Slippery giallo from Umberto Lenzi has young swinging bachelor Christian Bauman(Robert Hoffman), a wealthy heir to his dead industrialist father's massive factory, abandons his painter girlfriend for the beautiful woman, Barbara(Suzy Kendall), he meets under awkward circumstances lying face-down on the muddy sand of a beach, with the appearance of a corpse having washed ashore. Their strange introduction gets even weirder when, not having been in each other's company that long, prepare for a sexual encounter(he even calls her his "sweet little whore"!)when Christian shoots a scary stranger with the mysterious man's own gun. Barbara, in the other room getting undressed, doesn't see what took place, but persists that Christian leave the body where it's at and prepare to hide it, not calling the police to implicate her or him. But, Barbara has a man in her life, Alex(Mario Erpichini)who doesn't like Christian's moving in on his catch. Meeting at Alex's yacht, Christian startlingly remembers leaving his necklace at the hotel he and Barbara planned to have sex in. The man he shot is missing with only spots of blood leaving any indication that any person was there. From this point on, Christian's life spirals out of control as Barbara takes the poor, confused soul to a luxurious villa overlooking the sea as a couple who rents the joint show up..older gent, Malcolm(Guido Alberti), and his much younger squeeze, Clorinda(Monica Monet). Christian becomes quite bewildered because it seems he has met Clorinda somewhere before, meets a strange man(with shades hiding his eyes)who was spying on him and Barbara earlier, seeing him having a conversation with Malcolm into the night. Clorinda and Barbara both act oddly around Christian as if they know certain things, but keep this vital knowledge(that might help him sort out his plight)to themselves. Soon, the man he thought he murdered shows up at the villa, and Barbara just might prove not to be the woman he thought was the chosen love for his life. Giallo mainstay Ivan Rassimov has a small but crucial role as Christian's brother Fritz known for bailing his brother out of trouble, and the actual responsible one running the factory business..yet, he plays a heavy part in the story revolving around Christian. The film also opens the idea that Christian is schizophrenic since his family is known to have that unfortunate mental illness, an example being his grandfather. The death of Christian's father also reveals a specific aspect regarding his deteriorating mental state. Everything that seems weird and odd, those pesky loose ends that seem unresolved as Christian's life gets spun around in circles regarding the killer he supposedly murdered, come together in an incredible montage of death scenes unleashing a killer and his victims.
It takes the typical giallo framework and spins in on it's head. Is the protagonist, who we begin to gain sympathy towards since his life is becoming a roller-coaster ride of bizarre psychological trappings, really who we think he is? And, his brother Fritz..what's with this guy and his motives towards his brother regarding the unfolding of events to come to a head at the end of the film? I have read comments from many who have problems with the film's structure and logical story-telling, but I think this creates a most unusual and unique experience compared to the other gialli which flooded the Italian marketplace. Umberto Lenzi's premise goes into all sorts of directions with the protagonist captured in a state of paranoia and confusion, not knowing who he can trust or if what he's experiencing is even real. Motives of characters are often unclear. The overplotted chaos Christian is swirling in, I felt, creates a schizophrenic experience for the viewer..in a sense, we feel as baffled as Christian does. I like this myself..a lot. The mannequins Lenzi layers the film(Lenzi himself titles this idea.."the doll motif")are obviously designed to catch the viewer off-guard and provide an even weirder experience coupled with the mystery unfolding before our eyes. I think this film is great fun, mainly because I like these psychological thrillers where nothing is what it seems and anyone is suspect. The climax which explains what Christian and Fritz are suffering with(..and finally stamping what the hell those mannequins are indeed about)I think works tremendously.
It takes the typical giallo framework and spins in on it's head. Is the protagonist, who we begin to gain sympathy towards since his life is becoming a roller-coaster ride of bizarre psychological trappings, really who we think he is? And, his brother Fritz..what's with this guy and his motives towards his brother regarding the unfolding of events to come to a head at the end of the film? I have read comments from many who have problems with the film's structure and logical story-telling, but I think this creates a most unusual and unique experience compared to the other gialli which flooded the Italian marketplace. Umberto Lenzi's premise goes into all sorts of directions with the protagonist captured in a state of paranoia and confusion, not knowing who he can trust or if what he's experiencing is even real. Motives of characters are often unclear. The overplotted chaos Christian is swirling in, I felt, creates a schizophrenic experience for the viewer..in a sense, we feel as baffled as Christian does. I like this myself..a lot. The mannequins Lenzi layers the film(Lenzi himself titles this idea.."the doll motif")are obviously designed to catch the viewer off-guard and provide an even weirder experience coupled with the mystery unfolding before our eyes. I think this film is great fun, mainly because I like these psychological thrillers where nothing is what it seems and anyone is suspect. The climax which explains what Christian and Fritz are suffering with(..and finally stamping what the hell those mannequins are indeed about)I think works tremendously.