''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, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

film directed by

Stefano Bessoni Stefano Bessoni (born 14 September 1965) is an Italian filmmaker, stop-motion animator and illustrator. Life and career Bessoni was born in Rome in 1965. He studied visual arts under the teaching of the Neapolitan engraver Mario Scarpati. After ...

. The supernatural thriller stars

Geraldine Chaplin Geraldine Leigh Chaplin (born July 31, 1944) is an American actress whose long career has included multilingual roles in English, Spanish, French, Italian and German films. Geraldine is a daughter of Charlie Chaplin, the first of his eigh ...

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 ...

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

giallo In Italian cinema, (; : ; from , ) is a genre that often contains Slasher film, slasher, thriller (genre), thriller, psychological horror, psychological thriller, Sexploitation film, sexploitation, and, less frequently, supernatural, supernat ...

'' taking off from

Dario Argento Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. His influential work in the horror film, horror and giallo genres during the 1970s and 1980s has led him to being referred to as the "Master of the ...

's ''

Four Flies on Grey Velvet ''Four Flies on Grey Velvet'' () is a 1971 ''giallo'' film written and directed by Dario Argento. The film concerns Roberto Tobias ( Michael Brandon), who accidentally kills a man and is then tormented by someone who witnessed the event. The film ...

'' 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 unre ...

'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-British 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 ...

as Arianna *

Alberto Amarilla Alberto Amarilla Bermejo (born 20 October 1980) is a Spanish actor. Life and career Alberto Amarilla Bermejo was born in Cáceres on 20 October 1980. He received training as an actor at Málaga's ''Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático''. His a ...

as Bruno *

Leticia Dolera Leticia Dolera (born 23 October 1981) is a Spanish actress, screenwriter, and director. She is best known for her roles as Clara in the 2013 horror film '' REC 3: Genesis'', Teresa in ''Imagining Argentina'' (2003), and as Carmen in the UK telev ...

as Leilou *

Álex Angulo Alejandro Angulo León (12 April 1953 – 20 July 2014), better known as Álex Angulo, was a Spanish actor who performed in over sixty films during his career spanning more than 30 years. Life Born in Erandio, Biscay, Angulo made his feature ...

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 is '' 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 Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, 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. 29 January 2010

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, imago_mortis *
Imago Mortis
' at

Cineuropa Cineuropa is an online information portal dedicated to the promotion of European cinema. It publishes daily news, reviews, interviews, and industry reports and maintains a database of information. It is available in four languages: English, Fre ...

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)