4.11.2011

The 400th Review: Twitch of the Death Nerve (1971) [Video Review]

DIRECTED BY
Mario Bava

STARRING
Claudine Auger - Renata
Luigi Pistilli - Albert

Claudio Camaso - Simon

Anna Maria Rosati - Laura

Chris Avram - Frank Ventura

Leopoldo Trieste - Paolo Fossati

Laura Betti - Anna Fossati

Isa Miranda - Countess Federica Donati


Genre - Horror/Giallo/Slasher

Running Time - 84 Minutes



First of all, I want to thank Reverend Phantom, of Midnight Confessions, for the kickass new banner. It definitely needed a change. Thanks bro!

Not only is the classic Mario Bava film, TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE, my 400th review - but it's also my return to making video reviews!! Does the film still hold up after 40 years? Do Sean S. Cunningham and Steve Miner still feel ashamed for ripping off this film to create their monster FRIDAY THE 13TH franchise? And what am I doing on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? with Jason Voorhees? Watch the review to find out!


14 comments:

  1. Congrats on reaching #400 bud! Enjoyed the video review quite a bit!!!

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  2. Wow..you obviously put a lot of work into this! Great job!!

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  3. Thanks! It definitely was a lot of work, especially editing it.

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  4. 400th?! Seesh, I have a lot of catching up to do :) Congrats!!

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  5. Great video and great review as usual, congrats on the 400 mark and awesome new site design.

    I remember the hilarious ending to Twitch of the Death Nerve with the adorably creepy Nicoletta Elmi from Deep Red, Baron Blood and Demons.

    And awesome opening with Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, I just saw it for the first time last night, it was fantastic.

    Is it wrong if every time I hear the Friday the 13th Part 3 disco theme I bust out some moves? It is? Well I don't care, and I won't until the neighbours start complaining that I'm a worse dancer than Crispin Glover in F13 Part 4 and stab me to death with a corkscrew.

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  6. Damn, brutha! You have drastically stepped up your game with this review--well done! Great choice for #400 as well.

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  7. @Jenny - I've been reviewing stuff for almost 5 years. But yes, it's quite a feat and more than I thought I would do. 450 looks like a breeze right now. Thanks.

    @Chris - Thank you sir. Yeah, I think the ending is funny as hell. It just comes out of nowhere, yet you're satisfied by the outcome.

    And you just watched ELVIRA last night for the first time??? Wow, that film is one of my favorites. I own it on both DVD and VHS. That's how much I love that film.

    As for the Friday the 13th Part 3 theme, I actually filmed myself dancing to it. I do a jungle dance everytime I hear it. But I like to keep that to myself, so I didn't show it. But if you can't dance to it, then you have no soul.

    @Phantom - Thank you, sir. I think it's my best review as well, even if I still feel self-conscious about it all. I hope it gets better from here.

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  8. Congrats on your 400th post man! I've yet to see Twitch of the Death Nerve, I know, I suck. You always do a great job, very informative, very detailed and respectful! Except for that part where you told everyone to shut the fuck up, now thats when you go from respectful to hilarious! Keep it up, heres to another 400 bro!

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  9. Thank you, Franco. It took a while to get this video out, but I'm glad a lot of people enjoyed it. And you have to be sort of funny in video reviews. If you come out lecturing people, they'll tune out. It may not be the funniest thing ever, but at least people will want to keep watching to see what happens next. As for another 400, let's stick to 50 more right now. LOL

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  10. Hey, it was informative, looking at the comparisons between both films, Twitch was so freaking influential! But Bava kind of went crazy with the zoom ins and zoom outs on that one, I mean, he's always used that technique, but judging from the scenes you put on the review, he went crazy with them on this one! Extremely excited now to finally check it out, I've seen most of his films, but this one I'd missed.

    Recently had a chance to check out Planet of the Vampires, which rocked the house, that one influenced Alien, so Bava is more influential then a lot of people think.

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  11. The really weird thing is that the comparison wasn't really acknowledged until The Rise & Fall of the Slasher Film documentary was released, where Bava does get credit for influencing FRIDAY THE 13TH's success. It's obvious I'm joking about the elements being stolen because what film is truly original, ya know? Films, good or bad, take elements from other films and works of art anyway. So I don't blame Cunningham and Miner for doing what they did. It obviously worked and made them money. It would have been nice to acknowledge where they got those scenes from, but what can you do? Another fact that I didn't put in the video: Simon's sweater is pretty much the same sweater Mrs. Voorhees wears in the original F13. Kind of funny really.

    And yeah, Bava definitely overdoes the zoom technique in TotDN. But I dig it for some reason because at least it's consistent. And it's used for the same purpose each time.

    I need to check out PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES. That would make an interesting review/comparison, from what you're telling me.

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  12. BRAVO!!!! That was brilliant. Son, you should be hosting your own television show. I laughed so hard at the "audience" applauding you at the start, I nearly busted my gut.

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