Hooptober 7.0

Film 3/31 - Italy

Well after the heights of Braindead and Peeping Tom, I had to expect a drop off and sure enough this early 80s giallo from the lesser Bava surely delivered that drop.

An admittedly tiny budget and tight shooting schedule doesn’t excuse the bloated length and pacing issues or the fact that the killer’s motivations and “character” make absolutely no sense.   Tennis balls?  WTF??  

That said there are some solid suspense sequences and red herrings, and the villa is definitely creepy. There is also one brutal kill (the bathroom) that was well done and the casting of the creepy blonde kid from House By The Cemetery was a nice touch, particularly how he is used here.  I’d selected this as my Italy entry, but it could have qualified for the taking place in one setting category as well.  I appreciated the use of the villa and that everything was shot on location in such a short time with, apparently, a tiny crew.

I have to day I did miss the gore and sleaze of other giallo and Lamberto Bava films.  Perhaps that’s what made this feel a bit long.