Meridian

Skrrrrrr..

Trailer—Meridian

Meridian_720p(480P)

source: Meridian

Two American students go to Italy after graduating from art school, one to work in restoration of paintings, the other because she's inherited her father's castle. When the restorer visits her friend at the castle, they invite the players of a travelling sideshow to dinner, and are slipped drugs, leading to an orgy of abandon. The woman who owns the castle keeps having visions of a young woman who has been stabbed. After talking to her nanny, she finds that the "vision" woman is her father's sister, who was murdered brutally as the consequence of a 15th Century curse put on her family, and that she is the next in line, and the troupe they have entertained is a part of the curse.... So the film looks good, very good in one scene, but when it has something like that so early on in the film, where do you go from there? Well according to this film, nowhere, just keep shooting the scenery, put a ghost and a beast in the film, and chuck in the old beauty and the beast film. It doesn't work one bit, it's uncomfortable to sit through, and becomes a chore very quickly. Boring and drab.

I never thought I'd say these words in relation to a Full Moon production, but this film contains one of the most sensual and arousing erotic sequences I've ever seen. Approximately half an hour into the film, there's a bizarre but nevertheless oddly enticing series of scenes where a pair of malignant twin brothers drug and seduce the heavenly astounding Sherilyn Fenn and her equally attractive friend Charlie Spradling. Both girls are undressed in highly sensual circumstances (fireplace, blood red sheets, moody tunes…) and the footage is revealing without becoming tasteless or gratuitous. Initially I wasn't too interested in checking out "Meridian", as I suffer too much from Charles Band allergy and Full Moon aversion, but eventually borrowed the DVD from a friend because I was enthralled by the presence of Sherilyn, the intriguing fairy-tale outlook and the potentially macabre settings illustrated on the back of the DVD-cover. Well, yeah, the film LOOKS pretty good. It's nearly incomprehensible how such a bunch of fascinating story elements are turned into such a boring and anti- frightening wholesome. "Meridian" is kind of like a crossbreed between Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" and Walerian Borowczyk's cult classic "La Bête", but it lacks the charm of the former as well as the shock- impact of the latter. The graduated art student Catherine Beaumancini returns to her home country Italy to inherit the old family castle. She and her friend Gina become dangerously entangled in a web of mystery and deceit when they invite a traveling circus assembly to dinner. Catherine becomes an object of seduction to the malicious ringmaster Lawrence. His twin brother Oliver sincerely loves Catherine, but stands powerless because he's under a spell that turns him into a wolf-like creature. Interesting enough plot, but the film is indescribably boring and overwrought. Charles Band really exaggerates in trying to make "Meridian" look Gothic and unsettling, with an overload of slow-motion camera-work and unnecessary set pieces. The special effects – and the wolf disguise in particular – are laughably tacky and wouldn't upset the smallest child. In fact, Disney's "Beast" actually was a lot scarier when he got angry.

Charming young Catherine (a sturdy and sympathetic portrayal by the ravishing Sherilyn Fenn) inherits a large family castle and an ancient medieval family curse which threatens her very life. Charles Band's stylish direction makes inspired use of the spooky castle location and effectively creates and sustains a potently dreamy and brooding Gothic atmosphere. Dennis Paoli's smart script offers a neat contemporary variant on "Beauty and the Beast" as well as a novel take on sibling rivalry and a touching central message on the necessary sacrifices done in the name of love. The able acting from the sound cast helps a whole lot: Fenn carries the film with her striking beauty and charismatic presence, Malcolm Jamieson excels in a meaty dual role as the suave, but evil Lawrence and his more pure and tender twin brother Oliver, busty brunette knockout Charlie Spradling contributes a winning turn as Catherine's perky painter best gal pal Gina, Hilary Mason is excellent as kindly housekeeper Martha, and Band film regular Phil Fondacaro has fun in one of his trademark sinister dwarf parts. A lengthy sequence depicting Catherine and Gina being drugged and ravaged rates as a definite highly erotic highlight. Mac Ahlberg's lush cinematography and Pino Donaggio's moody and majestic full-bore orchestral score both further enhance the overall solid of this dark modern fairytale. A nifty flick.

Give Charles Band a little credit for stepping outside his genre comfort zone. Here he attempts to create a deadly serious Gothic romance. While it's going to be much too slowly paced to suit some tastes, others will appreciate the heavy atmosphere, and the incredibly sincere performances. The premise is essentially a variation on the classic Beauty and the Beast theme. Two art school graduates, Catherine (Sherilyn Fenn), and Gina (Charlie Spradling), travel to Italy. Gina goes to work restoring paintings, while Catherine goes to live in the opulent castle that she has inherited. Soon, Catherine finds herself caught up in a love triangle with twin brothers (Lawrence and Oliver, both played by handsome Malcolm Jamieson). Lawrence is cruel and controlling, Oliver is the much more sensitive one. Yet Oliver is the one suffering a sad curse. The movie is worth watching for Ms. Fenn. She's absolutely beautiful, as always, but also delivers an appealing performance. Fenn and the equally ravishing Spradling do show off quite a bit of their bodies in some extended love making scenes. Jamieson does a respectable job at portraying these two wildly contrasting characters. The strong supporting cast includes Hilary Mason as the wise and loving old nanny Martha, Phil Fondacaro as the dwarf, Vernon Dobtcheff as the priest, and Alex Daniels as the beastly incarnation of Oliver. Pino Donaggio composed the haunting and lovely score, the lighting is by genre veteran Mac Ahlberg, and the castle sets look pretty good. There aren't that many visual effects to speak of, but the beast makeup by Greg Cannom is reasonably impressive. Another enjoyable element is watching a painting reveal itself under another painting, as Gina goes about her business of restoration. Worth a look for people seeking a change of pace from more typical Full Moon product. Seven out of 10.

I got this film in a pack with eight other films in it. I watched this one first because its very short description made it sound like it might be good. I was thinking a haunted house tell with some risqué scenes here and there. Instead, it turns out to be one of the most dull films I have ever seen from the Full Moon Studios. I just could not believe it was made by them, one never expects gold when watching their films, but one does expect more fun than this film had to offer. Even the music was bland...it reminded me of the music from that Pod People film. Someone pushing on a Casio keyboard for a minute at a time! The only saving grace was the two lead actresses who were very cute and you did get to see them *. Not enough to save the film, I am afraid. The story at first seemed to have something to do with a girl who restores paintings. However, the focus is instead on this girl's friend who has returned to live at her castle. The painting restorer and the head of the castle view this show and invite the entertainers to the castle where the entertainers promptly drug and have sex with the two girls. At this point I am thinking it is going to be bad, but at least there will be plenty of nudity. Unfortunately, I quickly realize this film is not really much of a horror flick at all and only a slightly more risqué version of Beauty and the Beast. There is hardly any blood or gore and besides the first * scene there is relatively little in the way of skin the rest of the way. Perhaps Charles Band wished to make a more serious in tone film, and I will not fault him for trying something different. One could almost say this is a horror film and a romance merged into one. However, it plays out way to much like a chick flick for my tastes as it needs more of anything! It also needed less paint restoration too. Yes, this goes on for way to long and the revelation here was not all that grand either. The ending was also relatively lame...just too much talking, not enough anything of interest to me when I have expectations of watching a horror film.

Leonard Maltin's review of "Meridian" is just plain hilarious; he says something along the lines of "never really takes off, despite extensive nudity." I couldn't agree more. Sherliyn Fenn and Charlie Spradling are two incredibly gorgeous actresses, and they're topless for what seems like forever, yet this movie is still utterly interminable. I'm told that this turkey is a re-telling of "Beauty and the Beast," and I suppose it is...there's a beast, all right...but I can never seem to make the mental link between that classic fairy tale and this totally duff B-movie crap. Yeah, it's "Beauty and the Beast" all right...as a slow-paced softcore *. Best line? When the villain says to his brother, "I love you...but I also DETEST you!"