Double Face

  
Double Face

 

She's just like her mother... rich, moody, wicked.

 

Shortly after marrying his wife, Helen (Margaret Lee), John Alexander (Klaus Kinski) discovers that she is having an affair with her friend Liz (Annabella Incontrera), but divorce would mean financial ruin. Despite this, John is distraught after Helen is killed in a car crash and when he finds a strange but flirtatious woman, Christine (Christiane Krüger) in his home, he is in no mood for games. But when Christine shows John a sexy movie featuring herself with a mysterious veiled woman, John becomes obsessed - the other woman is wearing Helen's ring and has the same scar on her neck as John's late wife! If the film was made just a week before, does that mean that Helen faked her death? Or has John's grief made him lose his grip on reality? Either way, his search for answers will lead him on a dangerous path!

  

Double Face (not to be confused with The Double) treads the same ground as some other, more widely-known gialli and I'd say that while it's more coherent than Spasmo, it's not nearly as well-made as Perversion Story. Even though the body count is low, the mystery is baffling and the nudity is abundant, making this an eminently watchable bad movie. 

• The script, based on the novel "A Face In the Night" by Edgar Wallace, was co-written by Lucio Fulci (which may explain some resemblance to Perversion Story).
• Luciano Spadoni, who plays Inspector Gordon, was also the set and costume designer in this production.
• Two years after this production, Klaus Kinski, Annabella Incontrera and Margaret Lee would reunite on screen in Slaughter Hotel.
• None of the titles really make sense. "Double Face" would make more sense if there was a Vertigo-esque identity switch and the lesbian affair is a minor sub plot, making "Liz & Helen" just as out of place. The title "Puzzle of Horrors" belongs on a film with more gore and far more murders.

 
What the Hell Am I Watching?

What Double Face lacks in good writing it makes up for in crazy moments. For example, the wild hippie warehouse party where two motorcyclists have an indoor jousting tournament, ripping off an article of clothing from a dancing girl with each pass.

Then there are the hilariously inept special effect sequences, which cut from footage of real cars and trains to HO-scale models crashing into each other.

Something that confused me from the start: John is trapped in his unhappy marriage with Helen because of financial necessity, but what advantage does Helen gain in staying married to John? Why does she insist that they stay together?

Finally, who handcuffs a suspect without frisking him for weapons first?

Fashion Moment

In the scene preceding Helen's car crash, we see that she's ready to shuffle off this mortal coil in high style, wearing a chic white dress, gold chain belt, go-go boots and a rich oiled leather coat draped over her shoulders.

    

Later, Liz vamps it up with some Elizabeth Taylor realness in this sexy off-the-shoulder low-cut fringe number.  Perhaps her shredded white dress is worn in memory of her dead lover?

 

  

Clap, You're Dead

Clap, You're Dead
 

Let's see if you have the guts to lie to us again.
 

On the set of his new movie, capricious film director Benner (Antonio Pierfederici) has thrown out the script and is coming up with new ideas on the fly - an approach that confounds his cast and enrages his writer, Ross (Carlo Enrici). But production nearly comes to a halt when one of the actresses ends up dead during a take and the only clue is the killer's shadow caught on film. Soon, the shadowy figure in yellow gloves strikes again and Inspector Menzel (George Ardisson) must figure out a way to trap the killer. Could it be Richard (Ivano Staccioli), the creepster who keeps hanging around the set? Is introverted actress Lucia (Annabella Incontrera) as innocent as she seems? And can anyone get Brenner to see past his own ego and take these murders seriously?

Clap, You're Dead (not to be confused with Fatal Frames) isn't a great giallo or even a particularly good giallo. But setting the film on a movie set is a novel and meta conceit that covers some of the flaws and provides an excuse for crazy costumes, nudity and a bizarre finale with dozens of potential suspects running around a theater wearing identical black unitards and masks. But for all that wackiness, the story is sadly predictable - things wrap up pretty much the way you thought they would from the beginning, though no adequate motive is ever given for the murders.

• The title refers to the slate board or "clapper" used on film sets at the beginning of each take to identify the scene and take number and to help sync the sound to the picture during the editing process.
• One of the scenes of the movie-within-a-movie is a funeral, but because it's just a film set, it doesn't count as an actual cemetery, for the purposes of the checklist, above.
• The killer first appears as a shadow on film and, subsequently, the movie has fun playing with shadows and silhouettes, using them as mis-directs, and to imply an eavesdropping presence.
• The main theme music seems to be a mellow, lite-rock knockoff of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
• I'd like to think that the character of Benner is a combination of Fellini's solipsistic bombast and Alejandro Jodorowski's surrealist sensibility.

What the Hell am I Watching?

During a party scene, Fanny (Belinda Bron) shows up in a barely-there harem costume and goes into a wild dance. There are many unnecessary extreme close-ups of her pelvis.

Later, a large chunk of the movie is devoted to a city-wide manhunt when Richard goes on the lam. This sequence takes forever and instead of creating tension and suspense, it's just tedious and repetitive.

I mentioned the wacky finale in the theater with dozens of masked suspects running around, but it bears repeating. It's ostensibly staged as the finale of the movie-within-a-movie, but there are no cameras rolling - just choreographed prancing that breaks out into a fight scene and a hostage situation.

Here's a little sub-mystery embedded in the movie. Police Inspector Bert Malden and Benner's production assistant Andalou have this strange coded conversation during the party scene:

     Bert: Listen, have we met before?
     Andalou: I don't think so. Oh, yes - at the interrogation.
     Bert: No, no. Another occasion.

Later, Benner accuses Andalou of sexually assaulting the victims but then quickly realizes that he couldn't have because of reasons. So are we to deduce that Bert and Andalou are gay and that they previously met at a bar? If so, poor Bert got shut down hard.

SPOILER ALERT

At the end of the movie, Richard says that he went on the run when he stumbled upon the real killer strangling Fanny in her shower. But he never explains why he snuck into her room to catch her in the shower in the first place.

Fashion Moment

Benner immediately shows himself to be a free-thinking artist living on the fringe with this ensemble including a tablecloth plaid tam, a wooly vest and love beads.

Later, he shows up on set in this blue embroidered dashiki. And he's not giving up that tam anytime soon. If this movie were made today, Jason Mantzoukas would be cast in this role.

Finally, here's a look at Fanny's "slave Leia" cosplay.

Barry Gibb approves.

So Sweet, So Dead

So Sweet, So Dead

 "She was taken by surprise, tried desperately to resist... just like the others."

Inspector Capuana (Farley Granger) is on the trail of a murderer who only targets unfaithful women and leaves compromising photos of the victims with their lovers at each crime scene. As the murderer strikes again and again, the husbands and wives of the city grow more and more anxious, wondering who will be next... and who among them has reason to worry. With every murder, both the husbands and the lovers have alibis, so who would have reason to kill? Time is running out and the serial killer who calls himself "the Avenger" must be stopped!

Rest easy, wheel. You're in no danger of getting re-invented by So Sweet, So Dead (not to be confused with So Sweet... So Perverse).  This movie uses all the familiar rhythms, spaces its murders out evenly over the course of the movie, and is faithful to the conventions of the genre. Too faithful, I'd say. While it's entertaining enough, and the murderer who only targets cheaters is a somewhat novel approach, So Sweet, So Dead shows little ambition when it comes to the story, characters, or stylish visuals. It's say it's a good beginner's giallo - one that won't spoil a newcomer for other, better films of the genre.

• While establishing the killer's profile, Capuana and the Coroner, Professor Casali (Chris Avram) run through a laundry list of standard giallo motives: impotence, homosexuality, covering up another crime, and plain old insanity.
• This film is graced by giallo superstar Susan Scott, who, by taking on the small role of Lilly, instantly boosts the movie's credibility.
• You may also recognize Luciano Rossi, who plays creepster morgue worker Gastone. He was the crazy blonde hit man in Death Walks at Midnight. In this movie, though, he not only gets to talk, but he carries entire scenes.
• There are a few good murder scenes here. I liked how the murder on the train was done and that the body of Renata (Krista Nell) is found stylishly draped across a spiral staircase.
• The murderer in So Sweet, So Dead is the classic giallo killer, who could have walked right out of Blood and Black Lace. He wears the traditional stocking mask, fedora, gloves, and trench coat with the collar turned up, all in black, of course.

What the Hell Am I Watching?

Some scripts set up red herrings or clever mis-directs. This one is just full of incomplete thoughts. For example, Bettina Santangeli (Angela Covello), the teenage daughter of a prominent lawyer, witnesses one of the murders, though she can't identify the masked killer. She is understandably afraid that the killer will murder her next. And then that sub-plot is dropped and we never hear about it or Bettina ever again.

After knocking on a suspect's door with no answer, the police send up a warning shot. With a burst from a sub-machine gun.  That really escalated quickly.

After killing a woman in her home, the murderer tries to walk out the front door, only to be blocked by the victim's boyfriend. But for some reason, instead of finding a back exit, the killer climbs out the window next to the front stoop.  Luckily, there just happens to be a ladder under the window.  Needless to say, the boyfriend quickly spots and confronts the killer.  So much for a criminal mastermind.

Fashion Moment

Our killer seems to have a thing for ladies in pink.  Many (but not all) of the victims appear in a similar rosy shade. Here's Franca Santangeli (Annabella Incontrera):

Here's Lilly (Susan Scott):

Shortly after witnessing Lilly's murder, Bettina wears this hat and matching gloves:

And, finally, Barbara Capuana (Sylvia Koscina) appears in this pink housecoat:

On an unrelated note, let's have a look at that classic killer costume.

The Crimes of the Black Cat

The Crimes of the Black Cat

"But I can't just go to the police and accuse a shadow... a voice... a scent."

The models at a Copenhagen fashion house owned by Françiose Balla (Sylvia Koscina) are turning up dead one by one... apparently of natural causes. At each crime scene, Inspector Jansen (Renato De Carmine) finds a picnic basket, a yellow shawl, and strange scratches on the corpse's neck. But how does it add up? Blind composer Peter Oliver (Anthony Steffen), the boyfriend of the first victim, aims to find out and his investigation leads him on the trail of a mysterious woman in a white hooded cape named Susan (Giovanna Lenzi). But what connection does Susan have to these models? Why would she want them dead? And how can she kill without even entering the room? The answers will lead Peter into a dangerous world of drugs, money, and blackmail!

The Crimes of the Black Cat (which often goes by its rhyming Italian title, Sette Scialli Di Seta Gialla, or Seven Shawls of Yellow Silk) is a fantastic giallo in the classic mode, even if it borrows heavily from other films. The killer's method comes from the 1940 Bela Lugosi film The Devil Bat, The fashion house setting and most of the plot comes from Blood and Black Lace, the blind detective can be traced to Cat O'Nine Tails, a slow-motion shot of a woman going head-first through a window comes from every Argento movie ever, and the brutal and highly graphic shower murder is an obvious homage to Psycho.  But even though it appropriates all these elements, The Crimes of the Black Cat synthesizes them in a clever way and it turns out to be a very satisfying movie, highly indicative of the genre.

• Check out the scene where Peter's assistant, Burton (Umberto Raho) is chasing Susan and she disappears when a rack of clothes passes in front of her. Yet another clever touch lifted from Blood and Black Lace.
• There's not a lot of bad art in this movie. In fact, it looks like Peter owns a Mondrian.
• There's a tense scene near the end where Peter is kidnapped and left alone in a closed glass factory. One false move and he'll fall into a pit of broken glass and the kidnapper uses the facility's machinery to try to knock him down. It's a great, suspenseful scene.

What the Hell Am I Watching?

Model Paula Whitney (Isabelle Marchall) is the first victim. Before she dies, her only line in the movie is a nasty homophobic slur against a co-worker.

That shower scene really is the thing that sticks with you, as it doesn't pull any punches. Unlike Marion's murder in Psycho, we see a razor blade tear deep into the victim's body in visceral detail in The Crimes of the Black Cat.

 Fashion Moment

This movie has a giallo killer who wears the classic all-black coat and hat, but it also turns that tradition on its head with a villain in white. Check out Susan's trademark hooded cape.

Black Belly of the Tarantula

Black Belly of the Tarantula

"As long as I'm free I can look for the murderer my own way."

Inspector Tellini (Giancarlo Giannini) is on the trail of a sadistic killer who first paralyzes his victims with an acupuncture needle before taking his time, slicing them open with a knife. The investigation leads Tellini to a cocaine smuggling ring and a blackmail operation. But how are the victims involved and what connects the crimes? Could the first victim's uncooperative husband (Silvano Tranquilli) be the killer? And who is the mysterious woman (Claudine Auger)  who shows up at every crime scene? As Tellini gets closer to uncovering the mystery, he and his wife, Anna (Stefania Sandrelli) find themselves in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Will this case destroy the Inspector before he can bring the killer to justice?

Black Belly of the Tarantula is a really solid giallo with some interesting turns and red herrings. The sexy parts don't seem forced or gratuitous, but rather, are integrated nicely into the story – the investigation takes Tellini to a women's day spa, so there's a valid excuse for nudity.  There's a lot of great action, thanks to a rooftop chase scene and an attempted murder involving a staged car accident. The first kill of the movie is one of the most stylish giallo murder scenes ever. We see the black-coated killer struggle with his victim in silhouette, slowly drive the needle into her neck, and then cut into her belly with lots of thick blood. It's just a really well-crafted piece of filmmaking. Director Paolo Carara is best known for his exploitative shock documentaries, like Mondo Cane and, while that experience is evident in the gory first murder, Carara shows tasteful restraint throughout Black Belly of the Tarantula. Still, with a plot that hinges on such great elements as cocaine smuggling and blackmail, the ending is a giant letdown. It turns out that the killer's motivation (while it does make "giallo sense") was never foreshadowed, so the viewer has no chance of guessing the identity of the killer ahead of time.

• The day spa and the Zani home both have the same weird-looking modern telephone. I suspect that props were re-purposed.
• The killer stalks his second victim through a shop filled with mannequins – an homage, no doubt, to Blood and Black Lace.
• This is one of those "giallo all-star" productions, featuring a lot of familiar actors: Claudine Auger (Bay of Blood), Barbara Bouchet (Don't Torture a Duckling), Rosella Falk (Seven Blood Stained Orchids), Silviano Tranquilli (The Bloodstained Butterfly), Annabella Incontrera (The Case of the Bloody Iris), Barbara Bach (Short Night of the Glass Dolls), and Eugene Walter (The Pajama Girl Case).
• There are also a lot of James Bond connections in this film. Bouchet, Bach, and Auger were all Bond girls and Giancarlo Giannini would appear in 2006's Casino Royale.

What the Hell am I Watching?

Photos and film are confiscated from the blackmailer's home and the police detectives sit down in a theater to watch the footage – including a surveilance film of Tellini and his wife enjoying some grownup time.

The title sort of makes sense, but only as a weak metaphor. At one point in the movie, a forensic scientist makes an analogy between the killer's methods and that of a wasp, paralyzing its arachnid victim before killing it.

Fashion Moment:

The wardrobe in The Black Belly of the Tarantula is pretty bland, everyday stuff.  But Laura's sea foam green coat and navy hat with matching gloves stands out in a sea of neutrals, as Tellini chases her down the street.