Film4 Frightfest the 13th - Day 3

#10 - Paura 3D

rating: 1.5

After unleashing The Arrival of Wang upon Frightfesters last year, the Manetti Bros. return this time with Paura 3D - that's "Fear 3D". Young mechanic Ale (Domenico Diele) overhears a conversation between his boss and a wealthy customer, the Marquis Lanzi (Pepe Servillo), learning that he wants his car serviced while he is away in Switzerland for the weekend. Eyeing a chance to spend the weekend partying in Lanzi's luxurious mansion, Ale and his buddies Simone (Lorenzo Pedrotti) and Marco (Claudio Di Biagio) head down and begin making themselves at home. However, once Simone heads down to the cellar to fetch more booze, some strange noises emanating from a hole in the wall make it clear that Lanzi is not quite who he seems. 3D gimmickry can do little to perk up what is a soporific effort from the Manetti Bros, painstakingly trudging its way through two acts of sheer inertia, entirely bereft of tension, and only making us realise quite how unlikeable its trio of protagonists are. Things only begin to improve once the lads discover what's lying in the basement, but even then, the moribund pacing makes it difficult to become at all invested in what is taking place, as keeping conscious is more the audience's primary concern. Francesca Cuttcia does, however, deserve a measure of praise as the abused woman chained up in the basement, spending 90% of her screen time in the nude, while conveying the fragile emotional state of her character with a convincing level of anguish. The third act does provide some light suspense as well as some decent gore, but it's hardly enough to compensate for two unforgivably ponderous ones. Furthermore, though the Manetti Bros. insisted that the 3D was largely shot as such, it feels like such an afterthought because it's so ineffectual here; it adds practically nothing to the experience except, of course, adding to the headache. The dullest of 3D experiences and a calamitous failure of intention.