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.



Buy It

THE CASE OF THE SCORPION'S TAIL

(Sergio Martino, 1971)

Here we have another excellent example of the genre. It has stylish camerawork, intense music by Bruno Nicolai, Euro-babes Anita Strindberg and Evelyn Stewart, gore (including eyeball trauma!), and more twists than you can shake a stick at.

The story concerns one Lisa Baumer (Stewart), who is on her way to Greece to collect the insurance money left after her husband's untimely death in an airplane explosion. Naturally, the money isn't easy to obtain or keep as various shifty characters come after her for it. Mr Baumer's former mistress Lara and her "bodyguard" Sharif seem to be the most intent on collecting the funds as it is discovered that Mr Baumer was going to change his insurance policy to leave everything to Lara just before his "accidental" death. Lisa barely escapes the confrontation with Lara and Sharif with some help from insurance investigator Peter Lynch (the ever-suave George Hilton).

The first major twist occurs when Lisa is attacked and killed in her hotel room by a black leather-clad assassin, who makes off with the money. Along with journalist Cleo Dupont (Strindberg), Peter starts his own investigation into the death and the missing fortune, and the subsequent deaths of those connected to Lisa.

I have few complaints with this film, the greatest of the lot being the cheap effects but, then again, I'm pretty used to it. The acting is decent (watch it in Italian if you can) and the story , which will keep you guessing until the end, is engaging. Sergio Martino created another visually-solid thriller here, and some scenes are reminiscent of early Dario Argento in terms of style.

On the same note, one can't help but wonder if Dario was in turn influenced by this film. Lisa Baumer's death smacks of the psychic's murder in Deep Red ('75), and Lara's of Sara's in Suspiria ('77). Not at all a bad thing, as these are all fantastic films, but Sergio has never really gotten as much credit as he deserves for his contributions. Recommended.