Killer Without a Face

"Nobody can convince me that this place isn't haunted."

Barbara (Mara Berni) and her husband Walter (Giuliano Raffaelli) live in an English medieval castle, joined by Barbara's friend Francis (Janine Reynaud), the accountant Clark (Luigi Batzella, credited as Paolo Solvay) and a small staff. When handsome architect John (Gianni Medici) arrives to renovate the estate, he charms with all the ladies but soon uncovers some shocking secrets. First, that the castle is said to be haunted by an ancient curse. Then he learns that Barbara's cousin fell from the high tower and died shortly before his arrival, which helps to explain her wild mood swings from deep depression to manic joy. Before long, more residents of MacDonald Castle show up dead. Could the curse be responsible? Or has Barbara's trauma led to a deadly psychotic break? Could target shooting hobbyist Francis be involved? 

Killer Without a Face (not to be confused with Eyes Without a Face) is a quaint early giallo, more in line with Agatha Christie than with Mario Bava. The gothic flourishes are all there, from the dark castle, raging storms and spooky cellar to the family curse. This pre-dates the flashy, wild style that the genre is famous for and the only real modern element is the jazzy score. Still, it's a cozy and fun little tale.

• You may remember Giuliano Raffaelli from Blood and Black Lace and he also had an uncredited part in Roman Holiday. Janine Reynaud would go on to appear in The Case of the Scorpion's Tail.

• The most famous face in the cast is probably Lawrence Tierney, who plays the mute groundskeeper, best known to modern audiences as mob boss Joe Cabot in Reservoir Dogs.

 

• This is the last film credit for Anita Todesco, who plays replacement maid Mary.

• The title couldn't be more generic and doesn't relate specifically to the story.

What the Hell am I Watching?

Again, this is a buttoned-down early giallo, so there's not a lot of visual excitement or insane plot twists here. But Francis's target pistol with a silencer attached (so as not to disturb Barbara) is kind of bonkers.

Fashion Moment:

No flash on the fashion front either - pretty much conservative suits, dresses and domestic uniforms. This nightgown is as daring as it gets.

 

Also, here's a gorgeous shot of the castle's spiral staircase.

 

Marta

 

"You don't need me. All you need is your own ball of shadows and hatred."

 

 

Miguel (Stephen Boyd) is a wealthy man of leisure with severe Oedipal issues and a family history of mental illness, who lives alone in a sprawling estate outside Rome, ever since his unfaithful wife, Pilar (Marissa Mell), left him. One day, a beautiful stranger named Marta (also Marissa Mell) appears on the estate, desperately explaining that she killed a man nearby and needs to escape. Miguel takes her in and covers for her when the police start asking questions. Before long, Marta and Miguel start a romantic affair despite her lingering questions - where is Pilar? What were the circumstances in the mysterious death of Miguel's mother, Clara (Nélida Quiroga)? Is Marta who she says she is and why does she look exactly like Pilar? A trap is set, but you'll be guessing until the end about who is the hunter and who is the prey.

This little gem of the genre almost didn't make the list, because it was unclear if it met all the criteria to be called a giallo. But after finally getting to review it, I can say that this is clearly a giallo and a really fun one at that. The beginning might be a little slow, but the last half hour ramps up with a succession of mind-bending twists that make it really fun.

• A cast of giallo all-stars makes this one particularly good. You'll recognize Marissa Mell from Una Sull'altra and Isa Miranda, who plays the maid, Elena, was in Mario Bava's Bay of Blood. And, of course, the great George Rigaud, who appears as butler Arturo, was in Knife of Ice and The Case of the Bloody Iris, among many others.

 

• For the purposes of the checklist above, the manor's staircase curves, but isn't spiral. Also, the rooms are decorated with several animal trophies, but none were killed during the course of the film. Also, there were two deaths on screen, but one appears to be a genuine accident, rather than a murder.

 

• The title Marta does make sense, but the original Italian title, which translates to ... After That it Kills and Devours the Male does not.  It's possible that this relates to Miguel's insect collection, but if there was a scene that ties the title in, it was cut from the final edit.

• There's a quick shot of a famous location from another giallo - Miguel and Marta have a date at the Spanish Steps, where The Girl Who Knew Too Much took place.

What the Hell am I Watching?

Marta is an accurate title for this movie, but a more precise one might be Every Hitchcock Movie at the Same Time. At the beginning, a guy with oedipal issues shows a desperate woman to her room, spies on her through a peep hole in the wall as she undresses and then contemplates killing her in the shower. Clearly an homage to Psycho. Later, it's revealed that Marta and Pilar look identical and Miguel keeps pushing to get Marta to look more and more like his lost wife. Sounds a lot like Vertigo to me. As the mystery deepens, Marta dresses in a 19th century ball gown to match a painting in the great hall, before the servants reveal some ulterior motives, much like in Rebecca. Throw in some of Poe's "Cask of Amontillado" and you've got a movie!

Fashion Moment

SPOILERS AHEAD!

 

There seems to be a loose color motif in Marta's wardrobe. When we first see her, she's making maximum visual impact in a striking white mini dress with a matching cape and black thigh-high boots. Hard to miss with all that flowing fabric.

 

Throughout the movie, she seems to wear black and white outfits when she is at her most vulnerable and innocent. Here's a different dress she wears while hiding, as Miguel distracts the police.

When she's feeling more confident or when emotions are heightened, we see Marta in red or pink. She wears this sequined gown several times as her romance heats up, along with a Neuhu-style suit and several other red and pink looks.

Is she Marta or is she Pilar? Late in the movie, we discover that she actually has a third identity - Veronica! And Veronica's color seems to be blue. She wears this exact same outfit - with the black pants and slouchy belt- in red earlier in the movie.

 

Honorable Mention: Marta (posing as Pilar) is ready to log on to the Matrix in this chic leather duster. The director seems eager to find any excuse to get Marissa Mell out of her clothes, but she always looks her best when she's making these flowy, draping outfits move.

 

 

Eyes of Crystal

 

Eyes of Crystal

"Resin, nylon string, live bait, bullets... What for?"

Brooding young detective Giacomo Amaldi (Luigi Lo Cascio) and his veteran partner Frese (José Ángel Egido) are on the trail of a nine-fingered taxidermist-turned-serial killer who steals the limbs of his victims and replaces them with doll parts. Meanwhile, Amaldi is also helping college student Giuditta (Lucía Jiménez) track down her stalker. As the detectives get closer to the killer, the murders grow more and more gruesome. Could dying police detective Ajaccio (Simón Andreu) hold answers to the case? And what does the killer plan to do with all the body parts he's stealing?

Eyes of Crystal (Not to be confused with The Cat With Jade Eyes) is a decent modern take on the giallo genre, full of stylish camera work, gruesome murders and a well-paced mystery. The movie was obviously influenced by Argento, Bava and Fulci (especially Fulci) but also takes cues from David Fincher and American police procedural shows like CSI. While classic gialli had a more operatic, stylish use of blood, modern audiences have a taste for a more, shall we say, accurate and literal depiction of murder. 

• The film instantly gains giallo cred with the casting of superstar Simón Andreu, whom you will remember from classics like Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion, Death Walks on High Heels and Death Walks at Midnight.
• There are lots of taxidermy animals in the film, but for purposes of the checklist above, only two are killed during the movie: the chipmunk at the beginning and the heron by the shipyard.
• I also didn't count Amaldi's girlfriend in the body count, because she died before the movie starts in an unrelated incident.
• The title refers to the taxidermy killer's use of glass eyes in his work.
• The climactic slow-motion fall from a high tower is filmed as an obvious homage to Don't Torture a Duckling, which ends with the same dramatic stunt.

What the Hell am I Watching?

The movie clearly takes place in an industrial Italian city (Turin maybe or Milan?) but the city library's Occult section only has books written in English.

Imagine how long it would take to decapitate someone using only a surgical scalpel. There's no way the killer could get in, kill someone, remove a head or a pair of limbs with a tiny (albeit sharp) blade, dress the corpse up with doll parts and get out in a hurry.

But the real craziness comes at the film's climax when the killer's gruesome puzzle of human parts appears to rise up from its bed on its own. There's a moment (but just a moment) where you question what kind of movie this even is.

Fashion Moment

This movie has a lot of plot to keep track of, so it's a good thing the clothes are dull and not distracting. Here's the sort of thing we're dealing with:

With his dark, shaggy hair, black trench coat and dark, solid-colored clothes, Amaldi is clearly the Goth Prince of the police precinct. He's not only in mourning for his girlfriend, but is so focused on work that he can't be bothered to consider his clothes.  Even in a relaxed setting in his free time, he's still dark and brooding.

The only relief from the drab blues and grays in this movie comes from Giuditta, who uses red as a signature color.

 

 

This not only makes her stand out visually, but communicates that unlike any of the other characters, she has a relatively bright, positive outlook on life. The only other significant use of red in the movie is blood, so this also foreshadows Giuditta as a potential target.