Why did you take so long?
I was playing in the woods.
Come here.
Look how dirty you are. I'm tired and sick of you.
Go straight to your room. No supper for you.
No, mummy, I'm sorry
Go to your room. I don't want to see you again.
Go to hell.
You're as stupid and stubborn as that pig of your father.
Stop crying or you'll be in big trouble.
No, mummy, please...
Mummy...
Please, open the door...
Let me out... Don't leave me in the dark.
I'm scared.
Open the door...
Please mummy, I'm sorry...
Don't cry...
don't be afraid.
I'm your friend.
Don't worry.
I'll let you out of here.
You are a good boy.
Don't believe a word what your mother tells you.
Take this and you will become invincible.
No-one will hurt you any more.
Karl ?
Karl? Who's in there?
What's going on?
What's that mask?
All is lost now!
I just need to get out of here.
Without knowledge we will be free from the Darkness
and once we understand it, it may be too late.
All my researches have been in vain.
He is too mighty now!
His Legions are nested everywhere.
But I know his darkest secrets.
The seal is the key!
The Salamander viewer knows the world of shadows
and the twelfth crescent moon has already opened the gate.
The fourteenth night prepares, and nothing can stop him.
Oh!
They're here!
The Prince of Light is back from the Darkness.
And his messengers scrutinize from above.
There they are...
Cursed!
They are coming to take me,
but they will not have...
my soul.
I knew this day would come.
The Antichrist rules the world and evil is without a face.
He is here!
I can feel his presence.
He is everywhere,
he has the gift of all-presence and mutation.
He can transform at will, make himself visible or invisible.
One who evokes his power, will have great privileges.
But he will be subjugated to his will, as a puppet in his hands.
History has known dark ages,
dominated by his servants,
violent and barbaric.
But now, we are truly at the end of time.
The era of violence and blood has already begun.
They say the wicked always end up with the wicked.
We both know where we are from, and where we are heading.
We have made a pact, and must honour it.
That's fair.
No!
Nothing's going to stop me!
I am different from the others,
I'm not interested in cash
money is simply a means to get to the top,
to the real power.
That's the only reason I went into politics.
My enemies
are the same people that pretend to be on my side,
not the newspapers and televisions.
They are sabotaging my electoral campaign,
and I'm asking you...
to deal with this problem!
I've made my choice in this world,
and you promised me you would help me to finalize my work.
I am not afraid of you.
I'm here, I told you...
yes,yes.
We're waiting for the forensics to arrive and do the examination.
Yeah, no one's moving...
yeah, and the photographs, yes...yes,
is this conversation really necessary?
Listen, I have guests here,
so I'll let you do your job. Speak to you later.
Beginners in the Operations Room:
a couple of years sitting behind the desk, and...
when you get cases like these
they are more anxious than a mother on her son's first day at school.
All we have to do now
is to keep the people away from the marked-off area
and just stay here on the spot,
with a little bit of breakfast in our stomachs.
- Good morning. - Good morning.
Hans Ebert, Interpol, Hamburg office.
We've met before.
I've been with the flying squad for a couple of weeks.
Yeah yeah, I remember, I remember:
you're on somebody's trail.
Well, here we have no crime weapon,
we have no hands to bag to preserve traces of contact with the attacker.
We have nothing, it seems, for the moment.
You're right, “for the time being”.
So then... let me guess: no limbs have been found.
Are there any witnesses? Who found the body?
No limbs, no head.
If you consider the point where the body was found,
if it hadn't been for the smell
and the blood,
a passer-by might have easily thought it was just a pile of clothes.
And I'm not exaggerating.
The body was found by the owner of that house over there.
He is with two officers right now,
and I really doubt he's strong enough to go anywhere.
Mauro!
Please, take a look at this short report.
The papers were left on the corpse.
The position of the blood stains indicates that the victim was murdered on the spot,
after a brief struggle.
Given the lack of tracks close to the scene of the crime,
the removed limbs were probably carried somewhere else in containers.
Any tyre marks?
Yes.
Yes, they're over there,
near the gate.
They don't look recent,
but the forensic guys will see if they're of any use.
Good. Let's have a look around while we wait for the forensic examination.
We might try and connect
this mornings situation with the case of two months ago, and the one of last week.
I would say that there is a good chance the killer is one and the same.
Yeah yeah, we all naturally thought about the murder of the girl in Lungotevere di San Paolo.
Maybe that's why they brought you here to Italy.
As you said, I am on someone's trail, something to do with esoterism.
Yeah. So...
I'm sure you will have read all the reports on the previous cases.
So let's not waste any time, please tell me what you think about it.
Well, the type of victim is different:
it may indicate a random contact.
I have reason to believe that the perpetrator is working on his own.
The bodies have not been hidden,
in this case even the documents have been left here.
The removal of the limbs
points to a ritual murder.
I have reason to believe,
and I am saying this to you in confidence,
that there may be links with serial killings in Germany
in the 1980s,
attributed to Karl the Butcher.
The Butcher of Hamburg?
Christ, I remember that period.
Over here we were working with two magnifying glasses and a carrier bag.
And do you think in Hamburg that he might have returned after such a long time?
It can not be a copycat?
We cannot rule out anything with certainty, but I doubt it is an imitator.
You're not joking!
You've just brought Karl the Butcher into the picture!
How can you be so sure?
Rome may not have all the bridges that you've got,
but it's still got its own shit running through the city:
an obsessive maybe, another sadist nihilist.
As I was saying, my leads...
Yeah, go ahead, I'm sorry. I was listening.
Only I'm just not convinced.
I really hate mornings when so many things happen.
After the last murder we had little to go on.
Then, that little turned into nothing.
No one managed to build a valid profile:
movements, links with victims, the motives.
The brutality of the murders was the only constant,
yet the method used was different.
We didn't find any murder weapon, nor physical traces of the murderer.
I wasn't involved directly at the time,
but I studied the case quite a bit, and I know the persons who worked on it:
I am still in touch with them.
Did you ever manage to figure out why the murders suddenly stopped?
And how can you be sure that Karl is still alive?
I cannot explain that to you,
but we have always felt that one day he might be back.
I also have some materials that you need to see in order to follow my theories.
Part of the investigation done by one of my contacts in Hamburg.
I understand that you may think it crazy
and maybe a waste of energy,
but I need someone like you that is able to move around this city.
And I don't think that you have made progress in any real direction.
Mmh. You're right about that,
but I don't think three murders are enough to follow that type of trail.
We will soon find ourselves in the same situation that you were in Germany.
Hans, I will let my team take over at the scene.
You and I will take this further, I want to know more.
However, I don't think we have any choice. So I will help you.
This is where we found the body. Down there. No head, no arms, no legs...
Just like last time.
Good God, just what we needed. Castellari is down there.
Yeah, Cozzi is here too,
he will be here to oversee the forensic report.
Seeing someone cut into pieces early in the morning will surely make his day,
I'm telling you.
Oh, look...
I'm just trying to do my job here.
D'Amato,
what a surprise to see you here!
What a nice coincidence... I love coincidences.
So, you were passing around here, and you saw the body down there
or maybe...
you are on duty?
The inspector was one of the first to reach the crime scene.
He's been here since the report came in.
Forget about it, Hans...
Oh, our dear esteemed German colleague,
Fritz Herbert.
I see you two are getting on very well?
There's a spark between you!
Hans,
the name is Hans.
Hans...
I prefer Fritz.
Anyway- --
Hans, tell me,
has your “investigative activity” been successful,
as one would expect from two “hounds” like you?
We have nothing significant to report.
Yeah, “without the will to scrutinise, the eye will not see”, eh?
Wise words,
Very wise words, Doctor Cozzi.
Very wise...
You know, dear colleagues, normally it would be better
to keep two bad police officers AWAY from a crime scene,
so there is no risk of any contamination, proof contamination.
But with you, there is nothing,
no such risk, because you are not doing anything here,
you're absolutely useless, in every circumstance!
Gentlemen,
today I am coordinating operations:
I can't even imagine what all those idiots would do
if one of you two were in charge!
I don't know what I'm still doing here, at my age,
doing other people's work!
As fine investigators,
capable only of wandering around the city without a clear idea in your brain,
let's concentrate on searching for the killer!
Or at least pretend to try!
Try to remember a couple of things,
two “insignificant” things, two “insignificant” details:
the first is that at night a pervert is going around and slaughtering people,
and the second,
this pervert is a brute with a superhuman strength.
Yes please, let's see some action, at last!
Back in my days
we didn't have all this technology,
we just had to keep our eyes open that's all.
You bunch of amateurs!
Come on Lewis...
these fucking young people
don't know shit from psychology...
Ridiculous, doesn't he realise he's talking nonsense?
He talks as if we were working in a town of a few hundred people.
It's not the criminals,
but people like him that make you hate this job.
Yeah yeah,
I learned to take no notice over the years.
And I never said I hate this job.
But I... I don't love it either.
Let us keep as far as possible away from those two,
and do our own investigations.
Ah, dear!
Come here, and put that splendid gift on my desk!
At last!
Perhaps
you don't realise what we have here today, my dear Liliana!
Professor, you've talked about this all the time
in the last few days!
I imagine it will become the showpiece of your collection.
None of us, no one indeed, can calculate its worth!
Its power!
More than 1,500 years ago
a man who came from nowhere,
Attila the king of the Huns,
managed to bring terror
to the world!
Historians of the past have passed down to us
hundreds of legends about him,
about the origin of the strength of his terrifying army.
The Huns
came from the east,
ransacking the villages of their Germanic enemies,
burning their land
and devouring their women and children!
Blood made him unstoppable
on the battlefield.
He brought Europe to its knees, and for many years made
the Roman Empire anxious
and in fear of a terrifying invasion.
We will never know how Attila came to obtain this gift.
Some say it was in a village on the Danube,
from witches celebrating the Cult of the Flesh.
Others that
it came from the helmet of Attila's brother,
Bleda,
who had died in mysterious circumstances during the march westwards,
and that Bleda's spirit lived on in the metal
it was forged with.
Spirit...
do you think that the spirits of both brothers could still be alive?
How was it that their enemies managed to stop them?
Hehe, the light!
Attila
would have hesitated only when faced by what was sacred for all peoples of the world.
It was Pope Leon I who paid a visit to the King of the Huns,
and it was he, who managed to stop his march on Rome.
So it was that Attila gave up his idea of invading the capital of the Western Empire.
A bloodthirsty warrior, kept away from the battlefield,
loses all his power,
and it was the very blood that kept him strong in war
that took his final breath:
he died in his sleep,
from a brain haemorrhage.
...and now
you have this power in your hands, professor.
My dear Liliana,
I think it's time we start preparing
and send the invitations for our party.
Now that this object is here,
it's time indeed
to start getting ready.
You'll take care of everything, won't you dear?
Attila
had an army and a kingdom:
but I don't want all the blood in the world!
I would be happy...
with just a goblet full!
Hi.
I've just finished...
I agree with you, my love.
No, no, don't worry,
I have the car.
Yes, my love...
But... where are you now?
So I'll pick you up.
See you soon...kisses.
I have to go, old man. Ciao.
Hello.
I was looking for you, my dear.
Of course.
Well, there are always dangers in such situations.
This evening?
I don't think so.
Now I'm waiting for someone...
a nightmare!
I've never seen anything like that.
Thank God I had a light lunch.
But I really need to drink something.
Here is some medicine.
Thank you.
It's Scottish.
Oh, I see. You treat yourself well.
I don't drink.
I keep it here for my guests.
You don't strike me as someone who has many guests.
Actually I don't have so much room here...
I still have to bring in my equipment.
I have just moved in here.
Where did you get that video?
Was it found on a crime scene?
Or maybe you smuggled it out?
These scenes are not to be shown to anyone. Do not talk to anyone about it,
it's too dangerous.
Who do I have to talk to, huh?
Those idiots in the flying squad?
I received this information from a file in a parcel sent to me anonymously.
And I also...
received this...
inscription.
Is it a puzzle?
Do we have to call in the decoders?
I don't think that is necessary.
The Sator Square is a palindrome,
a phrase that you read forward the same as you read backwards.
Have you ever heard of the magic square?
No, I did technical studies at school, so...
A magic square is a popular Latin inscription found during archaeological digs.
One of these, the SATOR,
was found in Rome in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Are you saying that this SATOR has something to do with Satanism?
If my theory is correct, it is something more complex and terrifying.
One of the possible anagrams of SATOR is this interesting one:
As I said, I did technical studies at school, so can you translate this please?
SATAN, I PRAY TO YOU AND CONFIDE IN YOUR CUNNING.
I'm sorry Ebert, I don't get it.
What the hell does KTB have to do with Sator?
As I said, it's only a theory,
but at first,
what we need to do, is to go to Rome
and find this antiques dealer who is an expert on esoterism.
Ok, so I'll call the station
and I'll get a couple of men to draw up a list of the major antiquarians in Rome,
specializing in esoterism.
Excellent. I will call my colleague in Hamburg to get some more information.
Ok.
Hello?
Hi, it's me. Hans
Hello Hans. How's it going?
All is Well...
I bet you're having a great vacation in Italy?
Good weather and all...
but people die just the same.
Listen, Paul. Karl the Butcher is here
Send me all the relevant documents.
All right. Will do.
I'll send you all the information, all I have. No problem.
Thanks. Yes, alright...
But remember...
Don't wake the dead!
Ciao.
What are you looking at?
Asshole!
Look Mina, I told you I would be home in time for lunch.
I'd love to be home in time for lunch, but I'm not able to get home in time for lunch.
You can't be always breaking my balls, every time I'm on the phone with you...
- Do you like it? - I'm sorry?
I asked if you like this dress.
I would like to make you happy.
I've seen you walking down the street,
I was thinking of giving you a gift.
You are so elegant and so pretty.
You are very kind,
but please do not go to any trouble...
Don't be afraid of me.
I'm not a stranger offering sweets:
it's just a gift from me to you.
Your compliments are kind enough.
There's really no need.
Oh, you think I'm a nasty person?
Tell me what you think:
if you don't trust me,
I will just go away.
I will go, but with a broken heart!
Don't scream!
- It's useless! - Let me go...
Don't cry bitch!
I'm no you like it.
Don't scream...
No-one will save you.
Yes? Any news?
Wait a second, let me get a pen.
Yeah“_...
thank you..
So we have something?
Here's a list of the main antique dealers in Rome specializing in esoterism.
And one of them stands out:
Sigismondo Fulci.
Why is that?
Well, I don't know Latin, but I know Rome like the back of my hand.
Guess where this Fulci shop is?
- I don't know... - Right next to Santa Maria Maggiore.
Well okay then,
come on let's go, there's no time to lose.
Holy shit...oh fuck...
Someone got here first.
The room must have been wrecked during the fight,
but not by someone looking for something.
We may still find something though.
You call this a fight.
Eben,
look here!
The last transaction on this list is with
a Professor Vassago!
KTB.
This is the place, let's go and hear what the person living there has to say.
What we have to do, D'Amato, is try not to be aggressive,
but get him to give the game away.
Perhaps we will find the answer to our riddle.
Yeah.
Wait, let's shut the door here:
if someone discovers the corpse, we'll be busy all day.
We'll deal with this mess later.
Did you hear about that poor woman that was killed and dismembered? Fucking shit!
Yes, and I'm so scared...
They say, there is a serial killer going around...
Oh my God, I'm just so scared about this maniac...
But we still need to work anyway.
We just need to keep a watch out and hope for the best...
Have you seen Catherine?
She is still playing with a customer.
Yeah, thank you.
Hi.
There you are...at last!
You know, how much I miss those sweet lips.
Thanks, you're so sweet.
I'm always thinking of you, you know.
Come here.
So... do you still want to marry me anyway, my darling?
Sure... I love you!
And then?
And what will people say when they know
that you married a bitch?
I really don't care:
maybe I want a bitch!
Oh, what a gentleman!
- I have to pee... - Ok
I'll be right back:
don't move.
I won't.
I believe the cops have fallen into our trap:
they've found the book with the addresses, as scheduled.
Everything is going according to our plan.
Professor Vassago,
these two gentlemen from the police
are here to speak with you.
Officers, I am professor Vassago.
- Aristide D'Amato, police authorities. - Hans Ebert.
I bid you both welcome.
- Would you like to sit down? - Yes, please.
Liliana, why don't you get something to drink for these officers.
Would you like a cup of tea?
No thanks, we're ok.
We hope not to bother you, Professor Vassago.
You have a wonderful house.
I see that you collect antiques...
Yes, it's my only job!
You see, inside there I have maps, books
and works of art that are really rare and valuable!
I am a collector
and an active cataloguer,
but first of all,
I'm a lover of history.
My colleague and I are making investigations on some...
illegal trafficking in materials
and we would like to ask you a few questions.
We need all the help we can get
and you are very popular amongst all the traders in the city.
Illegal trafficking?
Gentlemen, you are offending my profession
I do not trade in ivory necklaces sold by poachers,
if you're looking for this, you should go to the antique markets
We respect your business, but as I told you,
we know that you meet a lot of antiquarians
and any additional informaton can be useful at the moment.
Oh yes I already had this problem, in fact.
But I wonder:
why aren't the State forestry corps dealing with that?
The police have already made investigations.
There have been some complications.
Nothing that we can talk about, I'm sorry.
I understand and accept your apologies,
but...I'm sorry
I just don't think I can help you.
You see, I only work with honest traders
and the ivory of my collections and the one of the antiquarians I work with,
is absolutely legal.
- Vassago, I suppose you are a lover of the codes. -Yeah.
We found an inscription bearing the symbol KTB,
have you ever heard of it?
KTB you say?
Uhm, it could be the Semitic root,
now that you mention it... or maybe Aramaic.
Or...or...North African?
Excuse me.
Oh, you see: age!
My memory plays some tricks on me.
Yes?
L...we're together yes...
where?
I have some books,
and it will take no time, it's just that
unfortunately,
me and my assistant are preparing to host a little party for some friends this evening,
SO...
Vassago, we just received a phone call and we must go.
We hope that you can help us in the future.
Please, check your books and if you find out something, please just call us.
Of course, I'll surely do that.
Liliana, why don't you take these gentlemen to the door?
Have a nice day, officers!
Hans, did you see that?
The SATOR? Yes. What's going on?
It was the police station.
We have to go to the suburbs. There was another murder.
There's no time for shit.
We'll be back later: maybe we will find a way of getting in unnoticed.
What a waste. A waste.
Oh! Look here.
Dear colleagues, thanks for coming again and what a pleasure to see you again.
You're doing a very good job, look here!
Another victim, and what are you doing here?
I don't know what to say:
your investigations are going very well,
too well!
If you carry on like this there will be more and more work,
and then NOTHING for years,
as everybody will be dead in this city!
Have a look over there, and tell me what you think of that.
The next few days will be like HELL for you.
You have got to find me this brute.
Do you know who found the body?
This wonderful body? A young boy!
What the fuck was an eleven year old boy doing around here?
I have to solve this case as soon as possible,
even if I have to RIP a confession out of the two
of you and say that YOU committed this crime!
Vaffanculo...
I don't believe you understand, you know...
No, it's tomorrow.
The official meeting is for tomorrow...
This evening I will see Mr. Lanza.
Ah, don't worry about this:
don't you pay your lawyers to resolve this case?
Yes of course, me too.
You know that we can't talk too much about that.
So,
have a drink and enjoy your life.
Ok? Bye.
I'm sorry,
they've been busting my balls for the last few days.
Then this idiot calls me to piss me off,
he knows very well I can't talk about this on the phone.
Are you worried about tomorrow?
Not at all,
it's just a political meeting:
they want me to take the flak, to save their asses.
But there's no proof, no phone hacking.
And I am in very good hands:
Mr.Lanza, the lawyer,
he knows me very, very well.
He knows my power and he knows my privileges.
Drugs are a big privilege.
You're right.
We will be relaxing tonight,
you'll see.
What is the name of the professor again?
The antiquarian?
Mr.Vassago:
he's a real benefactor.
He helped me to solve some big problems.
But I don't want to think about problems this night:
I just want to relax myself.
I just wanna have fun,
and I want to introduce you to him.
We have the same passions.
Welcome, my friend!
Good evening, Mr.Vassago. Can I introduce you to my wife?
Enchanté Madame.
Pleased to meet you.
Go ahead, I'll be right there.
I have a...
a beautiful gift for you!
A gift? Oh, my friend you shouldn't have done that!
Let's see this gift, I'm really intrigued!
Ah, what a surprise!
Is the student trying to overcome his teacher?
What a beautiful fawn you brought to me:
you are a skilled hunter!
It's just a gift for you, nobody else.
Thank you so much my friend, but let's go inside:
I have many surprises for you!
- Yeah? - Yeah.
Honey, who's that girl we've met before?
I think I know her.
Something tells me that you don't watch television!
She's Karen: she's a soubrette.
She has some problems with drugs and money,
and sometimes I help her to solve her issues, you know, with work.
Oh yes, now I remember!
Maybe you can put in a good word for me, we could become a couple.
Oh... Sure,
why not.
Nice
beautiful party, beautiful dancer,
beautiful woman.
Nice place, eh?
- Let's have a drink? - All right.
That's for you.Thank-you.
That's for me.
Cheers.
I want to introduce you to a friend, the lawyer Lanza,
I told you before. He's a good friend of mine.
Here's the man himself. Mr.Lanza.
Oh! You look charming.
Oh..thanks.
- It's a real pleasure to meet you. - Pleasure.
Come over, the professor said he will be with us shortly.
I told you the night would be interesting.
Oh, you wonderful baby.
We should ask the professor, if we can sleep here...
at the villa.
Ooh... what do you think?
Yeah, why not?
Maybe you should ask Lanza to join us?
Yes, I already have.
- Hi. How are you? - Nice to meet you.
Nice surprise.
Oh yes... I love surprises.
Yes?
Best quality.
Good evening.
The professor is in his study:
he has spent the whole day preparing for this evening,
and still has some work to finish off.
He will be here shortly, but in the meantime please make yourselves at home.
We're waiting for him, it's a pity that he's not here with us,
but it's okay.
Do I know you? Who are you?
What's your name?
Liliana.
I am the professor's personal assistant.
So will you take a drink with us?
No thank you.
I'll drink with you later.
We're looking forward to that.
Whenever you want.
The time has come to really open the eyes of our guests,
and show them the gates
to the kingdom of terror!
Oh no, dear,
it's not with me that you will sate your hunger:
save your fury for the last course!
The time will come, and we will come back to this “unfortunate misunderstanding”,
and we will take measures.
The brain must be able to trust its arm.
Oh, yes.
Do we enter from here?
Wait. I will look for another entrance.
My dear guests,
welcome to you all,
I am very sorry I have made you wait.
Your patience will be suitably rewarded,
let me assure you!
I know how much you have waited for this moment
and I myself have been excited for days, let me tell you.
I think you can imagine that when one organises meetings such as this one
must be prepared for any sort of unforeseen event.
And it happened just a short time ago
that two “unexpected guests”
decided to take part in our banquet...
And we had no hesitation
in agreeing to their request!
Let the party begin, ladies and gentlemen!
Let's eat.
Ladies and gentlemen.
We didn't serve the lungs because they are too difficult to digest,
due to their very compact structure.
The heart is nutritious and free of fat,
such as the liver,
but unfortunately one of the two "guests" was a heavy drinker,
and his liver was too hard and not edible.
The brain
on the other hand
is rich in cholesterol,
and I do not recommend it,
if you suffer from arteriosclerosis.
That is the spleen:
it is especially fine.
My dear friends,
I see with great joy that the specialities of the house are to your satisfaction!
What wonderful guests you are,
you have not disappointed me at all!
As I was saying to you a short time ago,
we have decided to keep the best till last, for the grand finale.
I am sure that what I am going to tell you
will act as a further stimulus to your animal instincts
and impulses,
and you must not put up any resistance my friends:
do your worst in your depravity!
This evening you will get the opportunity to have a real taste of life!
To feel a soul leaving its body,
to have the power of death
and pain in your hands!
You will kill for me,
all together:
the banquet of blood is not over yet!
What the fuck is that? Get out of here. Get out of here..
Oh fuck!
Help...
Bea, where are you?
Where the fuck are you?
Die.
You fuck. Die.
Thank you, Liliana.
Our mutual friend,
during his last “exhibition” created one or two problems,
that however couldn't be overlooked,
so we had to terminate our collaboration.
Of course professor, I understand.
- What can I do for you now? - Oh, it has been a...
a long and fantastic night for everybody
and I must confess that the success of our party
has been largely down to you, my dear.
I'm very proud of you!
It was all so perfect, I can't ask any more of you.
But I'm sure you feel very tired and worn out,
so come, let me take you to your room.
I'm sure you can do with a little...rest...
Black Heron, please.
Thank you.
Good evening.