A prime example of a religious horror film. Its grand architecture, cinematography, and plot predict many future horror films. It is set in 1348 just before Italy experienced the first outbreak of the Black Death and is loosely based on Poe's The Masque of the Red Death. Men fall for the female protagonist, and her rescue from a corrupt government/church results in many sacrilegious acts. A monk tries to warn the populace and we see dead bodies moving along a huge conveyor, a fire-breathing monster, and finally, a ghostly female figure that brings the plague into Florence. Death carts pile up with bodies as in Monty Python and The Holy Gril, though no one argues about going to the carts. The ghostly woman plays the fiddle and dances as the population dies. Good, solid entertainment for the whole family!! The film was made in Berlin by Decla Film, which went on to create the highly influential film known as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
Review of Pest in Florenz
