Common Sense Media Review
By Stefan Pape
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Graphic, gory violence in Italian post-apocalyptic horror.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Crucified
What's the Story?
CRUCIFIED is a post-apocalyptic horror set in an undefined time, where a plague has destroyed the world. In one dungeon, five uninfected people are hiding, trying to survive. Among them are Bionda (Cinzia Monreale) and Steiner (Giovanni Lombardo Radice), hoping to remain undetected by the "Exterminators," who roam the streets killing anyone they encounter. Though as time drags on, it's not just the threat of outside that looms -- can they trust those around them?
Is It Any Good?
It's been three decades since Italian filmmaker Claudio Lattanzi helmed a feature film, and regrettably his rustiness infects this production, much like the plague does his fictional population. Above anything else, Crucified's hackneyed story is something seen all too often, and it's not helped by a mediocre screenplay, and below-par performances. It's a shame as the opening act brings about some hope; setting up a potentially baroque, gothic horror that would follow in the long lineage of stylized Italian movies of this very nature. But it soon becomes a cliched all-too-familiar pandemic movie.
It does pick up toward the latter stages, and the final act is completely bizarre, which could frustrate some, but at least it attempts something different. On the plus side, the movie has a strong atmospheric quality -- a sombre, almost industrious grey that fills the screen with no sense of hope and provides a claustrophobic tone. But sadly it's not enough to save this film from tedium, even at just 72 minutes long.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the graphic violence, and gory elements in Crucified. How did you feel seeing these sequences? Did they feel necessary to the story or gratuitious? Does exposure to violent media desensitize kids to violence?
Did you find the movie scary? What is the appeal of scary movies to some people?
The movie is about a pandemic that has wiped out and changed the world. In light of COVID-19, why do you think people may want to watch a movie about a pandemic? How have you dealt with the impact of COVID-19? Have you learnt anything about yourself that you didn't already know?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : March 9, 2021
- Cast : Cinzia Monreale , Giovanni Lombardo Radice , Veronica Urban
- Director : Claudio Lattanzi
- Studio : Uncork'd Entertainment
- Genre : Horror
- Topics : Fantasy
- Run time : 72 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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