When this film arrived at my doorstep I was pleased while
looking at the box and artwork. In recent months I’d begun to be exposed to
more giallo films than ever and have begun enjoying an appreciation of them
which I hadn’t in the past, for the most part because of having less access to
them. To think I’d now be exposed to another made me happy. I became a tad
leery when I learned it was not one of the original films but a tribute of
sorts to the genre. But I plunged in headfirst anyway with some hope.
Unfortunately the movie didn’t live up to my hopes and expectations.
The film opens with a strange sequence involving a mother
taking care of an infant and a young girl who seems to be enjoying stabbing a
dead bird. Within moment we see her stabbing into the same stroller the mother
was rocking and hear her mother scream. Fast forward to 15 years later.
It’s been that long since the disappearance of Francesca,
the young daughter of poet/dramatist Vittorio Visconti. Stabbed by her abductor
he is now unable to walk and confined to a wheelchair. Visconti lives with his
invalid wife who remains in a seemingly state of shock ever since the
kidnapping of their daughter. Other than help they live alone.
When a series of murders in the area begins the police are
baffled. Notes left at the scenes of the crime leave no clues with the
exception that they are lines derived from Dante’s INFERNO. Visconti was a
scholar on Dante and the two police detectives turn to him for assistance in
deciphering just what that murderer could be trying to tell them with these
notes.
All of the trademarks from the classic giallo are there. The
gloved hands of the killer. The viewpoint of the murders as seen through the
killers eyes. The police investigating the murders. And yet the movie feels
hollow about best and a poor substitute at worst.
Part of this is the decision of writer/director Luciano
Onetti to turn this from a standard giallo into a combination of homage and
experimental film. Sequences that make no sense are tossed in throughout.
Characters that I either forgot or didn’t recall suddenly have important roles
towards the end. Clue that should have led us as viewers to a rational solving
of the puzzle actually lead us nowhere down blind paths that have nothing to do
with a solution or that offer clues that aren’t based in reality.
The cinematography for the film felt truly lacking to me.
Most of it had a strange use of color giving almost everything a blue tinge.
The sharpness was also so intense that everything from beard hairs to skin
pores felt like they stood out enough to take away concentration from the story
itself. The gore effects were some of the worst I’ve seen in what should have
been a prestige styled film with blood looking more like thinned out jelly.
The acting, even though I understand it was done with a
foreign cast, never felt believable to me and it wasn’t due to something lost
in translation. I’ve seen far too many foreign films to think that this was the
best there was/is to offer from actors in other countries. The death scene of
one victim by steam iron strangulation has to be one of the worst death scenes
ever filmed and completely unbelievable. The faceless killer felt as
unthreatening as possible.
Unearthed Films has a lot of faith in this release. The box
art is stunning and great to look at bringing back fond memories of the classic
giallo films. It contains not just the blu-ray version of the film but standard
DVD as well. It also offers a CD of the film’s soundtrack as well, sounding
much like the classic Goblin scores from earlier giallo films. A flyer is
included inside the box and extras on the disc include a behind the scenes
featurette, deleted scenes, an interview with director Luciano Onetti and his
producer/brother Nicolas and an Unearthed Trailer reel.
I’ve read some reviews that have praised this film. Sorry to
say I am not one of those. I call it as I see it. I’m anxious to return to
viewing the actual giallo films of the past and remain hopeful that the genre will
see a rise in new movies that follow the same patterns they established. This
one is filled far too much with its own agenda as opposed to being a tribute
for my taste. Some may find this new take refreshing but unfortunately I’m not
one.
Click here to order.
No comments:
Post a Comment