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Bruno Mattei

1931 - 2007 (age 75) • Directing

Bruno Mattei (30 July 1931 – 21 May 2007) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and editor who directed exploitation films in many genres, including women in prison, nunsploitation, zombie, mondo, cannibal, and Nazisploitation films. Born in 1931, Bruno Mattei grew up in Rome, Italy, where his father owned a small film editing studio. Mattei made his debut as a director with the drama Armida, il dramma di una sposa(1970) under the alias "Jordon B. Matthews". He eventually had more pseudonyms than any working director in the world. He returned to editing before making another comeback in 1976 with two low-budget Nazi exploitation films, Women's Camp 119 (1977) (aka "Women's Camp 119") and Casa privata per le SS (1977) (aka "SS Girls"). Mattei followed these taboo-breaking films with excursions into porno films and mondo "shockumentaries", all directed under his many pseudonyms, concentrating on "shock value" with films such as Mondo erotico (1973), "Libiodomania" and "Libidomania 2". Always on the lookout for new exploitation avenues, Mattei followed with "nunsploitation", with the softcore sex film La vera storia della monaca di Monza (1980) and the violent sex thriller The Other Hell (1981). Both films involved a partnership with writer/director Claudio Fragasso, who helped him write and direct the back-to-back productions. Using yet another alias, "Vincent Dawn", Mattei directed Hell of the Living Dead (1980) (aka "Hell of the Living Dead"), a low-budged zombie picture inspired by other zombie cannibal movies such as Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Lucio Fulci's Zombi 2 (1979). "Virus" was filmed in Spain and used jungle footage from New Guinea and a patch soundtrack from Goblins "Dawn of the Dead" soundtrack, which was a minor hit in Italy and abroad. After directing two women's prison films starring Laura Gemser, Mattei moved to directing sword-and-sorcery flicks, starting with I sette magnifici gladiatori (1983). Both Mattei and Fragasso collaborated on the sci-fi/horror flick Rats - Notte di terrore (1984), inspired by the futuristic movies of the early 1980s. Mattei considers this his best work, despite his still having to work with a very low budget. He worked relentlessly through the 1980s, directing a pair of "spaghetti westerns", some action flicks and about half of Zombi 3 (1988) after Lucio Fulci was taken off the production, though Mattei was not credited with it. In the early 1990s Mattei directed a series of erotic thrillers and a made-for-TV movie, Cruel Jaws (1995) (TV), which was inspired by Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975). Mattei continued making films, with more than 50 to his credit by the 200s. In early 2007 his health becan to decline rapidly after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Despite his doctor's warnings, he went through with a surgical operation to have the tumor removed in May of that year. After the surgery he fell into a coma from complications, and died a few days later on May 21, 2007 at age 75.

Known For

Zombie Flesh Eaters 2

52%

Editor

1988

Night of the Zombies

54%

Director

1980

Rats: Night of Terror

48%

Director

1984

Count Dracula

59%

Editor

1970

Cruel Jaws

43%

Director

1995

Shocking Dark

45%

Director

1989

Monster Shark

33%

Second Unit

1984

Violence in a Women's Prison

56%

Editor

1982

Viaggio ai confini dell'eros

Director

2017

The Films of Bruno Mattei

90%
2016

Cannibali - Leggenda o realtà

Director

2009

Paura: Lucio Fulci Remembered - Volume 1

60%

Self

2008

Zombies: The Beginning

40%

Himself (uncredited)

2007

Zombies: The Beginning

40%

Director

2007

Island of the Living Dead

56%

Director

2007

Island of the Living Dead

56%

Screenplay

2007

The Jail: The Women's Hell

76%

Director

2006

The Tomb

39%

Director

2006

Fellini dice...

Director

2006

Belle da morire 2

20%

Director

2005

A Shudder On The Skin

10%

Director

2005

Secrets of Women

30%

Director

2005

The Dark Side of a Woman

17%

Director

2005

Fuga Orientale

20%

Director

2005

In the Land of the Cannibals

44%

Director

2004

In the Land of the Cannibals

44%

Writer

2004

In the Land of the Cannibals

44%

Editor

2004

Cannibal World

34%

Writer

2004

Cannibal World

34%

Director

2004

Snuff Trap

44%

Director

2004

Snuff Trap

44%

Editor

2004

Snuff Trap

44%

Music Editor

2004

Snuff Trap

44%

Writer

2004

Killing Striptease

35%

Director

2002

Killing Striptease

35%

Writer

2002

Killing Striptease

35%

Editor

2002

Filters

Department

Genres