Massacre Time (Tempo di Massacro, Il Bruto e la Bestia), a Western directed by Lucio Fulci (known for The Beyond and House By the Cemetery) opens with a scene that could fit nicely into the horror movies that Shotgun Fullback will later become infamous for. While lurking in the woods, Jason “Junior” Scott (Nino Castelnuovo, Star Odyssey, Strip Nude for Your Killer) along with his crew, seem to be embarking on what could be a fox hunt until they realize that their target is human. After catching up with the guy, Jason instructs his dogs to rip him apart, all while watching with the look of someone who’s just reached climax.
Tom Corbett (Franco Nero, Django, Die Hard 2 Die Harder) is summoned to his hometown, after being absent for years, he discovers that it’s now under the control of Mr. Scott (Giuseppe Addobbati, Nightmare Castle, Kill Baby, Kill) and his son, Jason. They have taken ownership of the town, and all the land around it, including the family farm that Tom’s brother Jeff (George Hilton, Atlantis Interceptors, All the Colours of the Dark) had ownership of.
Jeff is currently a drunken inhabitant of a small shed on the borders of town. He threatens Tom to leave at once. With the death of Carradine (John Bartha, Cannibal Ferox, Mission Stardust’) who called him, Tom has no other option but to defend himself.
Until this point in his career, Fulci was mainly known to be a comedy director. Massacre Time, however, was penned down by di Leo, who had a reputation for making like The Italian Connection, Caliber 9, The Amityville Horror: The Evil Escapes, and Enzo Dell’Aquila (‘Bury Them Deep’). Fulci mixed everything and it allowed him to cement the ‘darker’ image his fans imagined.
While clearly missing Fulci’s cinematic horror, Massacre Time is a gory and grim film. Other than the start, which includes a whiplash duel and crucifixion, and in the aftermath, there are dead bodies of Carradine’s wife and two kids, we don’t see any killings. The complicated relationships of the characters only add to the deep themes.
Gunfights and barroom brawls are part of this tale. The set pieces were expected, together with a hilarious drunken kung fu-type western fight between Jeff and everyone in the Bar. In the final scene, we have highlights like Nero defeating his enemies with a leap from above, seizing the gun they dropped in great John Woo fashion.
These Nordic actors are truly gifted. In his debut film, however, Hilton rubs me in the wrong way. For someone with information that could save lives, he was quite stubborn in the worst way possible, trying to fight Tom instead of just talking.
Nero, in his first appearance as Django, is distinctly different from this role. He comes off as an ordinary cowboy trying to barge into a world governed by Spaghetti Westerns. What is truly astonishing, with all the movies those two made, Massacre Time is the only one they starred with each other.
Even five years before ‘Lizard in a Woman’s Skin’, and thirteen years before ‘Zombie’, Fulci was destined for greatness in this genre. He would go on to do two more Westerns, ‘The Four of the Apocalypse’ and ‘The Silver Saddle’ alongside two films based on Jack London’s White Fang, which while did not fit the genre, were still set on the frontier.
“Massacre Time” is beneficial for both individuals interested in Italian Westerns, and fans wanting to understand your perspective on European horror films and how Fulci has impacted it. ‘Massacre Time’ will premiere on Arrow’s streaming platform on the 12th of July. Along with their box set ‘Vengeance Trails’ that will be launched on 27th July. You can find the details on their website or Facebook page.
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