''Imago Mortis'' is a 2009

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

film directed by Stefano Bessoni. The supernatural thriller stars

Geraldine Chaplin Geraldine Leigh Chaplin (born July 31, 1944) is an American actress. She is the daughter of Charlie Chaplin, the first of eight children with his fourth wife, Oona O'Neill. After beginnings in dance and modeling, she turned her attention to act ...

and is the first major screen appearance of her daughter,

Oona Oona is a feminine given name. It is an Anglicisation of the Irish-language name ''Úna''. Apart from in Ireland, it is also a popular name in Finland. People with the name Oona * Oona Brown (born 2004), American ice dancer *Oona Chaplin (born 1 ...

. Richard Stanley, one of the film's scriptwriters described the film as a "Sort of a neo-''

giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...

'' taking off from Dario Argento's '' Four Flies on Grey Velvet'' by way of

Umberto Lenzi Umberto Lenzi (6 August 1931 – 19 October 2017) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and novelist. A fan of film since young age, Lenzi studied at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and made his first film in 1958 which went unr ...

's ''

Spasmo ''Spasmo'' is a 1974 Italian ''giallo'' film directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring Robert Hoffmann and Suzy Kendall. Plot A young couple on their nightly hormonal romp decide to go to the beach, where they first meet a mysterious man who is ...

'' and '' DaVinci Code''." Speaking about his hopes for the film, Bessoni said; “My film aspires to del revive fantasy cinema, as is happening in Spain”. It was released in Italy on 16 January 2009.

Plot

Bruno (Amarilla), a student at the rundown FW Murnau Film School comes across the thanatoscope, an ancient instrument of death. The instrument, created by scientist Girolamo Fumagalli immortalises on a plate the last image seen by the victim’s retina. The school's teachers, led by Countess Orsini (Geraldine Chaplin) are involved in a secretive plot concerning the instrument.

Cast

as Countess Orsini *

Oona Chaplin Oona Castilla Chaplin (; born 4 June 1986) is a Spanish-Swiss actress. Her roles include Talisa Maegyr in the HBO TV series ''Game of Thrones'', Kitty Trevelyan in the BBC drama '' The Crimson Field'', and Zilpha Geary in the series ''Taboo' ...

as Arianna *Alberto Amarilla as Bruno *

Leticia Dolera Leticia Dolera (born 23 October 1981) is a Spanish actress. She was born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. She is best known for her roles as Clara in the Spanish horror film '' REC 3: Genesis'', Teresa in the 2003 film ''Imagining Argentina'', an ...

as Leilou *Álex Angulo as Caligari *

Jun Ichikawa was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He was first a director of television commercials before adding filmmaking to his creative activities. His most famous film outside Japan was ''Tony Takitani'', an adaptation of a short story by Har ...

as Aki *Silvia De Santis as Elena

Reception

The film debuted at no. 5 in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, grossing $309,175 in its first week. The film took nearly €460,000 on its opening weekend in Italy.Imago Mortis
The Wild Eye. 20 January 2009 Zacarías M. de la Riva was nominated by the

International Film Music Critics Association The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is a professional association for online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing about original film and television music. History and purpose The IFMCA was founded in the ...

for ''Best Original Score for a Horror/Thriller film''.Stone, Sasha. ''International Film Music Nominees''.

AwardsDaily ''Awards Daily'' (formerly known as Oscarwatch) is a website primarily focused on the film industry and the film awards seasons that was established in 1999 by American editor Sasha Stone. History ''Awards Daily'' was started in 1999 by Sasha ...

. 29 January 2010

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, imago_mortis *
Imago Mortis
' at Cineuropa Italian horror films Spanish horror films 2009 films Films set in Turin Films scored by Zacarías M. de la Riva Films with screenplays by Richard Stanley (director)