The Bloodstained Shadow

I was struggling to find a movie I wanted to watch this week. Ultimately just browsing Youtube, I found:

The Bloodstained Shadow (1978).

The Bloodstained Shadow is a late stage Giallo, so yes, I jumped back in to Italian cinema. The story in a nutshell is this, taken from IMDB;

The body of a schoolgirl is found in a meadow. The murderer is never caught, and years later, a young man named Stefano returns to the island and is reunited with his brother, the local priest.

Now that wouldn't be a very interesting film in itself, so naturally there are several new murders and Stefano is determined to understand what is going on, especially since his brother, the priest Don Paolo receives death threats and his new girlfriend Sandra is also affected.

The movie is co-written and directed by Antonio Bido who does an excellent job with the atmosphere. This is helped along by the movie being set in Venice which is always a dramatic place for any film.

Stefano is played by Lino Capolicchio who passed in May this year and was a proper veteran of the industry. He starred in The House with Laughing Windows, which I covered a couple of years ago here. Ironically he played a Stefano there as well.

Sandra is played by Stefania Casini, who is still working but her perhaps most famous role was as Sara in Argento's Suspiria.

Others include Craig Hill as Don Paolo, Juliette Mayniel, Massimo Serato and many more.

The actors know what they are doing and all give good performances. The music and soundscape is a slightly different matter. It's not that it is bad, it's just that it varies from appropriate to goofy at times.

The mystery is the real star however. I managed to figure out one of the core elements of the plot, but I couldn't see the ending coming and I was very pleasantly surprised. I think it is fair to say that The Bloodstained Shadow is a bit of a slow burn but not so slow it becomes boring. There is a real sense of malice hanging in the air and Antonio Bido did an excellent job in showing enough without needing to overdo it. The murders range from slightly off camera to pretty gruesome but it is nowhere near as gory as some of the more famous Giallo out there. I do have to complain about the amount of jump scares though. They aren't that many but they come on hard together with a serious sound sting so be advised if you are sensitive. That is however the only real critique I have.

So do I recommend this movie? Yes. The Bloodstained Shadow is a great mystery, sitting somewhere on the fence between a classic Giallo and a more “normal” thriller. Fans of either genre should enjoy it. Gorehounds may be disappointed though.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great and safe week!