Following the murder of Countess Federica Donati, an heiress possessing a beautiful piece of beachfront property, members of her family and the surrounding community engage in a killing spree, each with his own secret agenda. In addition to the string of creative murders, a group of hippies arrive on the premises, engage in promiscuous sex and find themselves dying one by one in this cult classic that's considered to be the original slasher film.
I do love the fake out of sorts that kicks this movie off. an off screen killer murders the countess, and surprisingly the camera pans up to show you exactly who dunnit. and while your pondering how mystery could exist in this movie with the killers identity on full display, a second unseen killer shows up for a double whammy murder to kick this movie off right. for a movie that claims to be "the original slasher film", it sure seems to be playing with tropes that have yet to be established.
after that intriguing opening, this movie becomes almost exactly what you expect from a Giallo. that classic Italian trying to convince you there American's, that slightly shaky handheld camera, killer POV shots, goofy ass young people on a sex vacation (with a German twist), and that overly dramatic style of acting that has been dying a slow death since the early 1920s. its a weird combo of more intelligent horror from the 50s and 60s and straight up Friday the 13th style goofy teen slasher movie. it biggest problem is its failure to create a sense of danger in anyway, and it totally feels like you are just waiting for people to start dying to that strange jungle waltz on the soundtrack
by the first 3 kills in this movie, you probably wouldn't have guessed they were the work of Tom Savini. the kills are bad, just average. then right about the 35 minute mark the kills come fast and hard. and they are all amazing. you can always feel the presence of censorship in the Friday series, but this lovely movie is very obviously under none of those restrictions. but you need more than great kills and the odd flash of boobies to make a good movie, and ignoring all of its short comings for some sweet kills is simply dishonest.
its a movie with no soul. a joke that falls flat. a high school play whos director fashions himself the next Hitchcock. a pig in a blood covered white dress.
or if you prefer, boring.
6/10
Comments