A Classic Horror Story is a 2021 Italian horror film about five strangers who find themselves trapped in a forest populated by strange beings.
Directed by Roberto De Feo and Paolo Strippoli from a screenplay co-written with Lucio Besana, Milo Tissone and David Bellini. Produced by Iginio Straffi, Maurizio Totti and Alessandro Usai.
The movie stars Matilda Anna IngridLutz (Revenge 2017), Francesco Russo, Peppino Mazzotta, Yuliia Sobol, Will Merrick, Alida Baldari Calabria and Cristina Donadio.
The soundtrack score was composed by Massimiliano Mechelli (The Binding; In the Trap).
Plot:
An apparently classic horror story with an abandoned house and five strangers. But nothing is what it seems… Five strangers travelling together in a camper have an accident and end up in a forest inhabited by strange creatures and there seems to be no way out of this scary forest…
Reviews:
“It’s technically polished, and the red gels go far in lending a stylistic flourish. The feature never entirely pushes the envelope as far as it should on the gore but does sprinkle in a few fun moments […] A Classic Horror Story starts strong, reeling you in with a story full of possibilities. All potential gets discarded as the movie emulates the characters by getting lost in the middle of nowhere.” Bloody Disgusting
“Considering its high creep factor, there’s enough style in the scenery to get a kick out of the overall spookshow even with its familiarity. Points start getting docked for disposable character development that’s of no substantial narrative value. A Classic Horror Story only gets lethargic during regular pauses for predominantly pointless conversations that offer banalities about a disgraced doctor, a problematic pregnancy, and other forgettable fluff.” Culture Crypt
“The film shows flashes of brilliance in its shot composition and practical effects, but its characters are lifeless, working their way through a plot that’s like an M. Night Shyamalan movie twisting around its own neck until it chokes to death. And its final scene — oof. Just oof […] A Classic Horror Story aims a butcher knife at its genre but plunges it into itself.” Decider
“There is a whole meta-layer to A Classic Horror Story that goes beyond just the stories that are somewhat recycled across decades. The ending of this Netflix horror movie also comments on how some people put hate on horror movies and then eat up all the news about death and murder. As if that’s somehow more legitimate even if they treat that as entertainment as well.” Heaven of Horror
“Despite a few minor faults, A Classic Horror Story has all the makings of an actual horror classic. A left-field twist in the final act propels originality into the script, and delivers a signature revenge moment that is beyond satisfying. It lives up to its name with a simple setup, brutal kills, a beautiful bright color scheme, and intriguing mystery.” Josh at the Movies
” …there’s nothing creepy or even remotely terrifying about A Classic Horror Story. It’s a mishmash of different tropes and tries to bring something new out of them but struggles to put its point across. After a while though, it doesn’t really matter either.” Leisure Byte
“A Classic Horror Story packs a number of decent twists into the back end, giving Elisa and her fellow survivors plenty to chew on (mostly cloth gags, muffling their screams, granted). Gory backwoods horror may not fit everyone’s definition of a ‘classic’ horror story, but the film is a solid entry into the subgenre’s pantheon. Gruesome, inventive and genuinely nasty, it’s an unpredictable ride…” Nerdly
“Despite a visual slickness coupled with certain scenes of striking brutality, A Classic Horror Story circles the blood-drenched drain of horror callbacks with little payoff when it comes to making an organic observation […] Though the film’s conclusion desperately wishes to wag a finger on a national level, its message is too muddled to form a coherent critique.” Paste
” …a particular scene in the first half wouldn’t have been out of place in an entry of the Saw franchise. The conclusion of the film has comparisons to the horror hit The Cabin in the Woods. All in all, A Classic Horror Story does what some horror movies can’t, and that is to stand on its own two feet whilst paying homage to beloved classics.” Ready Steady Cut
” …morphs into tropes and visual cues common to folk horror – those Jägermeister logo-like masks, buzzing flies, straw effigies, bonfires, animal sacrifice, etc., most recently seen – and perhaps better executed in – the 2017 British horror, The Ritual. The twist at the end (no spoilers), isn’t wholly a believable payoff.” Really Awful Movies
” …De Feo and Strippoli sever any cohesion as what appears to be this isolated slasher redux with false-idol influences becomes lost in Italian gangster implications, the misunderstood “depravity” of horror cinema, then horror vileness becoming the scapegoat villain […] it ticks all my boxes until an unceremoniously nonsense unraveling—there’s experimentation, then there’s drowning in unfinished ideas with no direction.” What to Watch
Choice dialogue:
Elisa: “Your movie totally sucks. It’s just a carbon copy of other films.”
Release date:
A Classic Horror Story will stream on Netflix from July 14th 2021.
Cast and characters:
Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz … Elisa
Francesco Russo … Fabrizio
Peppino Mazzotta … Riccardo
Will Merrick … Mark
Yuliia Sobol … Sofia
Alida Baldari Calabria … Chiara
Cristina Donadio
Francesca Cavallin
Justin Korovkin … Samuel
Technical details:
95 minutes
Teaser:
Trailer:
MOVIES & MANIA says:
A Classic Horror Story has some fittingly ‘classic’ imagery; it’s beautifully shot with effective cinematography and lighting. There are also some brutal moments. Unfortunately, it also lacks a cohesive narrative and includes some irritating characters whom most viewers simply won’t care about.
At the same time, the film tries so hard to be meta it becomes distracting rather than engaging. It references unduly overpraised Midsommar more than once which will surely add to most viewers’ ennui as it’s a case of seen-it-already. The Mafia connection is unbelievable and makes no sense. By the end, A Classic Horror Story become simply tiresome.
