Rings of Fear

Rings of Fear 

"The truth can never be ignored."

When the body of a teenage girl is discovered wrapped in plastic in a reservoir, Inspector Gianni DiSalvo (Fabio Testi) is put on the case. His investigation leads to a prestigious all-girls' school where the victim's friends, a clique that calls themselves "The Inseparables," share a dark secret. The mystery leads to menacing poems, a diary filled with cartoon cats, and a chic clothing boutique owned by an alleged art forger. Soon, other students and suspects in the investigation start turning up dead and even DiSalvo himself becomes a target. With the help of the first victim's kid sister, Emily (Fausta Avelli), DiSalvo must piece together the clues, learn The Inseparables' secret, and stop the murderer.

Rings of Fear is known by many titles, including Red Rings of Fear,  Virgin Killer, Virgin Terror, and Trauma (though it's not to be confused with Dario Argento's 1993 giallo, also titled Trauma). None of those are apt or at all accurate and I suppose calling the movie The Inseparables would have made it seem like a lighthearted buddy picture. Director Alberto Negrin must be a fan of Massimo Dallamano because this film's plot is not only a retread of 1972's  What Have You Done With Solange?, borrowing its "schoolgirls with a deadly secret" plot and its star, Fabio Testi, but also incorporates elements from 1974's What Have They Done to You Daughters? - namely a scene on a roller coaster and swaggering, brassy theme music. Rings of Fear does hit some original notes, including the identity of the killer, which you probably won't see coming, and some creative murders and attempted murders.

• Fausta Avelli does a really great job and, at first, I thought I was watching that other great giallo child star, Nicoletta Elmi. You may remember Avelli as the traumatized girl who silently reveals the killer in Lucio Fulci's Don't Torture a Duckling. She was also a classmate in Dario Argento's Phenomenon and appeared in Lucio Fulci's The Psychic.

What the Hell Am I Watching?

Ironically, by-the-book cop DiSalvo's wife, Christina (Christiane Kaufman) is a kleptomaniac. Besides that little contradiction, their marriage seems fine but about halfway through the film, as he's walking out the door, she breaks up with him in the most nonchalant way. She just says "I won't be here when you get back." He casually replies "Thanks for telling me." And then we never hear from her again.

Rings of Fear also features the most matter-of-fact suicide scene I can remember. The killer casually admits to the crimes while strolling atop a dam and then when he's done, calmly climbs the railing and throws himself over the edge.

But that person isn't the only responsible party and when a second murderer is revealed, DiSalvo just lets the killer off the hook with a wink and a smile.

Fed up with all the secrets, DiSalvo bursts into the school late at night, knocking on doors, waking everyone up, and demanding answers. This is, unsurprisingly, not a very productive investigative technique.

Later, DiSalvo gets answers from a suspect by forcing him on a roller coaster and choking him. Dude has some serious issues. I'm starting to get a better picture of why his wife left him.

Giallo movies are known for creative and bizarre camera work. I've seen killer's POV, butterfly POV, and mattress POV, but this is the first movie I've ever seen - possibly the only movie ever made for a mainstream audience - that has vagina POV. 

Fashion Moment

The color palate of Rings of Fear is pretty drab, full of boring neutrals and earth tones. So when suspect Michael Paravinci (Jack Taylor) greets the detectives in a bright yellow robe it really stands out.

And if you're at all familiar with how giallo movies work, you know that that color choice isn't an accident and that it marks Michael as a significant suspect in the case.

What Have You Done to Solange?

What Have You Done To Solange?

"Don't worry, Uncle. I promise I won't go near the river banks today. Bye!"

Enrico Rosseni (Fabio Testi) is a handsome, popular teacher at London's St. Mary's Catholic School for Girls. His wife Herta (Karin Baal) is also a teacher there, but their marriage is strained and Enrico has been having a secret affair with a student, Elizabeth (Cristina Galbó, credited as Christina Galbo). During one of their secret rendezvous, Elizabeth witnesses the murder of a classmate – but she and Enrico can't come forward without revealing their affair. With his tarnished reputation and no solid alibi, Enrico is a suspect in the case, but things turn quickly as more schoolgirls are murdered in the same brutal manner. Now Enrico must investigate on his own to discover what dark secrets link the victims. Who would want these girls dead and why? Are they as innocent as they appear? Could one of the school's priests be the killer? And how does a mysterious girl named Solange fit into the puzzle?

Besides having a fantastic title, What Have You Done To Solange? is an engaging, twisty, and complex thriller, ending in a place you'd never suspect. It also features something rare and wonderful in depicting the complex, grown-up relationship between husband and wife Enrico and Herta. They start the movie as ice-cold enemies, even taking separate cars to the same job, but the mystery unexpectedly brings them closer and, by working together to solve the case, they re-discover their love for each other. Watching a relationship re-kindle over the course of a movie is the stuff of serious art films and here it is in a giallo alongside Porky's-style scenes of a peeping Tom in a girls' shower and teenagers getting stabbed in their lady parts.

• The screenplay was based on a novel by Edgar Wallace
• The original Italian title (Cosa Avete Fatto a Solange?) uses the plural form of "You," which doesn't translate exactly into English. The closest we can get would be the colloquial What Have Y'all Done to Solange? It's a subtle difference, but it changes the meaning of the title dramatically.
• Ennio Morricone's score expertly transitions from a gauzy love theme to eerie dread and tense action.
• The main staircase of the school sort of does a half-twist, but I'm counting it as a spiral staircase anyway.
• The title, as I said, is brilliant. Using the unusual name "Solange" and taking the form of a question creates a sense of intrigue and anticipation before the movie even starts. Then the title character isn't even mentioned until about an hour and 12 minutes in, creating an even greater sense of mystery.

What the Hell am I Watching?

Not to give too much away, but there's a gruesome and upsetting flashback scene that takes place in a kitchen.

This movie's most jaw-dropping move is making an adulterous pedophile its hero and somehow redeeming him in the end. In that sense, he's sort of like Norman Bates in Psycho – the deranged sicko for whom we're compelled to root.

Fashion Moment

Herta starts the movie stern and cold, angry at her estranged husband. Her hair is a tight blonde helmet and she wears crisp, masculine suits.

But as she starts to re-discover her relationship with her husband, her look softens a little.

 

She lets her hair down, has more femenine makeup...

...and we start to see more delicate fabrics and comfortable-looking, casual clothing.

 

Brava to costume designer Elisa Gut for engineering a complete character arc through Herta's wardrobe.