YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM AND ONLY I HAVE THE KEY

(Sergio Martino, 1972)

Titled after a quote from one of his own thrillers, YVIALRAOIHTK is Sergio Martino's giallo take on Poe's "The Black Cat". Abused housewife Irene Ruvigni(Anita Strindberg) is routinely tormented by her alcoholic husband, hasbeen writer Oliviero (Luigi Pistilli), and his ironically-named black cat, Satan. When Oliviero's mistress is found slashed to death, he becomes the primary suspect.

Shortly thereafter, the Ruvignis discover the bloody corpse of their maid in the villa. Afraid to contact the police, they opt to wall-up the body. To further complicate matters, their cousin Floriana (Edwidge Fenech) invites herself to stay with them. Before long, Floriana's true intentions become clearer as she manipulates Oliviero and Irene. Meanwhile, the bodies continue to pile up...

YVIALRAOIHTK (phew!) is just as stylish and erotic as the rest of Martino's gialli, and has a cast of genre greats. It's a beautiful film to watch, and really showcases Martino's trademark look, from the minimal lighting to the voyeuristic compositions and POV shots. There's so many of the leering POV's that one never knows whether the killer's present or we're just allowed to peep in on the sordid goings-on.

There's a fair amount of gore, as would be expected, but it comes secondary to the story. There's more character development, irony, and metaphor in this film than most gialli, and consequently it seems to run on a bit too long. The soundtrack by Bruno Nicolai is also slow and dreamy, so I'd advise viewers to watch this only if wide awake, which shouldn't be too difficult considering the amount of nudity and lesbianism YVIALRAOIHTK also features. Recommended.

THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS WARDH

(Sergio Martino, 1970)

Sergio Martino was one of the most inspired, visionary directors of the giallo boom and, despite his creativity and influence, is oft overlooked. His first giallo, TSVOMW, set new standards in combining sexuality and violence, and must have made quite the impression on a young Dario Argento as the latter seems to have borrowed several sequences and images from a variety of Martino's gialli.

Julie Wardh (Edwige Fenech), a woman of new-found privilege, intones, "I'm not a boring wife" when her husband Neil leaves town for business, a statement made concrete when we are treated to flashbacks of her previous sadomasochistic relationship with her then-lover Jean (Ivan Rassimov). Jean, however, is not through with Julie, and stalks her despite Neil's efforts to keep him away.

At a party one night, Julie is introduced to her friend Carol's playboy cousin George (George Hilton) and, though initially apprehensive, begins an affair with him. Meanwhile, a vicious murderer clad in black leather starts his own love affair with a straight razor and several unfortunate women. As he carves his way closer to Julie, it becomes apparent that one of her three lovers wants her to meet the same fate.

TSVOMW was one of the first and most influencial gialli released. There's rarely a dull moment or wasted frame, and the cast is top-notch. Ivan Rassimov is creepier than usual (if that's even possible!), George Hilton suave as ever, and Edwige Fenech believable as an unfaithful wife consumed by her own repulsion and fascination with blood. The film features spectacularly fluid, leering camerawork that follows and watches the players from either afar or in extreme closeup. Nora Orlandi's score is memorable and menacingly appropriate, and was even used by Quentin Tarantino in the second Kill Bill soundtrack.

On an interesting note, this was among the first films to equate nudity with death, as most, but not all, of the women killed are nude or have undressed in earlier scenes. Definitely worth a gander! The NoShame dvd release is long out of print, but it is available under the title "Blade of the Ripper" released by the much maligned MYA Communications. Buy it here.

DEATH CARRIES A CANE

(Maurizio Pradeaux, 1973)

I'm sure my opinions will be from here out dismissed, but I actually enjoyed Death Carries a Cane, despite the fact that it's obviously inspired by the work of Dario Argento and adds nothing new to the genre.

Through a coin-operated telescope, Kitty (Susan Scott) spies a woman being murdered. The timer runs out before she can see the killer's face, and initially her boyfriend Alberto (Robert Hoffman) disbelieves her. The police, however, do find a corpse that matches the description given by Kitty, and an investigation is undertaken. Kitty and Alberto learn that the killer was not only seen by Kitty, but by a number of others whom are bumped off by the cane and razor-wielding assassin before they can be properly questioned.

The story is pretty run-of the mill, but it does feature some nifty lighting and camerawork. The emphasis on voyeurism within this film cannot be missed, as someone is always spying through a telescope or camera. It contains all the trademark giallo elements, including the ol`straight razor `n gloves, plenty of red herrings, nudity, prostitutes, a striptease, etc. The deaths are nice and bloody, and the soundtrack is pretty groovy too. Naturally, it`s all let down by a slightly nonsensical ending, but worth a view. Still not available in North America.

BODY COUNT aka Camping Del Terrore

(Ruggero Deodato, 1987)

The plot for this by-the-numbers Italian slasher is threadbare and derivative, to say the least. Simply put, a group of young people take a trip into the woods to stay at their friend Ben's parents' cabin. There they learn of an old legend about a shaman who cursed the grounds and still roams the woods in search of victims. Then they are systematically slaughtered, and their corpses hidden in a run-down washroom/ change room near the house. There's also a subplot concerning the mother, Julia (Mimsey Farmer), who is cheating on her husband Robert (David Hess) with a police officer.

Like I said, the story is simple and tired. Deodato does, however, provide a few genuine surprises along the way as the shaman can teleport and manipulate objects by means of magic. This isn't related to the viewer until the end of the film, so many of the murders seem nonsensical or implausible, an opinion that is only reinforced by the characters' completely unrealistic reactions to the situations in which they find themselves.

Don't write off Body Count too soon though. Being an Italian horror film, it does possess a fair amount of visual style and some decent scare scenes, not to mention a fair amount of blood. The score, performed by Claudio Simonetti, is eerie and quite appropriate. Finally, I should mention that the cast is full of Italian horror regulars, including Mimsey Farmer (Four Flies on Grey Velvet, Autopsy), John Steiner (Shock, Tenebre), David Hess (House on the Edge of the Park), and Ivan Rassimov (Spasmo, All the Colors of the Dark). Sadly, only Farmer and Hess are given sizable roles as most of the film concentrates on the younger cast members, who play soulless teen stereotypes.

In all, I would recommend this, but to intermediate viewers only. It IS one of the better Italian horror films of the late 80's, but that's not necessarily saying much. It's not yet been released on DVD in North America, so happy downloading!