning (2007) a sequel to Island of the Living Dead
External links
- http://www.santoandfriends.com (Mexican horror film site)
- The Bruno Mattei Show