As a fan of horror films there are times that I’m amazed at
the movies I’ve never been able to see yet. Most of them are movies that I
either wasn’t old enough to see when they first came out, never played near
where I lived or never had access to. VHS was a bad solution since back then
movies ran about $99 per title. But with disc that’s all changed. Movies became
affordable. In addition to that in recent years several companies have gone
back through the vaults and rescued many movies from obscurity, some good some
bad. One of the driving forces among those has been Arrow Video which I
consistently praise and will continue to do so. They never fail to deliver.
Such is the case with TORSO, a movie long discussed and
praised by horror and giallo fans. I’d heard of the film years ago and it was
one that developed a certain amount of notoriety in the years following its
release. One would think with a title like that and the love of blood in
Italian films that the movie would be a gore fest that fans would flock to.
What I found was something quite different than I expected.
The film opens with credits over a threesome taking place.
Why? It doesn’t matter until the end of the film. Once the credits finish we
find ourselves in an art class at the University of Perugia in Italy. Class
breaks and student Jane (Suzy Kendall) approaches the teacher, Franz (John
Richardson), to ask a question before joining her friends in the plaza. Daniela
(Tina Aumont) is approached by Stefano (Roberto Bisacco) who is obsessed with
her but brushes him off.
That night two students go parking beneath a nearby bridge.
Hearing a noise the young man goes to investigate. When he doesn’t return the
girl goes searching for him. It isn’t long before the film’s killer gets hold
of her and strangles here with a red and black scarf. It appears he cuts into
her as well but the way the shots are filmed we never see the body and we’re
not quite sure if this is what’s happening or if the killer, scarred by his
past, is reliving something that took place before.
Hearing of the murder one of the fellow students’ rushes
away with a few boys on motorcycles. Holed up in an abandoned house with what
appears to be a group of free-sex/free drugs hippies (this was made in 1973 you
know) she flirts with the two boys and allows them to grope her. Before things
go too far she runs off with the boys in pursuit. In the woods they drive past
where she’s hiding but the movie’s killer is there to catch her and she is
killed as well.
School is canceled as a result of the murders. Franz and
Jane make plans to meet the following week and an apparent romance seems in the
works. Daniella and friends need a break from the events while they study and
her uncle suggest they use a villa away from Perugia. They agree and head off
to the retreat in the isolated villa. They’re not the only ones who have headed
this way as they’ve been pursued by the killer. What reason could he have for
singling out this group of girls? And which ones will survive?
All the elements of the classic giallo are on hand here. The
killer being an unseen entity, face never revealed and in this case masked. The
black gloves. The point of view shots from the killer’s perspective. And at the
heart of it all a mystery as to why the killer is murdering, what his/her
motivation is. It is the mystery in a giallo that makes them worth watching,
trying to figure out who the killer is before the final reel.
For all its notoriety the film truly didn’t have near as
much gore in it as I expected to find. Perhaps it’s another case of a movie
where the viewers were so stunned at the time that they imagined seeing more
than was actually there. TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE has the scene of the girl
placed in a meat hook that people still claim to have seen popping through her
chest though it never happens. PSYCHO fans insist they saw the knife enter
Janet Leigh but it never happened. This might be the case here. There is plenty
of blood on hand but as for gore I’m struggling to remember much.
Director Sergio Martino was a prolific director in Italy and
well known for the mark he made on the giallo genre. It’s easy to see why while
watching this film. His use of cinematography and storytelling are excellent.
That’s not surprising after having recently watched his film THE CASE OF THE
SCORPION’S TAIL also from Arrow Video.
Horror fans have had the opportunity to own a copy of this
film in the past but those releases are no longer available. Thankfully Arrow
Video is offering the chance to own the film to those fans again who may have
not done so at the time. Even if you did purchase one of the previous versions
you need to pick this one up. Not only are they offering it with a brand new 2K
restoration of the film from the original camera negative this release has the
movie in 4 different versions from the original Italian to the American to the
combined versions.
Hang on though, this is an Arrow Video release. That means
that there are plenty of extras on hand as well. Those include a new audio
commentary track by Kat Ellinger the author of ALL THE COLOURS OF SERGIO
MARTINO, a new interview with co-writer/director Martino, a new interview with
actor Luc Merenda, a new interview with co-writer Ernesto Gastaldi, a new
interview with Mikel J. Koven, author of LA DOLCE MORTE: VERNACULA CINEMA AND
THE ITALIAN GIALLO FILM, a 2017 Abertoir International Horror Festival Q&A
with Martino, the Italian and English theatrical trailers, a reversible sleeve
featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Adam Rabalais and with the
first pressing only an illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on
the film by Adrian Smith and Howard Hughes.
If you love giallo films or horror films then rush out and
make sure to add this one to your collection. It is the ultimate version of
this film to have on hand. And if you’ve never seen it make sure to check with
that friend who did buy a copy and make a giallo movie night of it. The odds of
you enjoying the film are high.
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