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.

THE SCORPION WITH TWO TAILS aka Murder In An Etruscan Cemetery

(Sergio Martino, 1982)

Equal parts giallo, horror, fantasy, and crime drama, The Scorpion With Two Tails is one odd mishmash of a film. Joan Barnard (Elvira Audray) has recurring nightmares of being in a smoke-filled grotto and witnessing an ancient Etruscan sacrificial ceremony wherein the victims have their necks broken and their heads twisted completely around. She is also plagued by the maggot-filled omen of her husband Arthur`s (John Saxon) death.

Soon after, Arthur, an archaeologist excavating a newly discovered Etruscan tomb, is murdered and found with his head twisted backwards. Before dying, he informs Joan of the grotto with which she is already familiar, and she sets out to unmask her husband`s killer and the meaning of her dreams. To thicken the plot, Joan`s father is revealed to have been in some as-yet unfinished shady business with Arthur, and he intends to use Joan to lead him to a large cache of cocaine hidden in the grotto.

Despite the familiar cast and Fabio Frizzi score (some of which was borrowed from the City of the Living Dead soundtrack) TSWTT is an intensely boring film. As a horror film it fails, and despite the nifty head-twisting there is no gore at all. As a giallo it fails, as the deaths are supernatural and the requisite gore, sex, and sleaze are all absent. It fails as a crime drama, as there is too little action (and gore again!). As a fantasy film, it does work to a degree.

Horror and crime bits aside, it almost plays out like an overly-long game of Dungeons and Dragons. Most of the budget was obviously spent on dry ice and foam rock, giving it a foggy, dreamy feel at times, which is punctuated by the equally dreamy soundtrack. The problem with that is, since there is no action to speak of, many a viewer may nod off after the first 30 minutes. Not highly recommended, unless as hangover viewing on a Sunday afternoon. Buy it here.

ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK

(Sergio Martino, 1972)



A must-see for all giallo fans, ATCOTD has almost all the genre staples: Edwidge Fenech in the nude, double-crosses, red-herrings, psychedelic sequences, Satanism/ cult activity, and a sitar-laden soundtrack by Bruno Nicolai.



The film opens with a rather grotesque dream sequence in which Jane (Fenech) "relives" the trauma of the car accident that killed her unborn child. In her dream, Ivan Rassimov (wearing the brightest blue contact lenses imaginable) stabs her repeatedly until she wakes up. Her husband Richard (George Hilton)insists she stop seeing her psychotherapist in favor of taking a bunch of sedatives. Her friend Mary (Marina Malfatti) suggests that the only way to free Jane of her self-imposed guilt is to invite her to one of the black masses she frequently attends with a bunch of decadent weirdos.



Jane is accepted into the coven, but only on the grounds that she replace Mary (literally- she has to kill Mary!) The rest of the film is spent following Jane's breakdown as she runs from the coven, Mr Rassimov, and the unknown enemy who has orchestrated all of this. The cult imagery was obviously inspired by Rosemary's Baby, though that's as far as the similarities go. The cult here is not so concerned with keeping Jane alive for the purpose of bearing the Antichrist as they are with obtaining her possessions and killing her.



The story moves quickly, and in all directions. I know a basic giallo plot will ramble quite a bit, but the story here is ALL over the place! In this instance it works by adding confusion and uncertainty. The acting is superb, what with the casting of regulars Fenech, Hilton, Rassimov, Malfati, and Susan Scott. The only part that really let me down was the supernatural bit at the end, which seemed tacked-on. Very much recommended.



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