Paganini Horror, Satanic Composer Shreds Euro-Babes

Who knew? The great 19th century composer/violinist Niccolo Paganini sold his soul to Satan and used his wife's intestines to craft his own violin strings. Happens, I know. What happens when Giallo takes a turn at this plot device? Yep, 1989's "Paganini Horror," directed by the great Italian horror moviemaker, Luigi Cozzi. Throw in Donald Pleasence as Satan, a sultry all-girl rock band, and even some more sultry Euro-Babes and we have a film destined to be as classic as Pagani's scores.

Kate (Jasmine Maimone) is losing it. Her band has a bunch of #1s, but her sultry producer, Lavinia (Maria Cristina Mastrangeli) chews her out for not being able to create any new tunes. Elena (Michel Klippstein) and Rita (Luana Ravegnini) are her guitarist and drummer. Fawning Daniel (Pascal Persaino), an actor in the band's videos, is Mr. Helpful. He purchases a haunting piece of sheet music, written by Paganini. The seller? Satan, of course. Now the band, Daniel, Lavinia, and horror director Mark (Pietro Gennuardi) rent a haunted mansion to film the band's new video. Now Kate and her band have their groove back.

Uh oh, Paganini's devil-worshipping spirit is conjured up. The lovely Rita is first to go as she gets stabbed repeatedly by a violin with a blade. So sad...she was quite the babe. Babes will continue to die horribly, as this is Giallo. My favorite one is when a band member gets eaten by tree fungus...really! Now Kate, Lavinia, and the owner of the mansion, a babe named Sylvia (Daria Nicolodi) must figure out how to stay alive, send Paganini back to Hell, and escape. Oh yeah...the guys...useless...go figure. Babe damsels in much distress are chased and attacked by the otherworldly, and look great in the process. Kate comes up with a really stupid idea...but this is Giallo, so what do we expect.

Will Satan or Paganini enjoy one of these Euro-babes as a bride? Just how useless are Euro-hunks? Wouldn't stomach lining make a better violin string than intestine? The Euro-babes are all sultry and their deaths are gory and imaginative (Just ask Elena about her tree fungus problem). For some nice Giallo and an attractive all-girl band targeted by Satan, see "Paganini Horror."