Companion viewing
"Zombie" (1979)
"City of the living Dead" (1980)
"The Beyond" (1981)
Fabio Frizzi may not be a household name in the U.S., but he has created some of the most memorable scores for Italian horror and Western films. He will be performing in San Diego Thursday night at Brick By Brick.
Frizzi has been composing scores for Italian genre cinema for decades. Most famously, he provided atmospheric soundscapes for the nightmare worlds created by Lucio Fulci in films such as "Zombie," "City of the Living Dead," and "The Beyond." His scores avoid genre clichés and defy horror expectations. Take the ending of "The Beyond"...
SPOILER ALERT: Yes, I am giving away the ending but if you come to the concert you will see footage from the end of the film.
Take the ending of "The Beyond" where the characters find themselves in hell. Frizzi composes an unexpected, ethereal piece that employs sad flutes. It lifts the scene to a tragic level and helps make that ending one of the most memorable in Italian horror.
As part of his Zombie Apocalypse Tour, Frizzi will be playing music from his scores as clips from the films play on screen. I got to see him perform in Los Angeles and in Wales at the Abertoir: The International Horror Festival of Wales, both times it was an amazing experience.
Placing the score in the foreground while clips of the films play in the background allows you to focus on the music in a way that doesn't happen when you are watching a film. In fact, that's why his scores are so effective in films because they do not distract from what happening on screen. Frizzi's scores always enhance what's onscreen and in films like "The City of the Living Dead" it is an inseparable part of the film.
San Diego is one of only five U.S. cities Frizzi and his band will perform. Horrible Imaginings Film Festival and DreadCentral present the concert at 8 p.m., Brick by Brick, Thursday. General admission is $25 online, $30 at the door. VIP tickets, which include a meet-and-greet with Frizzi and the band as well as food and a Zombie Blood IV Bag drink (my donation to the event) are $50.
You can listen to my interview with Frizzi from before his concert at Abertoir on Cinema Junkie Podcast 47.
