Deadly Inheritance

Deadly Inheritance

"Do you think everything has a logical answer? The reality we live isn't arranged like a story."

When Oscar Marot (Arnaldo De Angelis) dies in a train accident, his three daughters, Simone (Femi Benussi), Rosalie (Giovanna Lenzi, credited as Jeanette Len), and Colette (Valeria Ciangottini) are surprised to learn that he left them a small fortune. But, according to the will, no money will be distributed for three years, when slow-witted farmhand Janot (Ernesto Colli) turns 21. When Janot is found dead it appears to be a suicide, but Inspector Greville (Tom Drake) believes that it was murder. Could the killer be Rosalie's husband, Leon (Ivo Garrani), who has sizable debts around town? Or perhaps it's Simone's married boyfriend Jules (Iscaro Ravaioli), who needs money to get a divorce. The police investigation ramps up as more and more potential inheritors turn up dead. Which of the heirs would kill for Oscar's money?

Deadly Inhertiance is a great early giallo that starts slow and builds to a wonderfully surprising twist ending. And then it throws another twist on top of that for good measure. Add some nice action, a gratuitous nude scene, beautiful cinematography, and a touch of humor and we have the makings of an under-appreciated giallo gem. 

• Deadly Inheritance is also frequently known by two Italian titles: Omicidio Per Vocazione (which translates roughly to A Talent for Murder) and L'assassino Ha Le Mani Pulite (or The Killer Has Clean Hands).
• You may recognise Tom Drake, who plays the Inspector, as Judy Garland's "boy next door" in Meet Me In St. Louis.
• You may also recognize Ernesto Colli, who plays creepster Janot as the creepy scarf vendor in Torso or as the creepy morgue worker in Autopsy.  You can't say he didn't fill a niche.
• The steps in the farmhouse turn a rounded corner, which I'm counting as a spiral staircase.

What the Hell Am I Watching?

Thanks to a lazy and completely inept police force, old and clearly out-of-shape Leon manages to evade a village-wide manhunt. He's on foot and they can't seem to catch him in police cars. He takes a rowboat and manages to evade their motorboat. And then – best of all – he sneaks back on to shore a few yards away from two policemen while their backs are turned.

We learn that Janot is a creepster when he spies on Simone taking a shower. She is shocked and disgusted when she catches him and whacks him with a towel. But then, for some reason, she apologizes to him. How crazy is that?

Who exactly is Etienne (Virgilio Gazzolo), the bearded guy who accompanies the Inspector? Early on, he appears to have a romantic relationship with Colette, but that doesn't stop her from flirting with other men. The police address him as "Commissioner," but then why does he appear adjunctive to Inspector Greville during the investigation?

The surf rock band that plays at the nightclub appears to be a quartet – two guitars, a bass, and a drummer – so where are those horn sounds coming from?

Fashion Moment

The French village of Epibaix seems to have an unusually young population for a small, agrarian community. There are enough teenagers to support two nightclubs and they all seem to be hip to beach music and the latest fashions from Southern California.

Among our main characters, youngest daughter Colette seems to be the most fashionable. She wears this mod little number for most of the film.

But near the end, she changes into this simple and chic fitted t-shirt.

Bloodsucker Leads the Dance

Bloodsucker Leads the Dance

"The world is a stage. But sometimes it isn't."

It's 1902 in the city of Dublin and just as a troupe of actresses finish the closing night of their show, handsome Count Richard Marnack (Giacomo Rossi-Stuart) arrives. He is infatuated with actress Evelyn (Patrizia Webley) and invites her and her colleagues – actresses Cora (Krista Nell), Rosalind (Mariza Damon), and Penny (Lidia Olizzi) and stagehand Samuel (Leo Valeriano) – to join him at his  castle. While Evelyn and the Count take romantic walks by the seaside and Evelyn and Penny entertain themselves in their bedroom, lusty Cora nets herself a local fisherman. But things turn sinister when the Count admits his family's dark past – both his father and his grandfather murdered their wives with the same ceremonial dagger and the Count's own wife went missing several years ago and is presumed dead. Before long, the visitors start turning up dead, decapitated with the same cursed blade. Could the killer be Sybil (Femi Benussi), the jealous maid or Gregory (Luciano Pigozzi), the creepy gardener? Is it possible that a ghost of the Count's ancestor has returned to fulfill the family curse?

The title Bloodsucker Leads the Dance is, perhaps, the most misleading non-sequiter in a genre filled with nonsensical titles. There are no vampires, as the title suggests, no one dances (even metaphorically), and there is certainly no one who leads any dancing. I suppose that's why the movie is sometimes known as The Passion of Evelyn, which is a little more apt. It seems that all the money for this film went into the period costumes and locations - and certainly not the script with its laughably awful dialogue (see above). It did have lofty aspirations, though, borrowing elements from such esteemed literary sources as Rebecca, Jane Eyre, and The Man in the Iron Mask.

• Here's how the movie breaks down: 20 minutes of exposition, then 40 minutes of gratuitous nudity and grownup time, and then the murders all occur and are wrapped up in the last 25 minutes. This definitely falls under the category of a "sexy" giallo.
• Director Alfredo Rizzo was also an actor. He focused mainly on low-budget horror flicks, but perhaps his biggest mainstream success was as a cab driver in the Audrey Hepburn movie Roman Holiday.
• Bloodsucker Leads the Dance features two giallo all-stars: you may remember Femi Benussi from Strip Nude for your Killer and Luciano Pigozzi from the classics Blood and Black Lace and Naked You Die.

What the Hell am I Watching?

The movie is strange enough, but the versions you'll see on DVD and Netflix have a wonderfully crazy special bonus: an eight-minute intro by horror host Redemption. Imagine a lesbian vampire Isabella Rossellini look-alike with a geographically untraceable accent wearing black-wings, leather, and white contacts. Now imagine her making out with mostly-naked chicks dripping with fake blood in slow motion. Then, in her sexy, slow purr, she talks a little about the history and development of the horror genre. It's exactly as awesome as it sounds.

Bloodsucker Leads the Dance drinking game! Drink whenever someone insults Samuel's masculinity. Chug whenever the camera lingers on a horse's butt.

Fashion Moment

Here's the scene where Evelyn first arrives in her room at the castle.
 

Notice that her amber dress and blond curls are in perfect harmony with the room's maple furnishings and gold filigree. Even the creamy sheets match her blouse. It's as if this is just where she belongs. For ever and ever.

Strip Nude For Your Killer

Strip Nude For Your Killer

"In our kind of business a person doesn't take long to know who he does and doesn't like."

A mysterious murderer in a black helmet and leather motorcycle gear is killing the employees of a photography studio. Photographer Carlo Bianchi (Nino Castelnuovo) and his girlfriend and assistant, Magda Cortis (Edwige Fenech), are piecing together the clues. Could the killer be the studio's stern owner, Gisella Montagni (Amanda)? Or jealous model Patrizia (Solvi Stubing)? And what motive could possibly tie all the killings together? Carlo and Magda must race to find the vital clues and solve the case!

Some gialli are scary and some gialli are sexy. Strip Nude For Your Killer is definitely a sexy giallo, with pretty much the entire cast in minimal wardrobe (or nothing at all) throughout the film. And if you like something shocking to go with your bewbs, consider that the movie opens with a woman in stirrups dying from complications of a botched abortion. That really sets the tone for some brutal killings, unapologetic misogyny, and gratuitous sex. In short, it's everything you want in a giallo film.

• There's certainly nudity and there's a whole lot of killing, but no one is forced to "strip nude for the killer" as the title suggests.
• The traditional killer's costume of a black trench coat and hat is re-imagined as a tight leather jumpsuit and helmet, making him look like a psychotic member of Daft Punk.
• There's a water motif throughout the film: fountains, spilled booze, faucets, and pools are recurring elements thought the film. The killer's trademark is to turn on a tap to lure victims. It's all meant to remind the victims (and the audience) of the initial killing, which was staged to look like a drowning.
• The murder of Maurizio Montagni (Franco Diogene) is the Psycho shower scene, staged in reverse. He is standing in the bathroom and the killer strikes from inside the shower,  behind the curtain.
• In that scene, we can clearly see the camera crew in a mirror as Maurizio walks by.
• There is one off-screen killing: the gynecologist from the opening scene.
• I don't think the killer was killed at the end, so I didn't count him in the body count. It was just a fall down some stairs and he was wearing a helmet, so the injuries couldn't have been too bad.
 

What the Hell am I Watching?

After the credits, we're taken to some sort of... facility. I'm not sure if it's a rec center, a spa, or a sex club, but there's a bar and nearly-naked people are everywhere. Carlo tails the beautiful Lucia (Femi Benussi), lures her into the sauna, gets her naked, and then jumps her. What makes it most uncomfortable is that she protests the whole time before going along with every step. Rather disturbing in our modern era of "no means no."

Chubby Maurizio is the saddest character in the entire giallo canon. The poor guy is married to a cold, domineering woman who gets more chicks than he does and when he does try to have an affair, he bursts into tears, clumsily offers to pay the woman anyway, and finds solace with his blow-up doll. It's supposed to be funny, but I just find it depressing. It makes me even sadder when the poor guy is killed later.

Hey, Magda, honey? You're working with caustic chemicals in that film lab. Maybe take off the bulky fur coat?

And speaking of which, she must have done millions of Lira in damage, knocking down lights and furniture while trying to stealthily evade the killer in the photo studio.

Fashion Moment

It takes a confident man to wear a swimsuit like this.