Giallo meets the 80s - in a movie made 1996. If Fatal Frames was made in the 80s, then it would be just a styleless 80's movie, but at least contemporary at the time of release (like Le Foto di Gioia by Lamberto Bava). The movie is looking like a music-video from '83, also the score was 100% outdated.

The plot is quite OK if you manage to watch the whole movie - the end is quite logical (for giallo-standards).

Stefania Stella - the lead - also produced the movie, which might be the reason for Festa to cast her. If you are used to female actresses like Daria Nicolodi you could experience serious damage: The acting is practically not present, and her looks - ehh - okay, just forget about her.

So if you are a giallo-collector get this flick, if you're just starting your exploration of the giallo-genre (which you are probably not, if you're reading this on IMDb) please forget about this or you will never catch the giallo-spirit. Start with Argento, Bava(s), Fulci or even Michele Soavi - and then turn to Festa, smile and shake your head.

Fatal Frames feels like the most 80's movie I've ever seen, yet it was made in 1996. It's also the longer giallo I think I've ever seen, taking nearly two hours of meandering to get to anything worthwhile, throwing in red herring after red herring, including turns by David Warbeck as a cop, Angus Scrimm as a ghost, Linnea Quigley as a parapsychologist, Alida Valli as a Countess whose home feels like it was lit by Argento (after all, she was Miss Tanner in Suspiria) and Donald Pleasence as an FBI agent. This would be his last movie and his voice was dubbed as he wasn't around to do any dialogue.

I'd like to say that Mr. Pleasence went out on a high note, but after a career of never saying no to anything, this would not be the movie I'd choose for my epitaph.

Alex is a music video director who has come to Rome and has perhaps brought a serial killer - The Video Killer - with him. That very same killer took out his wife and now he's a person of interest. His only interest is getting closer to Stefania Stella, who is playing herself here. She's a pop star - and the wife of director Al Fiesta - whose nickname is the Napoleonic Madonna.

Fiesta would also direct The Hermit and Gipsy Angel, as well as contributing music to the Claudio Fragrasso films After Death and Robowar.

This movie feels like one that has been on for weeks and not hours. It just goes on and on, looking foggy and blue lit, which are things I normally love, but this feels like when your parents caught you smoking and forced you to smoke the whole pack until you got sick.

Stefania Stella, a bizarre choice for a female lead, is horrible; she looks unattractive and mannish, has an unattractive speaking voice, and can't act or perform. The male leads are Fabio clones who can't act either. Terrible acting all around! Donald Pleasance's role is so small as to be an unnecessary cameo (I understand he died during production?). He is badly dubbed; his real voice, as good as ever, can be heard in some of the rawer footage included in the "deleted scenes" on the DVD. Terrible directing, scripting, dialogue. Even the cover art for the movie is poor; it looks like a puppet, and guess what - when that scene comes around we discover that it is indeed a dummy, no surprise. Lighting is boring: all cool blues and warm oranges, like in an unimaginative music video. A waste of time; not even a single scene to recommend it.