Bruno Mattei
Bruno Mattei (30 July 1931 – 21 May 2007) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and editor best known for directing over 50 low-budget exploitation films in genres such as Nazisploitation, zombies, women-in-prison, nunsploitation, cannibal, and mondo documentaries.[1] Born in Rome, Italy, Mattei grew up in a family involved in the film industry, as his father owned a small editing studio where he began working odd jobs at age 20 in the early 1950s.[1] He started his professional career as a film editor, contributing to more than 100 productions during the 1960s and 1970s, before transitioning to directing with his debut feature, Armida, il dramma di una sposa (1970), released under the pseudonym Jordon B. Matthews.[1] Throughout his career, Mattei frequently collaborated with screenwriter and director Claudio Fragasso and employed numerous pseudonyms, including Vincent Dawn and Andy Lamar, to navigate the international market for his often controversial, trend-following works produced on shoestring budgets.[1] Mattei's films gained notoriety for their graphic content and imitation of popular Hollywood and Italian hits, with standout titles including the Nazisploitation entry Women's Camp 119 (1977), the zombie film Hell of the Living Dead (also known as Zombie Creeping Flesh, 1980), and the post-apocalyptic horror Rats: Night of Terror (1984).[1] He later contributed to the zombie subgenre with Zombie 3 (1988), completing it after Lucio Fulci's involvement, and directed Cruel Jaws (1995), an unauthorized Jaws knockoff filmed in Florida, where he increasingly worked in the Philippines in his later years.[1][2] Despite lacking formal awards, Mattei's output earned him a cult following among fans of Italian genre cinema for his unapologetic embrace of exploitation tropes and rapid production pace.[1] In his final years, Mattei announced a return to horror with Zombies: The Beginning (2007), intended as part of a new trilogy, but he died on 21 May 2007 in Rome at age 75 from complications following surgery for a brain tumor, entering a coma shortly after the procedure.[3][1]Early Life and Education
Family Background and Childhood
Bruno Mattei was born on July 30, 1931, in Rome, Italy, into a family deeply connected to the film industry.[1] His father owned a small film editing studio in the city, which immersed Mattei in the technical aspects of filmmaking from an early age.[4] Growing up in this environment, Mattei was constantly exposed to the tools and processes of film editing, including reels, projectors, and the daily operations of industry professionals.[1] This hands-on proximity to cinema equipment and workflows sparked his technical curiosity and laid the groundwork for his future career in the medium.[4] Details about Mattei's mother and any siblings remain scarce in available records, with the primary focus in historical accounts centering on the paternal influence of the family studio.[4] The studio's role as a hub for film work shaped his formative years, surrounding him with the sights and sounds of production that would define his lifelong passion for the art form.[1]Formal Training in Film
Bruno Mattei's entry into the film industry was shaped by practical, on-the-job training rather than academic programs, beginning in his father's small editing studio in Rome during the early 1950s. Influenced by his family's involvement in post-production work, Mattei started contributing to the studio around 1951 at the age of 20, performing odd jobs that immersed him in the technical aspects of filmmaking.[5][6] Through this hands-on experience, he developed core competencies in film editing, which served as the foundation for his subsequent roles as an editor and screenwriter. The studio environment emphasized efficient workflows and resource management, honing Mattei's ability to navigate constraints typical of independent Italian cinema. This early proficiency enabled his seamless transition to professional editing on larger productions by the early 1960s, without reliance on formal institutional education.[5][7]Career
Editing and Assistant Roles
Mattei began his professional career in the Italian film industry in 1956, starting as an assistant editor on the historical adventure film Giovanni dalle bande nere, directed by Sergio Grieco and starring Antonio Cifariello. This entry-level role marked his transition from informal odd jobs at his father's editing studio to credited positions in the burgeoning post-war Italian cinema landscape, where low-budget productions proliferated amid economic recovery.[8] In the late 1950s, Mattei continued building his technical expertise through assistant editing duties, notably on The Pirate of the Black Hawk (1958), a swashbuckling adventure directed by Giacomo Gentilomo and featuring Rik Battaglia as the titular pirate. Such roles involved hands-on work with film stock and pacing in fast-paced genre pictures, common in Italy's expanding market for peplum and historical epics.[9] By the 1960s, Mattei had established himself as a prolific editor, claiming credits on over 100 productions through the decade and into the early 1970s, often collaborating with directors like Roberto Bianchi Montero and Nick Nostro on low-budget adventures and Westerns. This extensive involvement not only refined his understanding of narrative flow and visual storytelling but also fostered key industry connections within Rome's Cinecittà studios and independent production houses, setting the stage for his later creative endeavors.[10]Directorial Debut and 1970s Productions
Bruno Mattei's directorial debut came in 1970 with the drama Armida, il dramma di una sposa, which he helmed under the pseudonym Jordon B. Matthews, marking his transition from editing to feature directing.[4] This low-profile entry into directing built on his prior experience editing over 100 films in the 1960s and early 1970s, enabling efficient production workflows.[4] Throughout the 1970s, Mattei focused on exploitation cinema, producing several B-movies amid the economic downturn affecting mainstream Italian film, which pushed creators toward genre trends for viability.[11] A key work from this period was SS Girls (also known as Casa privata per le SS, 1977), a Nazisploitation film in which he also co-wrote the screenplay with Giacinto Bonacquista, exploring themes of war and eroticism through a narrative of Nazi espionage and seduction.[12] Another representative effort, Women's Camp 119 (1977), similarly delved into war-themed exploitation with erotic elements, directed under his Jordan B. Matthews alias.[13] These 1970s productions were characterized by the era's typical challenges in Italian B-movies, including severely limited budgets and accelerated shooting schedules to capitalize on fleeting genre fads like Nazisploitation.[11] Such constraints often resulted in resourceful but rudimentary filmmaking, aligning with Mattei's shift toward independent, trend-driven projects.[4]1980s Peak and Collaborations
The 1980s marked the zenith of Bruno Mattei's career, characterized by heightened productivity and strategic partnerships that amplified his output in exploitation cinema. Building on the independent foundations established in the 1970s, Mattei entered a phase of intensified genre experimentation, particularly in horror and action, fueled by the burgeoning international home video market that demanded quick-turnaround, low-budget productions for global distribution.[11] During this decade, he maintained a rapid production pace, often completing two to three films per year, which allowed him to capitalize on trends like the zombie resurgence and post-apocalyptic narratives.[4] A pivotal element of Mattei's 1980s success was his extensive collaboration with screenwriter and co-director Claudio Fragasso, spanning from 1980 to 1990 and encompassing approximately fifteen projects where they co-wrote and co-directed films.[14] This partnership, which frequently involved pseudonyms and shared creative duties, enabled Mattei to blend Fragasso's scripting flair with his own directorial efficiency, resulting in a string of genre-mimicking works tailored for overseas audiences. One of their earliest joint efforts was Hell of the Living Dead (1980), a zombie horror film credited to Mattei under the alias Vincent Dawn, which drew heavily from George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead and featured co-direction by Fragasso.[15] The duo's synergy extended to other horror ventures, showcasing Mattei's ability to produce visceral, fast-paced content amid Italy's declining theatrical market. Mattei's diversification into post-apocalyptic and sci-fi exploitation further defined this period, as seen in Rats: Night of Terror (1984), a collaboration with Fragasso that depicted a rat-infested dystopian future inspired by contemporary sci-fi trends.[16] This film exemplified Mattei's shift toward high-concept, effects-driven stories that appealed to international video distributors seeking exotic, adrenaline-fueled entertainment. The collaboration reached a notable high with Zombi 3 (1988), where Mattei served as an uncredited co-director alongside Fragasso after principal director Lucio Fulci departed mid-production, contributing to roughly 40% of the footage in this sequel to Fulci's Zombi 2.[17] These projects not only highlighted Mattei's adaptability but also underscored the collaborative model's role in sustaining his prolific output against the backdrop of evolving global demand for Italian genre fare.[18]1990s-2000s International Work
In the 1990s, Bruno Mattei shifted much of his production to the Philippines to capitalize on lower costs and facilitate international co-productions, allowing him to direct English-language films aimed at global markets. This relocation enabled him to continue working amid the decline of Italy's exploitation film industry, where he produced a series of low-budget erotic thrillers such as Desire (1991), Dangerous Attraction (1992), often blending thriller elements with sensationalist themes to appeal to overseas distributors.[19][20][1] A notable project from this period was the made-for-TV film Cruel Jaws (1995), an unauthorized homage to Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975), featuring a man-eating shark terrorizing a coastal community; filmed partially in the Philippines, it exemplified Mattei's ongoing adaptation of popular Hollywood formulas for international video release.[21] By the early 2000s, his output slowed, but he returned to horror remakes with In the Land of the Cannibals (2003), a jungle-set cannibal tale drawing from 1970s Italian genre tropes. Mattei's final projects, produced in the Philippines, focused on zombie horror amid growing health challenges. Island of the Living Dead (2006) reimagined undead outbreaks on a remote island, while Zombies: The Beginning (2007) served as his last film, depicting a military team's battle against a zombie virus in a confined facility, echoing elements of Aliens (1986). These works maintained his signature mimicry of established hits but at a reduced pace due to declining health, including a brain tumor diagnosis in early 2007 that limited further productions before his death later that year.[22][23][5]Cinematic Style
Exploitation Techniques and Genre Mimicry
Bruno Mattei's directorial approach in exploitation cinema heavily relied on cost-saving measures such as extensive use of stock footage and recycled props to emulate the spectacle of major Hollywood successes. For instance, in crafting scenes of aquatic terror, he incorporated pilfered underwater sequences from established films like Jaws, avoiding the need for original special effects while approximating high-stakes action through rapid editing techniques honed from his early career as a film editor.[24] This method extended to zombie narratives, where pre-existing documentary clips of wildlife and disasters were seamlessly integrated—or sometimes jarringly juxtaposed—to simulate global outbreaks, enhancing the illusion of epic scale on minuscule budgets.[25] Such practices not only stretched limited resources but also allowed Mattei to mimic the visceral intensity of hits like Dawn of the Dead without substantial investment in production values.[26] Central to Mattei's appeal in grindhouse circuits was his deliberate emphasis on sensational elements, including graphic gore, explicit nudity, and provocative scenarios designed to captivate audiences seeking unfiltered thrills. These features were staples across his output, prioritizing immediate shock over narrative coherence to exploit prevailing trends in lowbrow entertainment.[27] His background in editing facilitated quick cuts that amplified these moments, creating a frenetic pace that masked budgetary shortcomings and heightened the exploitative allure for drive-in and midnight screenings.[25] Mattei demonstrated remarkable versatility in navigating exploitation subgenres, including Nazisploitation, zombie apocalypses, and women-in-prison dramas, often blending their conventions without introducing significant innovation. This adaptability stemmed from his attunement to market demands, allowing him to pivot between wartime sadism, undead hordes, and incarceration ordeals while maintaining a formulaic structure that echoed successful predecessors.[26] Budgetary limitations invariably shaped these efforts, leading to improvised sets cobbled from available locations and the casting of non-professional performers whose raw, unpolished deliveries contributed to the films' chaotic, authentic grindhouse texture.[28][29] Over time, his progression from editorial roles to directing refined these mimicry tactics, enabling more efficient emulation of genre tropes despite persistent financial constraints.[25]Pseudonyms and Production Practices
Bruno Mattei frequently employed pseudonyms throughout his career to navigate co-production funding requirements and to tailor films for international markets, often adopting French, German, or Spanish aliases to meet contractual obligations.[18] For instance, he credited himself as Vincent Dawn on horror projects like Hell of the Living Dead (1980), a zombie film that integrated mismatched stock footage from anthropological documentaries to depict native rituals and animal mutilations, enhancing its low-budget exoticism without additional shooting.[30] Similarly, the alias Vincent Dawn appeared on action-oriented works such as Robowar (1988), which blended elements from Predator (1987) and RoboCop (1987) to capitalize on their popularity.[31] These pseudonyms allowed Mattei to evade reputational associations with exploitation genres while facilitating distribution abroad.[18] Mattei's production practices exemplified the assembly-line efficiency of 1980s Italian exploitation cinema, where filmmakers operated like a Fordist production system to rapidly exploit trending genres amid economic pressures.[32] He often shot multiple films simultaneously, reusing sets, actors, and locations to minimize costs; for example, Mattei directed both The Other Hell (1981) and The True Story of the Nun of Monza (1981) back-to-back in the same convent location in Italy with overlapping cast members. This approach extended to uncredited co-directions, as seen in Zombi 3 (1988), where Mattei and Fragasso completed the project after Lucio Fulci's departure, incorporating Fulci's existing footage of slow-motion horror sequences with their own action-heavy additions, such as soldiers battling zombies, shot concurrently with Mattei's work on Strike Commando 2.[25] Such integrations of unauthorized or pre-existing material, including stock shots, were hallmarks of Mattei's opportunistic style, prioritizing speed over seamless continuity.[30] In the 1980s and 1990s, Mattei adapted to the rising home video market by shifting toward direct-to-VHS releases and pay-TV formats, selling films at international markets like MIFED to reach global audiences without theatrical runs.[18] Productions increasingly favored quantity over polish, with shoots in cost-effective locations like the Philippines—despite hazards such as typhoons—enabling quick turnarounds for genre mash-ups that targeted video rental demand.[18] This era's output, often filmed in abandoned or repurposed sites to cut expenses, underscored Mattei's craftsman-like focus on delivering marketable exploitation content efficiently, even as budgets tightened and the industry declined.[32]Filmography
Early and Non-Directorial Credits
Bruno Mattei's entry into the film industry began in the early 1950s through his father's editing studio in Rome, where he started as an assistant editor at age 20. His initial credits focused on supporting roles in post-production for Italian features, contributing to the assembly of narratives in adventure and drama genres during a period when Italy's cinema was expanding into peplum and historical epics.[4] One of his earliest documented contributions was as assistant editor on Lulù (1953), a comedy-drama directed by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia, marking his involvement in refining the film's pacing and visual flow. By the late 1950s, Mattei advanced to more prominent editing tasks, including assistant editor duties on The Pirate of the Black Hawk (1958), a swashbuckling adventure film directed by Giacomo Gentilomo and Ricardo Freda, where he helped integrate action sequences and dialogue cuts for its theatrical release.[9] These early assignments honed his technical skills in montage and rhythm, essential for the fast-paced Italian productions of the era. Throughout the 1960s, Mattei amassed an extensive body of editing work, claiming to have contributed to over 100 films, primarily in genres like adventure, westerns, and spy thrillers, often collaborating with directors such as Roberto Bianchi Montero and Nick Nostro.[4] This prolific output positioned him as a reliable behind-the-scenes figure in Rome's Cinecittà studios, though specific credits from this decade remain sparsely detailed in public records beyond his general assertions. While documentation of standalone screenwriting roles in 1960s Italian adventures and dramas is limited, Mattei's growing familiarity with script structures during editing informed his later creative transitions. No verified non-feature works, such as documentaries or shorts from his educational period, have been widely cataloged. As Mattei approached the end of the decade, his roles began to overlap, bridging editorial expertise with emerging directorial ambitions. In films leading to his 1970 debut, he took on multiple capacities, including editing and production assistance, which allowed him to experiment with narrative control. His directorial debut, Armida, il dramma di una sposa (1970), saw him credited primarily as director under the pseudonym J.B. Matthews.[33] This multifaceted involvement marked a pivotal shift, leveraging his accumulated experience into full creative authority.| Film Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lulù | 1953 | Assistant Editor | Comedy-drama; early post-production support. |
| The Pirate of the Black Hawk | 1958 | Assistant Editor | Adventure film; assisted in action sequence integration.[9] |
| Various 1960s features (over 100 claimed) | 1960s | Editor | Adventures, westerns, and spy films; collaborations with Montero and Nostro.[4] |
| Armida, il dramma di una sposa | 1970 | Director | Debut as director under pseudonym J.B. Matthews.[33] |