Themes: Mind Games, Crime Gone Awry, Hostage Situations
Main Cast: Riccardo Cucciolla, Lea Lander, Maurice Poli, George Eastman, Luigi Montefiore, Aldo Caponi
Release Year: 1974
Country: IT
Run Time: 96 minutes
Plot
An unreleased suspense thriller from Italy's master of horror and fantasy, Mario Bava, Rabid Dogs makes its belated debut in this special DVD release. When a bank robbery goes awry for a pair of violent criminals, they take an innocent woman hostage, who must fight for her survival. Shot mostly inside a speeding car, this tense and claustrophobic drama was filmed in 1974 (five years before Bava's death), but shortly before completion the death of one of the principal financiers threw the project into limbo. In 1998, the film's elements were rediscovered and editing was completed using Bava's notes as a guide; the result is a film that takes a decidedly modern detour from Bava's traditional Gothic subject matter and gives a much broader perspective on the range of his talents. A few years later, the film was reworked and retitled Kidnapped for a brief theatrical run in the U.S. That version of the film would later be released on DVD by Anchor Bay, with the original, Rabid Dogs cut included as supplimental material. Curiously enough, the version of Rabid Dogs featured on the Kidnapped disc still differs from the version of the film previously released by Lucertola. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Easily the most nihilistic of Mario Bava's films, Rabid Dogs may also have one of the most interesting histories of his cinematic library. Left unfinished after the main investor died in a tragic car accident, literally freezing the funding needed to complete the film, Rabid Dogs was long thought lost - never to be seen in completed form. The film resurfaced in 1998, making its world premiere on DVD after a small Italian production company raised the needed funds to complete post-production. A marked departure from Bava's usual body of work, Rabid Dogs takes place entirely in broad daylight, trading the rich primary hues and slick visualization that usually distinguish his work for harsh natural lighting and stark compositions. It's been said that Rabid Dogs represents Bava's view of the world as a cold and cruel place, offering an interesting perspective on why he immersed himself entirely into a form of art through which he could escape the realities of everyday life. The plot, which involves a trio of criminals who, after a botched robbery take hostages and hit the road in a speeding car, creates a claustrophobic and pounding tension that conveys a feeling of constant impending dread in a volatile situation. Through a series of plot twists and unexpected events, the viewer's sympathies are shifted time and again, straight into the final unexpected frame of the film. Bava's hand in manipulating the viewer's emotions proves sure to the brutally bitter end, leaving his audience vulnerable for the final ironic twist that serves as a jet-black slap in the face to anyone who may have expected a comforting resolution. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Erika Dario; Maria Fabbri; Luigi Antonio Guerra; Francesco Ferrini; Emilio Bonucci; Pino Manzari; Ettore Manni; Barbara Ehringer; Nina Gueltzow; Fabrizia Sacchi
Credit
Lamberto Bava - Director, Mario Bava - Director, Carlo Reali - Editor, Angelo Marzulio - Editor, Harmon M. Kaslow - Executive Producer, David E. Allen - Executive Producer, Stelvio Cipriani - Composer (Music Score), Mario Bava - Cinematographer, Alfred Leone - Producer, Roberto Loyola - Producer, Roberto Alberghini - Sound/Sound Designer, Mario Bramonti - Sound/Sound Designer, Cesare Frugoni - Screen Story, Alessandro Parenzo - Screen Story, Cesare Frugoni - Screenwriter, Alessandro Parenzo - Screenwriter, Emilio Varriano - Additional Cinematography
