Of the many Euro horror films I have seen over the years, Panic, from director Tonino Ricci, has got to be one of the worst. It's pacing is leaden, the direction uninspired, the acting atrocious, and the pizza faced monster so risible that it is wisely kept hidden in the shadows for almost the entire movie.
Janet Agren (City of the Living Dead, Eaten Alive!) plays lab assistant Jane Blake, whose boss Professor Adams is turned into a bloodthirsty mutant after he is exposed to dangerous chemicals. As the prof goes on a killing spree in the small English town of Newton, cop Captain Kirk (David Warbeck) tries to hunt down the rogue scientist before the whole town is wiped out by a warplane carrying deadly nerve gas.
With no atmosphere, no tension, no decent gore, and no gratuitous nudity (unless you count the vague form of a naked woman through her frosted glass shower door), Panic is a letdown on every level, except for the occasional unintentional laugh, the daftest moments including the discovery of a giant mutant guinea pig hiding under a manhole cover (no reason is given for it being there and it is never heard of or seen again), the creepy priest handing out sweets to his choirboys, a couple making out in a cinema while the worst film in the world (yes, even worse than Panic!) plays to a packed audience, the most unconvincing drunk in movie history, and the damp squib of a finale that sees the monster killed by a few blasts from a fire extinguisher (it's supposed to be a deadly toxin) which leads to the pilots of the advancing aircraft receiving a last minute message to call off their mission. 'It's all over, ahhhh ha ha ha ha!'.
Janet Agren (City of the Living Dead, Eaten Alive!) plays lab assistant Jane Blake, whose boss Professor Adams is turned into a bloodthirsty mutant after he is exposed to dangerous chemicals. As the prof goes on a killing spree in the small English town of Newton, cop Captain Kirk (David Warbeck) tries to hunt down the rogue scientist before the whole town is wiped out by a warplane carrying deadly nerve gas.
With no atmosphere, no tension, no decent gore, and no gratuitous nudity (unless you count the vague form of a naked woman through her frosted glass shower door), Panic is a letdown on every level, except for the occasional unintentional laugh, the daftest moments including the discovery of a giant mutant guinea pig hiding under a manhole cover (no reason is given for it being there and it is never heard of or seen again), the creepy priest handing out sweets to his choirboys, a couple making out in a cinema while the worst film in the world (yes, even worse than Panic!) plays to a packed audience, the most unconvincing drunk in movie history, and the damp squib of a finale that sees the monster killed by a few blasts from a fire extinguisher (it's supposed to be a deadly toxin) which leads to the pilots of the advancing aircraft receiving a last minute message to call off their mission. 'It's all over, ahhhh ha ha ha ha!'.