SPASMO

(Umberto Lenzi, 1974)

While walking along the beach, the possibly psychotic Christian and his lady friend discover what initially appears to be the corpse of a woman. The woman, Barbara (Suzy Kendall), recovers, but cannot recall how she got there. She thanks them, and departs. Intrigued, Christian tracks down Barbara and a romance blossoms.

The two check into a motel, where Christian is attacked by a mysterious stranger in the bathroom. In the ensuing scuffle, the stranger is shot. Christian and Barbara panic and flee the room, only to discover that they left behind incriminating evidence. When they return to the motel, they are shocked to discover that the corpse is gone.

Barbara suggests they stay at a friend's place by the sea, as her friend is currently away on vacation. They arrive only to find that they are not alone. Someone is spying on them from a motor boat. Someone is calling the house. Most unnervingly of all, Christian and Barbara discover that a father and daughter, Malcolm and Clarinda, have rented the supposedly vacant property. They allow Christian and Barbara to stay, but none are around long as someone begins to bump them off! Who is Barbara, really? What of Christian's industrialist brother, Fritz? And who's leaving around mannequins with knives stuck into them?

Lenzi made a decent giallo here, despite the lack of requisite gore and nudity. The story runs a bit long at times, but the Ennio Morricone soundtrack, the random shots of mutilated mannequins, and the decidedly un-Lenzi-like shot compositions and lighting more than make up for it. Recommended. Buy it here.

THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE

(Dario Argento, 1970)

Dario made his debut with this stunning little psycho-thriller, and in doing so popularizd a genre introduced to theatre patrons by Mario Bava only seven years prior. Although the "giallo boom" only lasted until the mid-70's, it's influence on modern cinema lingers to this day. Loaded with amazing cinematic style, The Bird With The Crystal Plumage laid the foundation for any future thriller with its trademark use of black leather gloves and straight razors, as well as fetishism of death and voyeurism.

The story unfolds at a brisk pace as writer Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante) is witness to an attempted murder in an art gallery one night. The event haunts him, as he feels as though he saw something that was out of place at the time, though no attempt to remember just what bears fruit. After learning of a string of recent, similar murders, he and his girlfriend Julia (Suzy Kendall) are drawn into the mystery and begin their own amateur investigation. This proves to be hazardous for them both as the killer is quite aware of their intrusion.

Bar the usual subpar dub job, the acting herein is uniformly solid. Despite the subject matter, violence, and then-unheard of gore, the story is sprinkled liberally with humor, however dark it may be. Argento got the balance between suspense, fright, and comedy just right, and the story never drags as it does in much of his later films.

On the technical side, which is where Dario has always excelled, TBWTCP was groundbreaking. The extreme close-ups of the killer's eye, the POV murder shots, and Argento's inventive lighting, paired with the chillingly minimal Ennio Morricone soundtrack, made this a brand new experience for theatre goers of the time, and the film has lost little of its potency 41 years since. Highly recommended, and a great introduction to the world of Italian horror and thriller cinema. Buy it here.

TORSO

(Sergio Martino, 1973)

It's Giallo Time again! Here we have another excellent example of the genre. The adorable Suzy Kendall plays Jane, who escapes to friend Daniela's uncle's villa with a group of girlfriends after one of them is brutally murdered. Little do they suspect the murderer might have followed...

Instead of the usual faceless killer in black so prevalent in the genre, the girls are stalked by a madman in a ratty ski mask. After slaughtering each of his victims, he pokes out their eyes or cuts them into pieces like a doll (this we know as there are flashbacks of said doll throughout). Some might say this was a precursor to Halloween, as the masked killer is absolutley silent and seems to appear in one spot and then the next at will. There is a fair amount of gore, but that's not what makes Torso so effective of a thriller.

Martino makes great use of suspense to provide the chills. The creepiest sequence would have to be when Jane is locked in the house with the killer. The French film High Tension basically lifted the scene when she initially panics and starts to hide all her things in an attempt to conceal the fact that she is there. In Torso it's taken a step further when the killer locks all the upstairs doors, trapping her. Her escape is nerve-wracking, to say the least.

Being a giallo, Torso does have the usual pros and cons. So-so dubbing, rubber heads, and red paint for blood were my only complaints. These are very much outweighed by the stylish photography, catchy soundtrack, and great cast. This has been re-released on DVD in N America, so go order it now! Essential viewing for giallo freaks.
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