By 1973 the giallo genre had all ready reached it's peak. 1971 was for the giallo what 1981 was for the slasher film. It was basically a combination of 1982-1984 as well as the genre was so saturated that I think Italians were all ready getting bored. Martino's Torso introduced something new, the slasher formula. Most gialli, with some exceptions mostly took place around one location, focused more on investigation, and had money or revenge as the motive for the killer. Martino's movie not only has a more psychological and psychosexual motive for the killer, but it has the organizing principle of the girls taking off on vacation, and focuses much more on the slasher aspect and the characters in the second half than typical giallo movies did. The movie is quite erotic, bordering on sleaze but I think Martino was trying to call out the audience. So many men in this movie are shown to be leering, spying, or in some cases just assaulting women and I think Martino by placing the audience in the same shots as many of these men is calling us out for enjoying it.
After a steamy credits sequence, the film starts with a professor (John Richardson) giving a lecture to some of his students. In this sequence and right after the lecture ends you meet all of the principal characters. Flo (Patrizia Aidutori) goes for a sexcapade later that night with her boyfriend. Right away we see something different from a typical giallo as the killer is wearing a gray ski mask and not the typical leather getup. While the kills here aren't exceptionally brutal there are some bloody throat slashes to see in the aftermath. Flo looked amazing by the way with those brown eyes and that pink dress. This is the first of five pairs of breasts we see in this movie with her before she is killed.
Soon after, Carol (Conchita Airoldi) is also killed after going to a hippie commune and seemingly getting cold about having sex in front of many people. This is another fantastic sequence involving Carol getting drowned in mud, and then having her eyes gouged out after which is the goriest moment in the movie. Carol was seen with Dani's (Tina Aumont) Uncle Nino (Carlo Alighero) possibly making him a suspect. I like a lot of these college students and the first half switches perspectives back and forth between Dani and Jane (Suzy Kendall) so well that it's hard to tell who the possible final girl will be. Jane is more mature than Dani and spends a lot of time flirting with the Professor. Meanwhile Dani is being stalked by the impotent Stefano (Roberto Bisacco). At one point Stefano corners her says he needs to talk to her but ends up just trying to force himself on her. Before Carol died she was buying a newspaper from a street vendor and he tries to underneath the stand to peek below her skirt. Those are just two examples of how the men act in the first half of the film. Again, even through the male gaze Martino seems to be calling you out for it. Instead of just having the camera ogle these women he shows it from the perspective of the vendor.
Part of a red and black scarf, which is called a foulard in the movie, really fun word, was found at Carol's murder sight. Dani had seen Stefano wearing the scarf but the vendor has sold a lot of them. As in typical giallo fashion Dani is warned by a phone call not to say or remember who she saw wearing the foulard. The vendor tries to blackmail the killer and in typical fashion when he goes to meet the killer he himself is killed. This is a nasty sequence as well, if not a bit funny. The killer repeatedly rams a car into his against a building. What is funny about it is the cutting to a dummy.
Spoiler Section
At the advising of Uncle Nino Dani and her friends Ursula (Carla Brait), and Katia (Angela Covello) go to stay in a country villa. Jane follows them in her car. Meanwhile a person who ends up becoming the doctor in the town with the villa (Luc Merenda) has been seen around the University. First at the vendor stand with Carol and he later rides in the same compartment with the girls. As soon as these girls arrive in town many men are gathered around them just ogling them. They some particularly politically incorrect things about Ursula like "She has legs that could run faster than a jackrabbit." "From here you can see the source of the Nile," real lines in this movie folks. Literally the first thing you hear from any of these men is "Look at those knockers." A line that makes me laugh every time. The dubbing only makes it funnier. The local shoeshiner goes to spy on the girls at night and is found by the killer and slashed to death. Jane meanwhile gets her car fixed. The mechanic is the only other man in this movie, besides the doctor who isn't a total pervert in this movie. It should be noted that the shoeshiner was spying on Ursula and Katia having sex. Another voyeurism shot. Earlier right before Dani leaves her uncle spies on her wearing a towel. Not the first weird Uncle-niece relationship in Martino's movies, see Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key.
The next morning after the first night at the villa, the local milkman shows up and leers at the girls who are all topless laying in chairs. This is a funny moment as Jane sees him from the top of house and clumsily falls down the stairs. This where doctor Luc Merenda comes to the rescue. Previously we had seen him leering at the women in other scenes but it's more in a way just to throw you off. I think this scene shows he's the real good guy. Later Dani is sure she sees Stefano in the bushes. That night they get a knock at the door and Stefano falls, dead. The scene then cuts after the women scream. This is an interesting editing choice as you don't see any of these kills. Jane wakes up the next morning and finds the women dead. The next scenes feature an amazing cat and mouse game between Jane and the killer. It reminds me quite a bit of something like Wait Until Dark where there is a less able person trying to get away from someone dangerous in one location.
All ready this seems more like a slasher film. It ditched the investigatory aspect for women organized in one location who don't know a killer is around. That is a big aspect that separates giallo from slasher is investigation is usually swapped for not knowing any killing is happening until the end. As in the case of most slashers a character shows up at the end to save the final girl. Jane continues to stay locked in the room, trying to get a key underneath the door as the killer has locked her out not actually knowing she is in the room. At the same time he is cutting up the bodies. Later the milkman says there were four women in the villa. The killer only thought there were three. This sets up the final reveal. The killer is the professor who became a misogynist as a result of something that happened to him when he was a kid. His brother fell from a cliff while trying to get a girl's doll after saying that if they got the doll they would get to see her panties. Again in typical slasher fashion the killer says Jane is "pure" compared to the other girls he killed. Merenda shows up and fights the doctor out the barn and near the cliff. There is an awesome moment where Merenda does a dropkick. A preview for what he would do a lot more with his Eurocrime movies. In a great moment the shadow of the killer walking back from the cliff looks like the Professor but turns out to be the doctor when he approaches.
I really like how this movie bridges the gap between slasher and giallo. Martino as usual has brilliant camerawork including some amazing wide shots of the town from an aerial view and from the villa. The english dub adds some levity to it. I like how Martino makes you feel just like some of the men in this movie while using the male gaze. The kills are a little tame but the suspense at times makes up for it. Guido and Maurizio De Angelis add a sultry feel to the score. As usual Martino does a great job shooting people's eyes and it only makes Suzy Kendall and Tina Aumont specifically look more beautiful.
English Dubbing Cast:
- Susan Spafford dubbed Suzy Kendall as Jane
- Carolyn De Fonseca dubbed the prostitute Stefano sees
- Frank Von Kuegelen dubs a man in the small town who says "Look at those knockers."
Rating : 9/10 I think this would have been a 10 years ago but now it's a nine. While I enjoy the final cat and mouse game in the finale but the movie feels slightly long and certain moments could be sped up near the end.
Trivia: No one knew who the killer was while making the movie. Because of all the red herrings actresses in the film thought someone else they had never seen was the character doing all the killing.
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