A
Seldom-Seen Horror Thriller from Legendary Director Umberto Lenzi
also known as MONKS OF THE LIVING DEAD
and HELL PORTAL
director: Umberto Lenzi
starring: Barbara Cupisto · Pietro Genuardi · Giancomo
Rossi-Stuart · Mario Luzzi · Gaetano Russo
An
archeologist goes missing during a mission in the caverns beneath a
church. Four of his colleagues - along with two geology students - venture
into the abyss to find him. Inside one of the underground chambers,
they discover a crypt containing an old Latin-inscribed tablet detailing
the existence of an order of monks who were executed during the Inquisition,
700 years prior. The tablet tells of the monks' vengeance plan: they
would return from the dead to kill seven heretics after their crypt
is disturbed. The group of archeologists soon find themselves lost in
the caves, at the mercy of the now-revived monks intent on slaughtering
them.
Of
course, Italian director Umberto Lenzi is best known for his revolutionary
jungle cannibal movies EATEN
ALIVE BY CANNIBALS, DEEP
RIVER SAVAGES and CANNIBAL
FERROX, but those films don't reduce the significance of his
other projects. He made this claustrophobic thriller shortly before
HITCHER
IN THE DARK. It was his last film lensed in Italy, before he
started shooting in the United States. This one - as well as most of
his motion pictures from the '80s and '90s - was co-written with Olga
Pehar, his wife.
An
Italian Film with English subtitles; fullscreen format (4:3), uncut
print (90 min.), DVD encoded for ALL REGION NTSC, playable on any American
machine. Extras include theatrical trailers.
![HELL PORTAL [Porte Dell\'Inferno] (1989) Umberto Lenzi](Images/vd1957_1.jpg "HELL PORTAL [Porte Dell\'Inferno] (1989) Umberto Lenzi")
