Amiable and determined wealthy agnostic industrialist Robert Caine (an excellent performance by Kirk Douglas) and his shrewd and ambitious son Angel (well played by Simon Ward) plan on building a nuclear power plant in the Holy Land. When various people associated with the project start meeting gruesome untimely ends, Roger realizes that he might be involved in an ancient biblical prophecy about the Anti-Christ and the end of the world. Director Alberto De Martino, who also co-wrote the ingenious and intriguing script with Stan Donati, whips up a very clever and inspired supernatural horror chiller that brilliantly realizes Old Testament prophecies through modern technology. Moreover, De Martino maintains a steady pace throughout, does a sound job of creating a tense and ominous atmosphere which becomes more increasingly spooky and unsettling as the story unfolds, and stages the gory murder set pieces with tremendous fluid style and flair (a memorably grisly decapitation by helicopter blade rates as the definite splatter highlight). In addition, we also get a wonderfully trippy apocalyptic nightmare sequence with a naked Douglas running on a beach and being warned by a crazed fanatic (a superbly intense portrayal by Massimo Foschi) about Armegeddon. Douglas holds the whole film together with his strong and commanding presence; he receives sturdy support from the gorgeous Agostina Belli as sweet and helpful reporter Sara Golan, Romolo Valli as helpful priest Charrier, Anthony Quayle as the pragmatic Professor Griffith, Alexander Knox as the respected Professor Ernst Meyer, and Spiros Focas as formidable adversary Harbin. Popping up in nifty bit parts are Virginnia McKenna as Robert's disapproving wife Eva, Adolfo Celli as asylum head Dr. Kerouac, and Geoffrey Keen as a sinister gynecologist. Erico Menczer's slick cinematography gives the picture an impressively polished and expansive look. Ennio Morricone's lush, moody, and shuddery full-scale orchestral score hits the shivery shot. Well worth seeing.
Review of The Chosen
