Zeder *** (1983, Gabriele Lavia, Anne Canova, Paola Tanziani, Cesare Barbetti) – Classic Movie Review 14,035

Director Pupi Avati’s 1983 Italian suspense horror mystery film Zeder stars Gabriele Lavia as a young novelist who discovers a late scientist had found a means of reviving the dead.

Gabriele Lavia stars Director Pupi Avati’s 1983 Italian suspense horror mystery film Zeder as young Bologna novelist Stefano, who is given an old electric typewriter as a present by his wife Alessandra (Anne Canovas). He discovers a series of typed letters on the typewriter’s ribbon, an essay written by the late scientist Paolo Zeder discussing the existence of K-Zones — areas buried where bodies can return from the dead.

Zeder is fairly compelling if not exactly fascinating, maybe slotting comfortably into the interesting category. Pupi Avati is slightly hampered by his obvious smart intelligence, wanting to make an art movie instead of a genre giallo, and starting with an intelligent premise rather than a thrilling one.

So Zeder tries to be subtle, stylish and suspenseful instead of slasher, but certainly with some success. It repeatedly turns away from overt horror, even at its climax, just when you hope it is going to go into overdrive. Avati concerns himself with odd atmosphere and weird characters instead. It proceeds smoothly and confidently, using the Chartres (France), Bologna and Rimini locations to great advantage. There’s little in the way of special effects, so Franco Delli Colli has to pull out all the stops to make it look arresting. Gabriele Lavia is a reasonable troubled presence as the star, but otherwise there’s not much acting going on, with French actress Anne Canova being used mainly for her beauty.

There’s an outrageously entertaining score by Riz Ortolani to jolly things up if they start getting a bit dull. Talk about over-egging the pudding! It’s the least subtle thing about the whole movie, lots of fun.

Zeder lacks a full cargo of thrills and excitement but, given that these kinds of films are so difficult to do, and to find fresh ground for them, it is generally entertaining and pretty commendable.

Zeder was released in Italy by Gaumont on 10 August 1983.

A heavily cut version was released in the US as Revenge of the Dead by Motion Picture Marketing on 8 May 1984.

The screenplay is by Pupi Avati, Antonio Avati and Maurizio Costanzo. from a story by Pupi Avati.

Running time: 100 minutes.

Giuseppe ‘Pupi’ Avati (born 3 November 1938)

© Derek Winnert 2026 – Classic Movie Review 14,035

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