Han cambiado de cara

(1971) They Have Changed Their Face/ ...hanno cambiato faccia (In Italian with English subtitles) DRAMA HORROR

Co-written and directed by Corrado Farina that has regular office factory worker, Alberto Valle (Giuliano Disperati) ordered by his superior to meet the president of the corporation, Giovanni Nosferautu (Adolfo Celi) of "Auto Avio Motors" comp. And during his drive he then notices he is running low on gas and tries to communicate with the villagers with the only person who reached out to him is a female wearing a thick coat with no bra and topless, Laura (Francesca Modigliani) coincidentally heading toward the same direction. And by the time he reaches the villa, and tries to ring himself in, there is no one there to greet him by the fence's gate. And when a door is finally discovered, he then decides to walk the rest of the way with Laura deciding not to to walk with him. He would then hands her the keys, she tells him she will wait for him. As he is walking toward the villa, two cars are driving alongside with him. And when Alberto tries to make conversation with them, they act unresponsive as if they are dead. He is then greeted by Giovanni Nosferatu's secretary, Corrina (Geraldine Hooper) and she tells him he will not be able to see him until dinner which is weirdly served at 10 PM. It is during then Alberto does some snooping around that does not really does anything. It just resorts to more weird stuff happening.

The name Nosferatu was mentioned on purpose and although I did not see the ending the way that it happened, the entire set up was routine and boring. To which if anyone were to watch many vampire movies the approach is still the same for I would have liked it more had it been shortened to 45 minutes both the impact and message of capitalism would still be the same.

Vampires are the real BAD guys (i.e. corporate honchos feeding on much more than blood) in this satirical, quirky outing. Visually stunning, with a main character who goes by the name of Giovanni Nosferatu... not to forget an army of white, man-eating utility cars from hell (just forget wimpy, musty ole bats!)... I mean, how can you go wrong?

A largely unknown but highly rewarding Euro-Cult gem that transposes the ancient Transylvanian vampire legend into the commercialized industrial age of 1970s Italy; director Farina is perhaps best-known (if at all) for the Carroll Baker-starring adult comic-strip adaptation BABY YAGA (1973) – a film which I was kind of lukewarm on at first glance but would now love to revisit (for the record, I do own the Blue Underground DVD of it). The mostly anonymous cast is headed by distinguished character actor Adolfo Celi (playing the all-powerful tycoon Giovanni Nosferatu) and whose underlings include one Harker, one Van Helsing, etc.!; the hero of the piece is played by Giuliano Disperati (who reminded me of a less handsome version of Hurd Hatfield) and their female counterparts are essayed by Geraldine Hooper (as Celi's androgynous secretary) and red-headed hottie Francesca Modigliani (portraying a bare-breasted hippy who hitches a ride in Disperati's car and stays on). Obviously, Jean-Luc Godard had already paid similar tribute to F.W. Murnau's Silent vampire masterpiece in his own iconic neo-noir/sci-fi opus ALPHAVILLE (1965) by naming the Howard Vernon character as Professor Nosferatu von Braun; the beauty of Farina's – and co-writer/assistant director/editor Giulio Berruti (who would go on to direct the middling nunsploitation/slasher KILLER NUN [1978]) – concept, however, is that (as the film's very title implies) vampires have nowadays changed their faces and instead of sporting bloodied fangs and enveloping cloaks, they don suits, haunt business boardrooms and prey upon millions of gullible TV viewers via puerile (but obviously effective) commercials! The film's initial stages have a deceptively light-hearted air about them: predating the amiable "Fantozzi" comedy series of movies by four years, Disperati cannot believe his luck in being invited to meet the elusive President of the firm he works for (who inhabits the 20th floor on which, apparently, only a handful of people have ever been to); when Disperati is invited to Nosferatu's country house, he is made to listen to commercials whenever he gets to sit on the sofa or take a shower! Even so, the subtle choral music on the soundtrack ominously underscores the sinister air of the rural surroundings – represented by Nosferatu's omnipresent watchdog army of white Fiat 500 which 'accompany' every visitor to the villa. Needless to say, the usual expected elements of vampire movies are also present in the mix here: the crypt housing Nosferatu's decaying coffin; the midnight secret meeting of the Vampire and his acolytes (here made up of, among others, a Renfield-like advertising agent dreading his boss' reaction to his clips and even an ecclesiastical authority who imparts his blessing on the latter's work vis-a-vis censorship issues, etc.). Despite Disperati's apparent shooting of Nosferatu (whose main relaxation activity is taking target practice on moaning puppets!), the eventual climactic defection to the cause – conformism to the consumerist mentality – of both hero and (the sadly largely absent) heroine does not really come as a surprise and concludes the movie on a satisfying ROSEMARY'S BABY-like coda.

When searching for ways to describe "They've Changed Faces", I can only come up with opposites and contradictions. It's obscure and little known, but simultaneously it might be the most original and unique film ever to come out of Italy. I wouldn't label it as a horror film, and yet it features some of the most atmospheric and unsettling moments you'll ever witness. The plot and the characters are extremely weird and overall impossible to sympathize with, but the film is fascinating from start to finish and you do develop care for everyone. The whole thing is senseless and basically just a bunch of nonsense, however a lot of thought went into the script and it's full of clever and downright intelligent metaphors. And so on.

Alberto Valli is an inconspicuous employee in a large automobile company. His modest job status is perfectly illustrated by the floor he works on. One morning, he hears from the CEO that none other than the company's founder and Vice President, Giovanni Nosferatu, has summoned Alberto to his mansion in a remote mountain area. With a name like that, Alberto should know better than to accept, but he's honored and undertakes the journey. He meets up with a half-naked hitchhiker and a whole bunch of dead-silent mountain villagers before arriving at the estate. Nosferatu is a strange fella, or what else did you expect, but he does make some very impossible-to-refuse offers to Alberto.

There are many bizarre gimmicks in "They've Changed Faces", and the fact they remain unexplained only makes the film more intriguing. What is a topless hippie girl doing in the middle of nowhere? What is the meaning of Nosferatu's mute henchmen driving around the estate in white Fiat 500s? Why does Alberto leave behind a gorgeous naked girl and sleeps around with a creepy, asexual secretary instead? How brilliant is the idea of playing advertisements when sitting down in a chair or stepping into a shower?

The essence of the film, namely that old-fashioned Gothic vampires have evolved and now form the elite members of the business, media, advertisement, sports,religious, artistic world, is truly unique. Adolfo Celi is fantastic, as usual, but I would have preferred he had more screen time. The musical score by Amadeo Tommasi (also known for his excellent work for "The House with Laughing Windows) is the best thing in an already very good movie. Writer/director Corrado Farina's other cult-horror flick "Baba Yaga" might be more popular and better known, but personally I think this one is a much better film.

Intelligent critique or consumerism. Very low budget, but they def made the most of the budget which was truly impressive. Setting and atmosphere are excellent. Acting is very good. Music is outstanding and reminiscent of the band Goblin. The spirit of the film reminded me of "Sorry to Bother You (2018)" - only Sorry to bother you is much funnier and has a much bigger budget. I won't say anything else so not to spoil it. But if you like movies from this era that have something to say and go off the beaten path then give this a try :)