The Killer is Still Among Us

 

"Some things... take a bloody long time."

Criminology student Christina Marelli (Mariangela D'Abbraccio) is writing her thesis on "The Monster," a serial killer who has been terrorizing Florence for the past 12 years, shooting and stabbing couples who park in lovers lanes. Through her investigation, Christina meets the handsome young coroner Alex, with whom she starts a romantic relationship. As the murders continue, Christina dives into Florence's seedy underbelly and even consults a psychic medium. But could her investigation make her the next target? And is the killer, who seems to have precise knowledge of human anatomy, closer than she thinks?

The Killer is Still Among Us (not to be confused with The Killer is On the Phone) is based on the real-life  "Monster of Florence," a serial killer who operated between the late 60's and the late 80's, whose case wasn't solved until the early 2000's. It's an unusual giallo in that it follows many of the tropes of the genre while also breaking some of the the rules (to say more would spoil the unusual ending). Overall, it's an artfully-made, well-acted film with interesting surprises and a bit of gore towards the end. Plus, the screenplay was written by giallo's greatest talent, Ernesto Gastaldi. A nice surprise entry to the genre.

• Each of the victims except one is said to be both shot and stabbed. It's not clear which of those was fatal in each case, so I included both on the list above for each of those murders.

• Be warned that in the theatrical version, the last murder scene includes shots of the killer carving up his female victim, including some gruesome genital mutilation.

• There are actually two giallo films based on the Monster of Florence case, both released in 1986. The other is called The Monster of Florence (Il Mostro di Firenze) and appears to adhere closer to the actual facts of the case. I hope to find a copy to review for a future post. It's a very famous case and was also the basis of an Italian TV mini series and several documentary films.

What the Hell Am I Watching?

After seeing a mime bar in Dario Argento's Sleepless (look it up) I'm not at all surprised when this movie takes us to a voyeur's bar. The patrons of Taverna del Diavolo (The Devil's Pub) are all creeps who meet up to coordinate their efforts to spy on couples necking in the back seats of cars, often using high-tech listening devices.

Christina trails one of the peeping toms to his office where he has a dual practice as a gynecologist and psychiatrist. Imagine those student loan payments.

Fashion Moment:

Christina stands out early in the film when she wears this eyeball-searing read sweater. Later, she wears it with an equally vivid red jacket.

When we first meet Alex, he drops his yellow gloves into the garbage bin. Later at home, Christina finds his bloody gloves in the yellow kitchen pail. All subtle color clues meant to throw suspicion on Alex.

Also, let's take a moment to appreciate some of the lighting choices. When power goes out in Christina's apartment, the room goes dark, lit only be a flashing neon sign, much like in Blood and Black Lace.

Similarly, at the seance, the contrasting colors are reminiscent of Argento's Suspiria.