REVIEW: CONTRANATURA (1969) - SCHREIE IN DER NACHT a supernatural Italian Krimi
SCHREIE IN DER NACHT UNNATURAL CONTRANATURA When Antonio Margheriti’s Contronatura, released in German territories as SCHREIE IN DER NACHT (SHRIEKS IN THE NIGHT) world-premiered on May 30th,1969, it emerged at the twilight of two cinematic traditions: the German Krimi inspired by Edgar Wallace adaptations and the Italian Gothic horror cycle of the early 1960s. Made as a German-Italian coproduction between Rome’s Edo Cinematographica and Artur Brauner’s CCC-Filmkunst, it reflects, in miniature, the shifting collaborations and aesthetic ambitions that defined that moment in European genre cinema. Although Margheriti himself was a productive craftsman-over fifty films ranging from peplum to science fiction, Gothic horror, and action-he referred to The Unnaturals as his personal favorite. The reason becomes clear upon closer inspection: the film consolidates his abiding interest in atmosphere, optical illusion, and the moral decay of modern man within a surprisingly int...
