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To the discriminating film fan one name rises to the top of the list of the masters of giallo. That name is Mario Bava. With films such as Black Sunday, Black Sabbath, and Twitch of the Death Nerve, Bava has left a perennial mark on the world of horror. His final work, Kidnapped (aka Rabid Dogs) is considered by many to be Bava’s lost masterpiece. During the late stages of production the man contributing to the bulk of funding for the film is killed. His entire estate is seized by the Italian government. Among his personal belongings is the original unfinished work print of Rabid Dogs. This would be masterpiece was locked away for more than two decades. Now thanks to Anchor Bay Entertainment fans can witness Mario Bava’s story of a truly shocking and cruel crime. After the botched robbery of a pharmaceutical company three ruthless criminals make their getaway by kidnapping a woman and a man with an unconscious sick child he is rushing to the hospital. On this perverted journey for freedom Bava shows you the cruel reality of a kidnapping. The three kidnappers; Trentadue (George Eastman), Bisturi (Don Backy) and their leader Dottore (Maurice Poli) keep control of their hostages through a level of violence and degradation rarely seen in a movie. Imagine six people crammed into an almost pocket sized European car. In the back, two quarreling psychopaths, Trentadue, who’s perverted sexual impulses make him a hazardous threat for his captives, and Bisturi, a less demented but no less dangerous murderer with a bad habit of randomly stabbing people with his trusty switch blade. Between them is Maria (Lea Lander), a panicky broad with “victim” tattooed on her forehead who spends the whole movie sobbing. In the front seat is the hostage Ricardo (Ricardo Cucciola). These terrible turn of events are preventing him from getting his sick child to the hospital before he dies of his unexplained illness. The child, unconscious and soaked in sweat is completely unaware of what is conspiring. In front with them is the architect of all this chaos, the heartless gang leader Dottore. Poli does a fantastic job of portraying a ruthless criminal whose cunning and control over his weak minded companions make him infinitely more threatening than the violent psychos in the back. The whole film is extremely claustrophobic and tense. Bava keeps things white knuckled with a couple of close calls for the criminals like a small traffic accident, gas stop, and roadblocks. Kidnapped/Rabid Dogs also satisfies us movie watchers who need a certain level of tasteless violence and depravity. On top of the shootings and stabbings that cram the film, the criminals also torture and terrorize their victims. In one detestable scene Maria is forced to urinate in front of her captors. Scenes like this make the film a unique ride. I won’t spoil the end for you but the twist in the final scene will leave even the most jaded film fan’s jaw on the floor. Now let’s talk about DVD features. Anchor Bay hasn’t let us down with this release. Something that is rarely included in older Italian films are making of documentaries, but in Kidnapped/Rabid Dogs we have been blessed with the inclusion of “End of the Road: The Making of Rabid Dogs and Kidnapped”, which talks about the circumstances behind the long delay and eventual finishing of the film by Bava’s son and famous director Lumberto Bava. The DVD also has two versions of the film. One is Rabid Dogs which is said to be the piecing together of the film the way Bava intended and Kidnapped which seems to be a stylized cut version of the film. Do yourself a favor and stick to Rabid Dogs unless you need to listen to the seemingly out of place audio commentary of author Tim Lucas. I will make my highest recommendation for Kidnapped/Rabid Dogs. This is a must see for fans of Bava and fans of suspense films. This now tops my list of favorite Bava films. -kevin-
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