Idle Hands

 

For a long time I've said that CEMETERY MAN is my favorite horror movie of the 1990s. I did not know that there was an American movie that really feels like the perfect counterpart. IDLE HANDS is that film. This is like if CEMETERY MAN met PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. A movie with great effects work, some laugh out loud moments, plenty of blood and gory moments, and the cherry on top is this is also a great high school movie. I love high school set movies, particularly comedies and this mixes all that with everything I would want from a horror comedy. Despite his lethargic nature I found Devon Sawa's character easy to root for in this. I always like movies where a character needs some kind of conflict or motivation to make them better. Look no further than his possessed hand and then severing that hand trying to find it to put an end to that demon. Elden Henson and Seth Green provide great levity. Jessica Alba is the perfect it girl. 

Synopsis: When slacker teen Anton Tobias (Devon Sawa) has his right hand possessed by a demonic force, he finds that his life gets a lot more interesting. While Anton himself is an amiable guy, his hand proves to be an appendage of death, killing his two best buddies, Pnub (Elden Henson) and Mick (Seth Green), who return to life as wisecracking zombies. In addition to murdering those closest to him, Anton's evil hand significantly hinders his chances with lovely neighbor Molly (Jessica Alba)

What I liked about the beginning of this movie was the Halloween ambience. Anton's family has all these jack o' lanterns and Halloween decorations on the side of their house. The crane shot to Anton's parent's room is really well done. The mix of a more orchestral score with the industrial score by Graeme Revell really fits a late 90s film. The soundtrack that we get mixes punk rock of the time with some industrial metal. I dig it. There is also the use of Motley Crue's "Shout at the Devil," that is used as a leitmotif of sorts for one character. This opening sequence is actually quite suspenseful and creepy. I like it when horror comedy films can balance the horror and the comedy by not having one undercut the other. The "I'm under the bed message" and what happens with the parents getting killed in this opening is reminiscent of WHEN A STRANGER CALLS. 

What makes the movie funny is the transition it takes after the opening. Apparently Anton (Devon Sawa) has a room in the attic of the house and his mother frequently tried to call for him before she was killed. He wakes up with his headphones on so we assume he heard none of the commotion the night before. He wakes up, watches TV, and calls for his mother when he notices they are out of milk. Anton's lethargy is put in place right away as he complains about having to walk right across the street to his friend's house to get some marijuana. He walks across the shirt in just his shirt and boxers and of course when he gets there his friend Pnub (Elden Henson) says he doesn't have any weed. He said he had something for him and that didn't mean weed. The girl next door trope is set up right away as they see Molly (Jessica Alba) riding her moped home. Anton loves Molly but as usual in these films has never been able to bring himself to talk to her. The high school movie tropes are set up quickly here as the centerpiece of the film ends up being Anton going to a Halloween school dance with Molly, then having to save her at said dance.

Devon Sawa as Anton

There were some unexpected developments early on. Anton goes to return a lyric book to Molly after it falls on the ground. He returns it but cannot bring himself to talk to her and just thrusts the book in her face and runs away. Later at home Anton notices a bloody knife and eventually sees his cat, Bones playing with a severed eyeball. Anton then runs upstairs and eventually trips on his way down, into the bodies of his parents. He calls his friends over but realizes he is actually the killer when a part of his shirt is found ripped off. The possessed hand eventually kills both Mick (Seth Green) and Pnub. 

The undead version of Mick (Seth Green)

Pnub (Elden Henson) with Mick (Seth Green)

Eventually he runs out of the house and the hand forces him to knock on Molly's door. There are several funny moments here including one moment where he tries to say no but the hand covers his mouth up and forces him to nod when Molly asks him in. This scene is cute, tense, and funny at the same time. The cute moments are when Molly seems to like Anton for being genuine. She at first gets mad at him for reading in her lyric book but then smiles when he sings some of his favorite lyrics. For all the bad things the hand does, such as murder, the hand also brings unintended benefits for Anton. It gets him into Molly's house and eventually into her funhouse so to speak. The hand eventually grabs Molly's ass and she is actually impressed with his audacity. She then proceeds to throw him on the bed and there are some funny moments where the hand begins to really choke Molly and then relents. Eventually he ties the hand to the bedpost. Again Molly is impressed, calling him "kinky." Eventually her parents get home and she asks Anton to the dance. Both of the sequences I described I really enjoy because they are unexpected. You don't expect the woman to fall in love with the main character so early on. Normally that takes up the entire conflict and plot of a film like this. The two friends, who of course come back as zombies, I was shocked when they got "killed," so quickly. There were so many scenes in this movie that felt like climactic scenes that work on a human level, a comedy level, and at times a horror level.

Jessica Alba as Molly

What enhanced this movie a lot was the outstanding practical effects and makeup work. The broken bottle effect on Seth Green's head is great. Elden Henson's severed head and headless body walking around was great. The talking severed head reminded me of scenes in CEMETERY MAN. Some of the kills the hand does throughout such as scalping a person and later tearing a woman apart in a ventilation shaft. Two cops show up at Anton's house and they are killed by a knitting needle going through both ears and the other is tased to death. There are so many funny moments throughout, including Anton's eulogy for his friends when he says I enjoyed sitting smoking weed and watching TV with you guys. He comes to a realization that that is all they did. Later Anton goes to find his neighbor Randy (Jack Noseworthy) for help. Anton breaks into a fast food restaurant and tries to talk to Randy at the drive-thru after Randy wants nothing to do with him. This was preceded by another great comedy moment where Randy is flirting with a woman and Anton comes up and the hand starts making the woman think he is masturbating so she walks away. 

The film comes to a climax after Anton finds a way to cut off his hand by having Pnub bite on his hand while Anton chops it off with a meat cleaver. The hand eventually escapes, even after Anton burns it in the microwave. Anton goes to look for the hand while sending Molly off the dance, promising he will come back for her. Druidic High Priestess Debi LeCure (Vivica A. Fox) comes into town hunting for the hand. She eventually finds Randy, who is interested in her and he tells her about Anton. The hand eventually breaks into the dance, forcing a scene out of CARRIE where the hand shows up and locks the doors and kills many people. There is a great moment of horror movie nudity in the scene before when the hand shows up and kills a couple having sex in a car. Molly and her friend Tanya (Katie Wright) eventually make their way to the vents to escape but Tanya is eventually killed and Molly is forced into a classroom. 

Vivica A. Fox as Debi

During the whole climax there are more funny moments to provide levity. When Debi first finds Anton she tries to catch him off guard attacking him when he doesn't expect it which was quite funny. Both Mick and Pnub get some funny meta lines. When they are at the dance they refer to one another as "dead" in front of others with others not getting the joke. Everyone thinks they are wearing costumes, as Pnub has now taped his head back on. One great meta line comes toward the end when Molly has the midsection of her costume ripped off and Pnub says "I bet she wins best costume." Eventually the hand takes over a puppet and Anton and his friends light a giant bong "for strength" Anton eventually blows smoke up the puppet. Debi shows up and throws her dagger at the hand, killing it. Right after that Pnub has another great line where the hand just disappears and he seems disappointed that nothing more happened. He lowers a car that Molly was tied up to, going closer and closer to the ceiling to crush her. They embrace, and of course Mick hits the lever and the car drops and crushes Anton. The movie ends with Anton refusing to go to heaven and going back to the living to be with Molly. Both Pnub and Mick appear as his guardian angels and play a trick on him by putting the message "I'm under the bed," above the ceiling in his hospital room.

I think she would win best costume unanimiously

The tone of this movie is quite Looney Tunes mixed again with CEMETERY MAN. Like PINEAPPLE EXPRESS it also shows characters smoking and talking about marijuana. There is a fun moment early on when Anton's friends tell him to mix nutmeg and oregano if he has no weed. Anton does and everything that happens from there involves the hand. The scene where they talk about the nutmeg and oregano felt like something PINEAPPLE EXPRESS would do later when they talk about different ways to smoke marijuana. I enjoyed that aspect of the movie because in some stoner comedies they seem to be around characters actually partaking in doing drugs. BILL AND TED comes to mind with that. The combination of that aspect, with the likable and fun characters, the high school setting, the excellent practical effects, and great comedic writing made this into my top horror films of the 1990s. 

Rating: 9.5/10

Trivia: The dish soap that Devon Sawa squirts in his mouth after attempting to smoke nutmeg and oregano was real dish soap. He came up with the gag on the spot

Scenes: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=idle+hands+scenes

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlmCEc8BmEQ

Wishmaster

 

When you combine KNB effects with an interesting Djinn mythology and give great horror movie actors cameos in a way that doesn't distract from the main story of the film, I'm going to like it. I did like this. Anytime KNB is involved in a film, no matter how dire I will enjoy the effects work, and this is all I need to enjoy a horror film. That being said Andrew Divoff brings the Djinn mythology to life with one of the horror characters of the 1990s that should be more of an icon. Divoff's lines are amazing and the character feels like a more sincere version of the LEPRECHAUN character from the same decade. Trickster villains and heroes are also always some of my favorites as I can always laugh and be in awe of some of the things they do. That being said, a horror movie villain is only as great as the hero/final girl that opposes them. I really liked Tammy Lauren as Alexandra in this film. She is a vulnerable character, but strong in real world ways. We see her as a credible jewel appraiser and a basketball coach. Her credibility as a character makes her worth rooting for against the Wishmaster. 

Synopsis: A gemologist (Tammy Lauren) unwittingly frees and evil genie (Andrew Divoff) that plays deadly tricks on her friends and acquaintances.

The film starts with a voiceover narrative from Angus Scrimm talking about how God created the universe, the light created angels, Earth created man, and the fire created Djinn. The Djinn are condemned to live in the void between worlds. If someone wakes a Djinn they are entitled to three wishes. The third wish though will unleash all legions of Djinn upon Earth. Film establishes the mythology earlier. We get a look at the Djinn's deceit and nefarious nature in the opening scene in 1127 Persia. A Persian emperor wishes to see wonders, so what does the Djinn do? Torture and mutilate many people in the palace. A Persian sorcerer then imprisons the Djinn in some kind of opal that apparently contains it. Unfortunately for the characters in present time, Dr. Strange will not be around to save them.

The film then follows Robert Englund playing a collector of antique statues. Unfortunately the crane operator (Joe Pilato) lowering one of his statues off of a boat is drunk and breaks the crate carrying the statue. One of the dock workers takes out the opal and pawns it. Someone buys the opal and takes it to the head of an auctioneering company played by Chris Lemmon (son of Jack Lemmon and star of JUST BEFORE DAWN). He instructs Alexandra "Alex" Amberson (Tammy Lauren) to appraise it. Alex leaves the opal in possession of her close friend Josh (Tony Crane). As he has the opal under a microscope it explodes. The Djinn then kills Josh and wanders to find Alex who is the person who set him free, therefore she is entitled to three wishes...

Tammy Lauren as Alexandra

First and foremost I loved seeing so many horror icons in this film. To me their roles do not take away from the movie. As a matter of fact they add to the film. You may think they could be a distraction, but all of them are playing characters that fit their persona and add to the film. The list of horror icons here is long: Tony Todd, Kane Hodder, Ricco Ross (who played Private Frost in ALIENS), Reggie Bannister, George "Buck" Flower, Ted Raimi, as well as the others I have mentioned all ready. Before Adam Green was putting many horror icons in his films to be killed by Victor Crowley in the HATCHET films, this film was doing it. It was also fun to see some greats interacting in ways you didn't expect. There is one shouting match between George "Buck" Flower and Reggie Bannister that is quite funny. 

The KNB effects here are outstanding. For those who don't know, KNB stands for Kurtzman, Nicotero, and Berger. In full,that would be Robert Kurtzman, Greg Nicotero, and Howard Berger. They have also done work independently of one another but when together are quite possibly the best special effects and makeup artists in film. There are some great creature effects and gore effects. The look of Andrew Divoff as the Wishmaster is great. He looks like a cross between a Power Rangers villain and Dr. Chennard in HELLRAISER 2. The red and yellow contact lenses in particular are a nice touch. There are some great blood squibs in a police shootout. Some of my favorite effects include: the chest-bursting alien-like effects, half alligator men, bloody and real looking skeletons, boil and burning effects on Reggie Bannister, stitched eyeless eye sockets, and someone's bottom jaw getting torn off. There are some digital effects that have aged poorly. For example there is one sequence where the Djinn turns someone into this silvery rock looking substance. You can see it is computer generated. Same goes for when he breaks Kane Hodder's animated looking figure into pieces. There are other moments too where snakes come out of a statue and metal wires wrap around someone where you can see it is CGI. The high quality practical effects far outweigh the dated digital effects though. 

Andrew Divoff as the Djinn, in and out of costume and makeup

The main hero and the main villain in this film really help give it some levity as well as credibility. Alex is shown early to be capable. We see her coaching a girl's basketball team and she gives them this talk about timing and how you have to be locked in mentally to make a basket. She basically says it's not like you're shooting around, you don't have that kind of time while playing. This comes back in the final showdown between her and the Djinn where she has to think of a wish to make to put him away. She also feels guilt over her parents death in a fire, so we know the character has gone through adversity. Much like Helen in CANDYMAN she also shows herself to be resourceful. She goes to Beaumont (England) and tries to figure out more about his statue after Josh has been killed. Beaumont then recommends a folklore professor named Wendy Derleth (Jenny O'Hara) who helps her understand the lure of the Djinn. Basically a repeat from the beginning of the film. She also cares a lot about her sister, Shannon (Wendy Benson) who the Djinn eventually uses as a bargaining chip against Alex.

The Djinn himself is great. His powers do not work unless you say "I wish" or "I'd like" even in a metaphorical way. For example, Kane Hodder plays a security guard for Nick and the Djinn tries to break into the place to get to Nick. He eventually tricks the guard into saying "In order to get in here you'll have to get through me, and I'd like to see that." That is when the Djinn turns him into some animated figure and breaks him apart. The same thing happens when he encounters Tony Todd playing the bouncer at Beaumont's party. He eventually belittles him for his job and asks him if he wants to "escape," his job. He says yes and the Djinn locks him in this water tank, saying "Houdini (escaped) in two minutes." Divoff delivers many zingers as this character. Another great moment is when Alexandra asks him to "blow his brains out." He does so but then regenerates instantly and says "That which is eternal cannot die. But if it's any consolation sweet Alex, that hurt like hell." So with that line you see the humor that this character has. This movie would not be as entertaining if it had no substance with the hero and the villain. The climactic scene where the Djinn has disguised itself as Wendy and keeps trying to trick Alexandra into making a wish by asking her if she wants anything to drink or eat is both funny and intense.

Rating: 8/10

Trivia: Director Robert Kurtzman plays a role as the man killed with a piano. Many members of the crew played characters. One of the statues in Beaumont's collection is Pazuzu from the Exorcist.

Clips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z60zTp6Izo&list=PLZbXA4lyCtqr5buPex2ACWvsoPNELcBdI

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJgl3uoxXc0

Dead or Alive (1999)

 

There are three words I could use to describe Takashi Miike's films: outrageous, hyperactive, and at the same time, competent. This film starts off like a music video. There are a few different storylines going on at once and the film cuts between them rapidly. A woman in possession of drugs is thrown from a roof, a man watches a stripper dance. Three different men are killed. One has his stomach blown out by a gunshot wound while the noodles he had eaten turn into yellow blood that flies at the screen. Another is blown apart by a shotgun in a car. The other man is seen having sex with another man in the bathroom when his throat is cut by another man with a knife. If that sounds like an opening eight minutes you will enjoy just go and watch the opening. 

While the opening is outrageous and hyperactive, the rest of the film is much more grounded. The film has a compelling and well structured storyline about a Yakuza versus Triad war. It focuses on a cop caught in the middle of the war trying to get money for his ailing daughter's kidney affliction. It also focuses on an outsider, played by Riki Takeuchi trying to provoke the war between the gangs. Still along the way Miike injects his signature perverted and extreme moments. Since this is a Miike film you actually think for a second that he will cross the line and actually show certain obscene things on film, though of course he cuts the camera and only implies what happens offscreen. Such things are why I am intrigued by his films because you know he is going to inject something you have never seen before or even thought was possible on screen. The film never quite lives up to the outrageous hyperactivity of it's beginning and the ending destroys any pathos the rest of the film has. Both the beginning and ending are so memorable because of how over the top they are. You forget how compelling and grounded the rest of the film is, besides the extreme moments.

In a meta moment before the opening both Show Aikawa and Riki Takeuchi countdown to the start of the film.

Synopsis: A yakuza of Chinese descent and a Japanese cop each wage their own war against the Japanese mafia. But they are destined to meet.

The vignettes in the opening are confusing but they make sense as the film goes on. The men who get killed by Ryuichi (Riki Takeuchi) whose gang is made up of the children of Japanese orphans who lived in China after WW2. Mariko, Hitoshi, Satake, and Hoshiyama. They still consider themselves outsiders and are trying to carve their own path. Meanwhile, Ryuichi's little brother, Toji (Michisuki Kashiwaya) returns from University in America. Detective Jojima (Show Aikawa) is shown at home with his wife and she talks about them needing millions of yen for his daughter's kidney operations. Between Ryuichi's relationship with his brother and his gang, and Jojima's relationship with his daughter that gives both characters enough emotional heft to root for them. 

Riki Takeuchi as Ryuichi. One of the coolest looking guys on screen.

Neither Ryuichi or Jojima are without their faults though. Ryuichi kills one member of his gang, Hitoshi, after he takes a lot of their money following the robbery of an armored truck. It should also be noted that they kill a random bystander during this crime as well. When later asked by Toji why he decided to kill Hitoshi he says something like "he wasn't willing to sacrifice himself for us as we were for him." Toji becomes aware of who his brother really is after finding out that the money that sent him through college was made by committing crimes. He tells Ryuichi he never wants to see him again after he kills Hitoshi. On the other side of things, Jojima is a corrupt cop who took money from Yakuza boss, Aoki, to help pay for one of his daughter's surgeries. In order to find Ryuichi he gets info from a porn producer, who is getting ready to film a woman having sex with a dog. That is one interesting scene because right when they are getting ready to film, Miike cuts the camera. For a second you might think he may cross the line and show it. I enjoy how Miike always thinks of these outrageous things and flirts with crossing the line. Jojima later needs more money to finance his daughter's operations and arrests many of Aoki's men to "bargain" with him for money. 

The middle of the film deals with the moves each character makes to deal with one another. They actually run into each other at one point on the street not knowing who each is. Ryuichi starts working with another Chinese gangster to acquire guns and take out Aoki. Jojima meanwhile finds out who Ryuichi is after the porn producer leads him to a restaurateur who leads him to street criminals who know Ryuichi. While this is going on there are some intimate scenes between Jojima and his partner, Inoue (Susumu Terajima). He calls Inoue on his day off to meet him at the restaurant of the informant's. Inoue brings his son and has a fun moment with his son when he refuses to eat and says "You want to grow up to be big and strong right? Remember why you lost that race in school." These heartfelt moments of levity help keep this film grounded. 

Meanwhile Ryuichi tells the lone woman in his gang, Mariko (Mizuho Koga) to spy on Aoki. Unfortunately for her Aoki realizes who she is, as she was the exotic dancer we saw at the beginning at a place that Aoki frequents. She later wakes up in a room, drugged, and in a pool of feces. Aoki says that she has been raped and drugged by multiple times and he proceeds to drown her in the pool. That is another of Miike's outrageous scenes. A scene that actually makes me gag. 

The beautiful Mariko with Aoki.

Spoiler Section

After Mariko's murder, Ryuichi plans his revenge. He attacks the nightclub and kills many of Aoki's men. There is one great scene where one of the men accidentally sticks his hand in hot fry oil. This is the first action scene really since the opening and it lives up to the hype. Ryuichi is about to be killed by Chen, the leader of the Chinese triads, before he is killed by Toji, who had followed Ryuichi. Unfortunately, Inoue had an informant at the club and Inoue goes in and is killed by Ryuichi, but not before he fires one shot that kills Toji. Not too long after this Jojima sends Inoue's wife and son out of town for safety. Unfortunately for him though when his family goes to visit him at the station, their car blows up and Jojima's wife and daughter are killed. Such moments give this film a tragic element as it is really the innocents that get killed. Inoue, Toji, and Jojima's wife and son. It should be noted that after the shootout at the club Jojima goes there to find Aoki alive. Aoki celebrates that he will have no other criminals to deal with and says that Jojima can keep the money he lent him. This disgusts Jojima, who shoots Aoki dead. Both times I've seen this movie I never thought that Jojima's family would die. Each time that explosion happened my jaw dropped. 

A final showdown occurs between Jojima, Ryuichi and his gang. Jojima tracks them all down when they are preparing to leave the country. One of Ryuichi's friends, Hosiyama blows himself up with a grenade trying to kill Jojima. The car goes flying many feet into the air and lands, and you think Jojima is dead. He however opens the driver's side door and guns down Satake. This leads to a final duel between Jojima and Ryuichi. They both shoot each other in the chest. What happens next is like something out of a video game. Jojima produces a rocket launcher out of nowhere. Ryuichi takes this magic sorcery orb out of his hands and the explosion of each colliding destroys Japan as we see a view from outer space.

Both the opening and the ending are different from the tone and grounded nature of the rest of the film. I'm not sure what Miike was trying to say. My interpretation is that he is saying that none of the more intimate friendships and family matter in a world of violence. People will always be trying to kill each other and sometimes for the most reasonable of motivations and sometimes via the most outrageous methods. Regardless, I like every act of the film for different reasons. The opening for the music video kind of hyperactive and cartoonish violence. The middle for the tragic doom of some of the more innocent characters. The ending for its circus maximus appeal along with the saying that people killing each other is responsible for the most destruction of the world. I do wish the film maybe had one more action scene along the way as the middle part of the film feels like a sandwich that needed an additional topping. 

Rating: 8/10

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXv4V1r_00w

Audition

 

Still the scariest movie I have ever seen, Audition succeeds because of it's simple premise and surprisingly grounded execution. Takashi Miike's genre films are never subtle and this is the closest he comes to subtlety until the last 30 minutes or so. The first forty minutes play like a romantic comedy that makes the turn to horror like a roller coaster that suddenly switches direction. What makes Audition so scary is how relatable it is. I have always theorized that men who have either been single for a long time or widowers are.the ones who can relate to this movie the most. As a person who has been single basically my entire life I ask this question while watching: What if the woman I fall in love with ends up being someone like Asami Yamazaki? While Jaws is one people's minds when they go into an ocean, this film is in the back of my mind anytime I swipe right on Tinder. The film has the most extreme consequences for something every man has done which is objectify a woman. 

While this film is scary, there are many themes that make it more interesting to talk about. It can be a film about a feminist female avenger. It can be about gender and age politics within dating. It can be about a heterosexual male's fear of female sexuality and the dynamics of that within a relationship.  It is a film about miscommunication about what each person wants in a relationship, manifesting that in the most extreme ways. All of those "it cans" make this film something to think beyond just how disturbing it is.

Synopsis: This disturbing Japanese thriller follows Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), a widower who decides to start dating again. Aided by a film-producer friend (Miyuki Matsuda), Aoyama uses auditions for a fake production to function as a dating service. When Aoyama becomes intrigued by the withdrawn, gorgeous Asami (Eihi Shiina), they begin a relationship. However, he begins to realize that Asami isn't as reserved as she appears to be, leading to gradually increased tension and a harrowing climax.

This film deals with objectification and gender politics early on. When Aoyama eats dinner with his film producer friend Yasuhisa they hear a group of young girls laughing and Yasuhisa calls them awful and full of themselves. He wonders where all the nice girls have gone Aoyama then says he wants to date again. He says he wants a mature, career woman, but not too successful. When Aoyama's son Shigehiko brings home a girl to do homework with, she immediately apologizes for taking his dinner and offers to make him something. He says no but gives Shigehiko a signal that he approves of her. Even the housekeeper for their home is a somewhat older woman. The appropriation of gender roles is there. When Aoyama goes to work his secretary tells him she is getting married. She also tries to catch his attention later in the film when she says she is leaving for the day. She is basically saying I would rather be marrying you, but he pays no attention to her. He wants to be a man, as so many of us do, who does the chasing and pursuing. Many of us ignore what is right in front of us. That unrequited love, a twist in the film involving a woman too good to be true and her disappearing midway through would make this film a good double feature with Vertigo. 

Ryo Ishibashi as Shigeharu Aoyama

The audition process reminds me of quite a bit of technology we have today. This film never predicts the accessibility to people's lives that social media brings. I couldn't help but notice something similar to people scrolling through Tinder or going on people's Facebook profiles while Aoyama looks through all the applicants for the audition. He is all ready objectifying here and not necessarily treating these women as human. As noble as his intentions seem to be he does get the most extreme consequences for this act of objectification later on. This audition never goes into Harvey Weinstein exploitation territory. It warrants consequences because about 40 women wasted time, travel, and maybe a little money on this audition that is really a buffet selection of women for Aoyama. You could say that they had every intention of making a film but they never do and Yasuhisa never feels any loss from it. The whole audition sequence is like a romantic comedy montage until Asami's scene happens which has no music and a long zoom in from the back of the room to where Aoyama and Yasuhisa sit, echoing the opening scene of The Godfather. Aoyama is attracted to Asami's acceptance of loss. Her application says something like losing ballet was similar to accepting death. 

Aoyama and Yasuhisa at the audition.

Eihi Shiina as Asami at the audition.

On the first two dates they have, Aoyama seems more determined in getting to know more about Asami than revealing anything about himself. He never talks about having a son or having a wife that died. Asami never tells him the truth about her relationship with her parents or her job at the bar. She does concede that she lied about her representation from a Japanese record company. During a nightmare sequence later Asami does tell the truth about living with her Uncle after her parents divorce. In some ways those dream sequences, and/or flashbacks for the dates are like what Aoyama was really hearing. I think the film in those sequences is trying to say that Asami may have been telling him the truth but he was only hearing what he wanted to hear when those dates first happened. Asami just seems too good to be true. Saying things like "Can we do this again? Even if we only talk over the phone?" On the second date she can't stop smiling and seems overwhelmingly happy to see Aoyama again. While this could be true it could also be a ruse to lull Aoyama into a false sense of security. Asami seems like perfect the woman: young, submissive, honest, pretty. She has just as much interest in him as he does in her. Aoyama ignores the obvious red flags: The Japanese music director has been missing for 18 months, he has no idea where Asami lives, and she seems apprehensive about him visiting the bar where she works. Yasuhisa states the obvious: We don't know anyone who knows her. 

The sequence in the hotel has always made me anxious. This is where the dream-like imagery and editing throughout the rest of the film starts. Asami's hair blowing in the wind and her look at the beach is something I always remember. Up until this point Aoyama has been the one in control. He called her, set up the dates, paid for the drinks and food. Once in the bedroom however, Asami takes full control and there is something almost unsettling rather than romantic about this sequence. The way she says "love me and only me." Most of the time people mean that as hyperbole. As we soon see, Asami means that quite literally. That sex scene is the start of some of the relationship dynamics between the woman being in control versus the man. It's almost like Aoyama is auditioning for her in that sequence. 

Spoiler Section

I have not even talked about the phone sequence before the second date. Miike does such a great job of using loud and sometimes odd sounds to leading to scares. He builds up intensity, not really suspense and the payoff is usually a loud sound. The absence of music can be felt in these sequences. The scene where we first see Asami staring at the phone with her legs bent completely backwards with the sack in the background and the phone next to it. The next transition shows that she has been staring at the phone longer as one of her legs is crossed and she has her head bent down in what would be a very uncomfortable position. You see her start to smile when Aoyama finally decides to call her and then the payoff is the sack going flying with this sound that sounds something like a stomach gurgle combined with a roar. That same thing happens when Aoyama and Asami are about to have sex in the room and the sound of the bedspread is really loud. The transition to Aoyama waking up with no explanation for what happened and never really seeing what happened is the start of a dreamlike atmosphere in this movie. It could also be an unreliable narrator or a dream at the same time in some instances.

I like the filmmaking in some of the horror sequences in the second half. I also like the sense of mystery and reveal the film creates with Aoyama doing his investigation of Asami's whereabouts. When he goes to see Asami's stepfather there is something so creepy about him just stopping playing the piano and turning toward Aoyama. Again, Miike knows when to not use music to make a scene more creepy. I also like the dark orange color on display here. The next sequence at the bar where Aoyama hallucinates the severed body parts always freaked me out. You just don't expect it and that is where Miike's normal penchant for being outrageous and not subtle comes through. 

Renji Ishibashi as the old man in the wheelchair, AKA Asami's stepfather

Miike continues to build up the intensity with the kinetic and chaotic POV sequences when Asami invades Aoyama's house. Rarely can you feel the emotion through a POV without sound but you can actually feel Asami's upset when she sees the picture of Ryoko, Aoyama's dead wife. I enjoy the time lapse photography as we see it go from day, to dusk, to night. What happens next is something that took multiple viewings to interpret as Aoyama drinks his whiskey and gets drugged and knocked out. 

The film flashes back to their first date with Asami now revealing some of her history of abuse from her aunt and then her stepfather. We see sequences of her stepfather burning her with needles, showing how she got the scars on her legs. There is a sequence where we see her kill her stepfather with the same piano wire she uses later. She uses it to strangle him and the sound of wire wrapping around his neck is memorable. The most troubling sequence by far is when we see the bar owner come out of the sack without his fingers and his tongue. Asami feeds him her own vomit mixed with water, something he actually enjoys. Asami has forced him to be dependent on whatever she gives him for sustenance. Asami never replaced the co-dependence she had with her evil stepfather, who also abused her in many ways, something she never coped with. 

These sequences are interesting to interpret. The date scenes could be seen as things Aoyama was hearing but because he was so in love he only heard what he wanted to hear. He can't be seeing the stuff in Asami's apartment because he never saw it. It could be the movie showing you all that stuff because some of these dream sequences seem like real things Asami has done but also things in Aoyama's head. Since this all seems to be in his subconscious it is also possible Asami is telling him this stuff while he is drugged and it is entering his mind. We never get Asami's mindset throughout this film until the end and it is interesting to think how long she planned this out or if she always had planned to do this. If Aoyama had ever told her the truth about his wife, or his son I wonder if she would have backed off. 

The sequences in Aoyama's mind are when different women from his life appear and he seems scared of the interest they show in him. At one point Asami throws herself at him aggresively trying to give him a blowjob, in a cut Asami then turns into his secretary who then turns into Shigehiko's girlfriend. He seems afraid of the sexuality they are showing. These sequences show Aoyama's guilt over the audition and how he has taken advantage of women. His wife also appears on the second date and tells him not to marry Asami and that is further part of his feelings of guilt. 

The torture sequence is 15 minutes of slow terror. Compare this torture sequence to something from the Saw series. The traps in the Saw movies last a minute or so with ramped up editing. Miike in this scene focuses on the small things. Asami rolling Aoyama's body over, putting the blanket down, getting her needles ready and then her piano wire ready. What I like is seeing Asami's joy, really the first time she seems happy besides the second date. At one point there is a jarring cut to her stepfather masturbating, a perfect synergy for how she feels when she tortures Aoyama. The sequence is more about her joyous reactions to the torture but also the sounds. Once again Miike avoids the use of music and that gives you no levity during the torture. You have no choice but to focus on all the ambient noise of Asami putting the needles into Aoyama's stomach and his eyes. Then later she uses the wire and saws back and forth, cutting Aoyama's feet off at the ankles. It descends more and more into a nightmare. Asami does say she gave him drugs to paralyze him but also a nerve agent so he can feel everything. She finally talks about her motivation here saying if you don't give everything to me I can't give my all to you. She talks about him having Shigehiko so he has other people to love in his life while she has no one. She does also bring up the audition and how men are all the same you have a fake audition and have sex with women later. That is a consequence of Aoyama's sin, however extreme. Asami says many quotes that are bulletin board material. "Words are all lies. Pain is real." 

Asami readying her torture tools.

Shigehiko does come home at one point and sees his father lying on the floor. Asami comes up behind him trying to knock him out with some kind of mace and Aoyama goes into a dream again. This is a great moment because he wakes up in the hotel and for a moment you think he has been dreaming since then. Asami is with him in bed and she says I've decided to accept your proposal and I'm the luckiest girl from the audition because I found the love of my life. I'm not sure if this actually happened or if it was the happy version of what could have happened in Aoyama's mind. We never see the aftermath of their sexual encounter and therefore Asami could have left after they fell asleep. Miike inserts more investigation into the film that wasn't present in Ryu Murikami's book. Conversely, Murikami's book has more explanation during the hotel scene where Aoyama talked about his son at one point and Asami got mad and drugged Aoyama. Miike is allowing us to interpret things on our own. 

What I've always enjoyed is how this movie ends. After Shigehiko kicks Asami down the stairs she is dead. Aoyama looks at her and sees her saying the same things she said to him on the first date. I'm not sure if this is in his mind or those are Asami's dying words, something she has rehearsed and said to many men she has tried to connect with. 

Audition works because of the slow burn to horror as the other themes are developed. Miike makes this film go from a romantic drama, to a surreal dream logic film about men's fear of women's sexuality, to a harrowing torture porn climax. No movie has done transitions and bait and switches so well. People who say this is a feminist film leave out the fact that Asami kills a dog and a woman in this. You could say they are collateral damage in her quest to be an avenger for men who take advantage of her. Asami never recovered from her co-dependence or coped with her abuse. She sees any man who takes advantage of her as the same as her stepfather. She needs them to suffer how she did in order to make them love in her own way. All of the performances across the board are great. I enjoy seeing Jun Kunimura as Yasuhisa, a face familiar to many who have seen Japanese films. The same goes for Renji Ishibashi as Asami's stepfather. Eihi Shiina portrays the submissive, but at the same time unsettling Asami perfectly. She is my favorite horror movie villain of all time because no one has scared me as much. I also loved the piano laden score by Koji Endo.

Rating: 9/10 

I love this movie but it is not one I can just watch all the time. It is a slow burn and a heavy film in terms of content and themes. For entertainment there are other Japanese films I prefer but this is incredible filmmaking. 

Trivia: The dog bowl of vomit is actually Eihi Shiina's vomit, something she insisted on doing. 

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBQHp2__AVQ

Straw Dogs

 

A movie that depicts men as inherently violent but also answers what pushes them to that point. David has many things happen to him throughout this film but it is not until his property is threatened that he responds with violence. That is in combo with defending an intellectually disabled person who did kill a young woman. What Sam Peckinpah is showing is how violence in a lot of ways is random but there are always consequences for it. The whole movie is one build up from a man avoiding confrontation to being so calm when it does happen at the end. Yet what he is defending isn't anything more important than what he avoided for the rest of the film. Contrastingly, Peckinpah in combination with his editors shows men's violent nature in different ways. David goes to hunt quail while the same people who have been belittling him and his wife the whole movie go and rape his wife. What is interesting about the after of the rape sequence is that it has no bearing on David. The other storyline of the film follows his younger wife falling less in love with him for paying her no attention and showing her being attracted to someone who does, albeit in a way that would never be approved by modern viewers. That being said, everyone fails in this movie to protect something they value and it leads to the confrontation at end. It feels like this movie shows the inevitability of confrontation and violence no matter how much you avoid it or run from it. 

Synopsis: David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman), a mild-mannered academic from the United States, marries Amy (Susan George), an Englishwoman. In order to escape a hectic stateside lifestyle, David and his wife relocate to the small town in rural Cornwall where Amy was raised. There, David is ostracized by the brutish men of the village, including Amy's old flame, Charlie (Del Henney). Eventually the taunts escalate, and two of the locals rape Amy. This sexual assault awakes a shockingly violent side of David.

The problem with almost any synopsis or description with this film you will find is that it makes it seem like a rape and revenge movie. That is far from the truth as you find out throughout the film David seems like the type of man to blame his wife for being raped or the type to not be capable of doing anything about it. He never even finds out about the rape though his wife hints at it to him. This takes place in a rural British village in the early 1970s. Amy coming through the downtown area with a white shirt and no bra is almost like introducing this village to the modern world. A world that at a time without any modern technology was basically like a prehistoric, almost western town, as the rest of the world was changing. You had people traveling in planes and on the phones in other places, but here it is like people who never leave a town in their lives. It is said that David left the American college system because he didn't like the way the world was changing. Things like protests and maybe even the women's rights movement being things he would seem to disagree with. Yet he marries a product of that. 

David's relationship with his wife is a little like how someone might treat their pet. He just wants to sit in his office all day and write on his blackboard. He got a land grant to go that house and complete his studies. At first Amy is all gung-ho to tell people like her ex-boyfriend Charlie Venner about David's job and what he is doing. Yet as the movie goes on she finds more value in the attention she gets from Charlie and the people fixing their garage than she does from David. David shows some affection for her, but only at night when he has been studying and neglecting her for hours. They have some cute moments such as her annoyingly, but also jokingly chewing her gum in front of him to which he playfully calls her a child. They also have a moment in bed where David gets her under the covers under the guise of looking for a chess piece yet we know what he really wants to find. Yet at other times he passive aggressive insults her intelligence calling her "not so dumb," when he says what binary numbers are. The comparisons to treating her like a pet are apt. 

Enter Charlie and some of the other townspeople fixing their garage. Scutt and Chris were hired first and instead of firing them like he says he will at one point David just hires Charlie to help them. They all ogle Amy one morning when she gets home from town. Starting at her skirt rising up as she gets out of the car. She complains to David that "they were practically licking my body." Instead of sticking up for her, or even defending her, he jokes saying "I compliment them on their taste." He also blames her and says you can't blame them for staring if you don't wear a bra. The first of many things that would be considered victim blaming by a modern audience. Amy proceeds to go even further by going topless near the window that leads to the shower while all the men stare at her. More on this later.

The insults go further and eventually David finds Amy's dead cat, notably a cat David finds annoying, hanging in the closet. Amy wants David to confront Charlie and the others about this but instead just has them come inside the house and move a giant mantrap. I'm not sure whether or not he was ever going to go through with the confrontation but definitely decides against it when Amy comes in with the milk to give to her cat while she gives all the men beers. The men invite David to go hunting with them which he does accept. At this point Amy leaves a note on his board saying, "did I catch you off guard?" Something David had said to her that he planned to catch the other men off guard. This is not the only time David doesn't respond to some instigating Amy does. Earlier she put a subtraction sign on his board instead of an addition sign and put gum on the blackboard even when he told her not to do it. Amy acts a bit like a child wanting attention but once again David does nothing and can't even give her any negative reinforcement. The way she treats him is a microcosm of how the others do. 

As David goes hunting, the others all leave him be and Charlie, and later Scutt rape Amy. Charlie comes to the door, Amy lets him in and he forces himself on her at first just kissing her. She asks him to leave but he does not and then starts slapping her around and eventually gets her on the couch and takes her clothes off. After a certain amount of time Amy's fighting grunts become moans and she starts caressing Charlie in a way that shows she submits to him. What happens next however is Scutt coming in and pressuring Charlie at gunpoint and gesturing for him to move away from Amy. He does so but also holds Amy down while Scutt rapes her, Amy showing she is certainly not comfortable with this by screaming. This is intercut with David shooting at quail and eventually hitting one and walking home as the others have stranded him. When he gets home Amy is in bed and she calls him and herself a coward. The next night in my favorite sequence of the movie, David and Amy go to church where Amy keeps thinking about her rape as we see in cuts. This is only made more uncomfortable by the cacophonous noise of the children's party favors before a magic show. I like this scene because of the editing with the cuts to images from Amy's mind but also the look of distress on Susan George and the cutting to the children, symbolizing both their innocence and Amy's loss of but also the noise probably not making her feel any better and more overwhelmed. It almost feels like a nightmare that you is happening and the rape has happened. Not many movies show how a woman would feel right after this event. Far be it for me to be able to speak on the subject but I think a lot of movies turn it into trauma leading to revenge. This shows how Amy is just uncomfortable and feels sick. 

Spoiler Section

David and Amy leave as Amy feels uncomfortable. While driving they hit Henry Niles, an intellectually disabled person with a history at the asylum. It is never said why he was committed but it is implied that he was a child predator of sorts. One of the men tells Tom Hedden, the town drunk, and Charlie's Uncle that Janice, Tom's young daughter, was seen leaving the church with Henry. Henry had accidentally choked Janice to death while men were looking for them. That scene is quite similar to Lennie accidentally killing Curley's wife in Of Mice and Men. This leads to a siege and home invasion narrative at Amy and David's house with David fighting each man when they attempt to enter his home. There are no scenes of cathartic violence really except for when David kills Chris by beating him to death with a fire poker while the bagpipe music he put on earlier plays in the background. You get some of Peckinpah's signature slow motion when Tom attempts to enter the house and Henry hits while he enters the window forcing Tom to shoot himself in the foot with his own shotgun. 

There are several interesting things that happen during this invasion. For the first time in this movie we see David comfortable, almost a little too comfortable with standing up to these men. In many ways he has an advantage. The men can't come in the front door because of how well reinforced it is. They have to come in the windows giving David a chance to defend the windows before they can come in. David had fired the men earlier after they stranded him on the hunting trip. That was his first show of confidence and getting fed up. He is so calm and collected in this situation you just wonder what his mindset was throughout the rest of the film and how it changed so suddenly. He talks about how "I will not allow violence against this house." It is interesting that throughout the film the men have shown no respect toward him but he seemed to be okay taking it. Now when it comes to his home and defending a man, a questionable man at best in Henry Niles he sees the responsibility to defend them, therefore defending himself. At one point Henry attacks Amy. You're not sure why but David stops him. David later starts slapping Amy around when she wants to give Henry to the mob. After David slaps her around a bit she becomes more submissive helping him bring the mantrap downstairs. At one point Scutt gets in upstairs. Who saves her from being assaulted again but Charlie. After that Charlie fights with David and David ends up snapping Charlie's neck in the mantrap. At this point David fights the man who drove the men to his house, Riddaway. Amy eventually shoots Riddaway. David and Niles leave with each man saying they don't know their way home.

While I don't necessarily find Straw Dogs to be the most rewatchable movie, it is a movie that I like more and more each time I watch it. That could sound contradictory, but there are many movies I have seen once that I will never watch again. The questions that this movie poses and the moments that are memorable to me are always worth watching again. I would get in trouble with modern feminists and people that are like minded for saying Amy is to blame in some ways for her fate. I never have had any problems with the way she dresses or her lack of clothing, for example not wearing a bra. What I do have a problem with is her getting topless and walking by all the men while she knows what she is doing, and they know it too. While she is trying to get attention that her husband is not giving her, she is still planting an idea in the heads of men that she is accessible. There is probably someone feminist minded screaming at me for saying that. I would compare Amy to someone who has money and holds that money out for everyone to see. Amy not wearing a bra and dressing more moderately is like someone showing or saying they have an expensive gold watch or something. Amy walking by the men is like someone flashing that gold watch in front of their faces and saying you can't steal it much like how Amy tells Charlie to leave when he makes his move on her. Can you expect many men to say no when they can easily overpower her? I wouldn't, but many people of other minds would call me a victim blamer when I am just simply saying Amy put the idea in their minds that they could do what they wanted. Other sequences like the scene in the church, and fan theories like did David actually kill the cat? The rape scene can be interpreted many ways but it warrants discussion no matter your viewpoint. As troubling as it is, if Scutt doesn't interfere you could argue that Amy and Charlie would have started an affair. Those are reasons why I love this movie and I feel like I have different interpretations of it every time. It makes you ask hard questions.

Rating: 10/10

Trivia: T.P. McKenna, who plays Major John Scott has his arm in a sling for a lot of the film. This is because of a party with some escorts where his arm was apparently harmed, an event that was arranged by Peckinpah himself.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXkqGVfm1mo

Almost Human (1974)

 

Featuring a truly one of a kind villain performance from Tomas Milian, Almost Human is an incredible story about someone who can get what they want at the sake of others. The movie is about a criminal getting more and more comfortable with disregard for other people and the law for their own gain. As the movie goes on it only gets worse. He goes from an unrepentant cop killer, unrepentant rapist to kidnapping, shooting people while tying them up, and killing children. Yet because of the over the top nature of it and the progression you almost feel along for the ride and are just waiting to see what crazy thing he does next. Yet in the scenes with Henry Silva as the cop the narrative flips and you see an honest cop, hard-nosed, but certainly not corrupt or dirty pushed to his breaking point. The movie forces you to feel curiosity and excitement by showing what the criminal does, but also sympathy from the view of the authority figure trying to get him. In the end you almost feel resigned to the idea that the system protects criminals and not the people they victimize. All of Lenzi's crime films are about that idea explored through different ways, but none are as exciting or visceral as this one. 

Right away Giulio's short-fuse is shown when he is the getaway driver for a robbery. He kills a cop who comes up to him and asks him to move his car. A run of the mill chase scene follows. Far from one the best in Eurocrime movies but certainly not the worst. The next scene is something that resonates throughout the entire film. Giulio (Tomas Milian) is beaten up by the gang who asked him to commit the robbery and is threatened with castration. The powerlessness and the wimpy nature of Giulio in these scenes almost makes him overcompensate later when he has power in the form of a gun or followers with him. Eventually he gets the idea of kidnapping the daughter, Mary Lou (Laura Belli) of his girlfriend, Ione's (Anita Strinderg), boss, Porrino (Guido Alberti). Giulio makes friends with Carmine (Ray Lovelock) and Vittorio (Gino Santercole) to help with the kidnapping. 

Tomas Milian as Giulio

Anita Strindberg, and her amazing jawline as Ione

Regular Eurocrime player, Ray Lovelock on the left as Carmine, Milian on the right

Regular Italian character actor, Guido Alberti as Parrino

While the film starts with Milian killing a cop at the robbery, he also kills a cop later when he is caught by a night guard trying to raid a cigarette dispenser. This gets the attention of Inspector Walter Grandi (Henry Silva) who makes mention of how the guard was killed for a small amount of money. There is an element of classism this film starts to explore. Ione tries to talk Giulio into getting a job and he talks about "spitting out your soul 8 hours a day," only to blow all your money at the hospital at some point. Now I don't know how health insurance worked in Italy then or now, or if that is just part of the english dubbing translation but that line really resonated with me as something many people now think about in America. It is true that a lot of money you earn with too much time working can be used for medical expenses. Giulio is a character so full of life regardless of the decisions he makes. You can understand why he has this mentality. The idea for the kidnapping was not only to make money to get himself in a better place where he will no longer be the guy who is belittled by all the other gangsters. He seeks money and power so that he no longer has that feeling of being emasculated or being on the bottom. That is why he starts to overcompensate when given power, but he also acts on impulse. 

Henry Silva as Inspector Walter Grandi

When Giulio kills the cop near the bank his lips are trembling because he is anxious. Later in the home invasion sequence we see him shoot at a door just because a noise was made without any context for why or who made the sound. There are other elements of classicism and being stuck in a system that you can't get out of. Johnny is Mary Lou's boyfriend and they frequently sneak off on trysts because they cannot be together because Johnny is from a lower-class background. It is a quick scene but his death at the hands of Carmine while trying to protect Mary Lou is impactful. Between Inspector Grandi, Giulio and Johnny there is a sense of being stuck and wanting to do something to improve their situation. Grandi starts feeling stuck and powerless in the system of the law because he can't do anything to prove Giulio killed anyone, Giulio wants more power and money to get out of his situation and Johnny can't have the girlfriend he wants because he is lower class. The home invasion scene is a great sequence for this because it shows these rich socialites in a big house trying to buy their way out of being killed and because Giulio has all ready kidnapped Mary Lou and knows he can get money from her ransom he doesn't care about killing any of these people. Yet, that is all they have to offer to get out of the situation and he despises them for that. 

Now that I have talked about some of the thematic elements I enjoyed, I wanted to talk about some of the entertainment value. Giulio's descent down a roller coaster to hell where he tries to bring all the people with him that he can is really exciting. The first two cop killings are surprising enough but once he starts to kill people that are outside of authority and those closest to him is when things get interesting. He goes to a black market dealer he knows named Papa to get guns but doesn't actually have the money to get them. Papa says that he will keep any deposit they make if the guns are traced back to a crime. Giulio then proceeds to gun down Papa and his wife. This establishes a pattern where anyone who seems to threaten Giulio in any way will get killed. What I do like is some of Milian's lines, the ones delivered by Frank Von Kuegelen in the english dub are memorable. There are some funny lines by Giulio's character. "She doesn't know if she is holding a tennis racket or one of those other things," talking about Mary Lou when she is around "balls." "Little girl I have been sent here by the angel Gabriel to safeguard your virginity," when he and his friends interrupt the tryst of Johnny and Mary Lou. 

The home invasion, chandelier-roulette sequence is the showstopper here. Again Giulio turned the tables by threatening to make one of the men kneel and give him a blowjob to emasculate him. Eventually Giulio and his friends string all of the men and women up on a chandelier and take all the women's clothes off and take bets on which one they will land on to violate. Eventually the noise comes from upstairs and Giulio kills the daughter of one of the women and, shocked at what he has done, proceeds to gun down all of the people tied up. The second half of the movie features more of Giulio's antics.

Spoiler Section

Giulio eventually kills his girlfriend by locking her in the car to drown when he leaves the car to go over a cliff. This was after she indirectly threatened him by saying she would go to the cops after he asked what she would do if she found out she killed someone. This is preceded by a fun scene where he says "all I did was kill three women, two men and a kid." She thinks he is kidding until she reads a newspaper article about it. Grandi's investigation is actually more interesting upon rewatch as you see him put the pieces together when he questions Parrino about who Ione was and who she was seeing. He eventually remembers seeing Giulio who had heckled him way back when the guard near the cigarette dispenser was killed. Giulio had made a remark about where they were going to buy cigarettes after that. Before he remembers that Giulio actually goes to the police station to report his missing girlfriend and puts up a facade about how sad he is. A facade Grandi sees through. The unfortunate thing is Grandi can't prove anything. Giulio goes to the mob boss, Malone and threatens to turn him in if he doesn't give him an alibi. In a similar scene to the Scorpio killer in Dirty Harry they beat him up a bit saying he was there the night the people at the home were killed. Grandi is never able to prove anything. Giulio meanwhile continues his rampage killing Mary Lou, Carmine, and Vittorio to keep the ransom money for himself and even shoots Grandi in the knee to make his escape back to Malone's pool hall where they all lie saying he had been there for a while. This is where the movie is clever in that by the end Grandi tracks down Giulio saying he is no longer a cop and shoots him before Giulio can pull out his own gun. 

What I love about this movie besides the intersecting journey of both the detective story and the criminal's rampage are the performances. Plenty of Henry Silva being the stoic, tough detective. His performance shines through in the scene where he interrogates Giulio, not believing his sentimental sorrow one bit. In the scenes where the judge and others rule Giulio with no charges Silva gets to go into yelling angry mode which I always enjoy. As for Milian he is always sweating, always looking like he is up to something and never seems like he isn't enjoying himself. This is my favorite performance from him and Silva isn't far behind. Adding to the great technical aspects is Ennio Morricone's amazing piano heavy score utilizing low notes and a high pitched woodwind instrument to add a sinister feel to the movie. 

Rating: 10/10

Trivia: Richard Conte was originally offered the role of Inspector Grandi. He died before the movie could be produced. Marc Porel was offered the role of Giulio but Lenzi found him to be unprofessional and threatened to resign from the film if Porel got the part. 

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foboOyezkGY

English Voice Dubbing Cast

• Frank Von Kuegelen dubs Tomas Milian as Giulio
• Michael Forest dubs Gino Santercole as Vittorio
• Carolyn De Fonseca dubs Laura Belli as Mary Lou