Hands of the Ripper

This week I was in the mood for some Hammer Horror so I watched;

Hands of the Ripper (1971).

MILD SPOILERS AHEAD.

Doctor Pritchard (Eric Porter) and his son Michael (Keith Bell) attend a séance, possibly to expose the medium as a fraud. Shortly after they leave, the medium is murdered, and the police suspects one of the guests, MP Dysart (Derek Godfrey). The doctor, who is a disciple of Freud, suspects that the culprit is the young ward of the medium, sweet but mentally ill girl, Anna (Angharad Rees). It turns out that Anna is the daughter of none other than Jack the Ripper, and due to past trauma, she becomes possessed by him when certain things triggers her. The doctor is unwilling to give up on her as well as his own theories, but things quickly spiral out of control.

The reason I placed the spoiler warning is Anna's heritage, but pretty much every blurb I saw leads with that fact so I don't feel too bad.

Hands of the Ripper is directed by Peter Sasdy who also directed The Stone Tape, Countess Dracula and Taste the Blood of Dracula for Hammer, two of which are some of my favorite Hammer movies. This gave me hope for something really good, but I was a bit disappointed.

Two things keep this movie afloat; the actors and the cinematography, everything else is good enough but nothing special. Prop wise this is typical Victorian studio work, fine but nothing out of the ordinary. The gore, what little there is, is quite tame. For having Ripper in the title and being a Hammer movie, I was expecting a lot more but it is what it is.

Speaking of Victorian, they refer to “Our Queen Victoria” but they also mention that “The Ripper was fifteen years ago”. That places the movie in 1903, which makes it the Edwardian era, not the Victorian since Queen Victoria died in 1901. Not a deal breaker by any means, but a bit sloppy to be sure.

The actors do a good job, particularly Eric Porter and Angharad Rees. Even though Anna is pretty catatonic for a good part of the movie, they have good chemistry and pull you into the story. No one stands out as subpar, which is a plus.

The shot composition ranges from good to really good, particularly the end. Many horror movies are good but ends up with disappointing endings. Hands of the Ripper is the opposite. Tame start, alright middle and an excellent ending. There are even some scenes that makes you sit up and take notice.

All this said, do I recommend this movie? Fans of Hammer, Amicus and that style of movie making should enjoy Hands of the Ripper, but general horror fans will probably be a bit bored. If you set your expectations to the right level, this is a good movie. Not one of Hammers stand out productions no, but good enough to put 95 minutes on.

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

 

The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh

I finally got my hands on a movie I've been itching to watch:

The Strange Vice of Mrs.Wardh (1971)

This is Sergio Martino's first Giallo, predating all the others I've written about to far. The story is this:

Mrs. Julie Wardh (Edwige Fenech) arrives back in Vienna with her neglectful diplomat husband Neil (Alberto de Mendoza). On her way home, she learns that a razor wielding maniac is killing women, mostly prostitutes. Through her friend Carol, Julie meets Carol's cousin from Australia, George (George Hilton) and they soon develop a romance. Julie is also tormented and stalked by her ex-lover Jean (Ivan Rassimov), with whom she had a stormy relationship. It turns out that Julie likes it very rough in bed, something Jean was more than willing to supply. It was to escape from Jean that Julie married Neil, but sadistic Jean is not a person that takes no for an answer. Things get tenser and tenser as Julie struggles to keep it together while trying to survive.

The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh is also known as Blade of the Ripper and The Next Victim, depending on where you are. It marks the start of Martino's Giallo career, and the start of a collaboration between him and a small group of actors. He knew who he liked to work with and had no problem doing so. This means that the movie is full of faces that you will see time and time again in his other movies.

Last week in my write-up of The Case of the Scorpion's Tail, I mentioned that one can see the development of Martino's style in it's early stages. This is still true in my mind, but what's fascinating is that The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh is much better shot than Scorpion's Tail. Some of the shots are superb and much more artistic than the average Giallo.

The sound is fine to good. A lot of the music sits in the background, where it belongs. However in several scenes there is heartbeat or a kind of dull roar placed over the music that really elevates the tension to a new level.

What really shines are the actors. All the actors do a fine job, but Edwige Fenech knocks it out of the park. In the other roles that I've seen her, she has been collected and in control or more of a side character. Here, as Julie Wardh, she shines in her ability to display paralyzing terror with little more than her eyes. Anyone can scream, cry and run around, but to stand still and show the fear coursing through you with only subtle expressions is impressive.

As for blood and sex, there is a fair amount in The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh, particularly sex. The blood should have been more prominent. If someone gets their throat cut, blood doesn't tastefully drip a bit, it gushes. Not a deal breaker by any means, just an observation.

As I was watching, I found plot hole after plot hole, or so I thought. It turns out that, like in Scorpion's Tail, Martino pulls in all the strings and ties them off in a neat little knot by the end. Everything I was going to complain about is sorted and taken care of. Fun fact: the extra H in Wardh was added because a real Mrs. Ward threatened to sue for ruining her reputation. Also a fun fact: throughout the movie, Julie gets red roses with hand written notes. I google translated them all and one states that “Your Vice is a locked room and only I have the key”. This is funny as Martino used that as the title of one of his later movies.

So, do I recommend this movie? Yes, I do. This is one of those Giallo that should work for all fans of thrillers, not just Giallo fans. It doesn't go too far in any direction and the story is actually really good. It also does something that I can't remember any other Giallo doing, but telling would be spoiling. Can't have that...

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

 

The Case of the Scorpion's Tail

 This week the subject is;

The Case of the Scorpion's Tail (1971).

This Giallo with it's stylishly pulpy name is directed by Sergio Martino, who has appeared here a couple of time with Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972), Torso (1973) and Island of the Fish Men (1979). The Case of the Scorpion's Tail predates them and you can sort of tell.

The story is this:

Lisa Baumer (Evelyn Stewart) finds out that the plane her husband was on has exploded in midair. She also finds out that he had a huge life insurance policy that she can claim in Athens. Hot on her trail is an assortment of shady characters who want to blackmail her as well as insurance investigator Peter Lynch (George Hilton). Things soon take a dramatic turn and Lynch finds himself under investigation by the police. At the same time he meets local journalist Cléo Dupont (Anita Strindberg) and they start investigating together while also starting a passionate relationship. In the middle of all this lurks a savage masked killer with a very sharp knife.

The Case of the Scorpion's Tail like the other Martino movies I've seen is a solid piece of work. Like the others, it isn't brilliant but it keeps your attention nicely, the tense scenes are really tense and the actors all do a good job. As I like to do, I tried to solve the case and failed miserably. The killer wasn't my first or second pick and although I was a bit confused at times, everything is nicely wrapped up by the end and more importantly, it doesn't cheat! I hate stories that cheat on the solution and The Case of the Scorpion's Tail is on the up and up.

This movie was Sergio Martino's sixth movie, and you can tell he was getting into the swing of things. His two following movies mentioned above are more stylish and polished, but that isn't a bad thing. It is worth noting that the movie doesn't really start up properly until about the 20 minute mark, and until then, things are a bit slow. Don't let that deter you, things heat up and the action scenes are really nice.

Having a couple of veterans in the lead like George Hilton and Anita Strindberg doesn't hurt either. Their romance feels very real and adds another layer of tension with the murderer skulking in the shadows. The Case of the Scorpion's Tail is not one of the sleazy Giallo movies either. There is some nudity and gore, which is to be expected, but overall it is tastefully done. If you can call getting a broken bottle in the eye tasteful.

So, do I recommend this movie? Yes, absolutely. I'd almost call The Case of the Scorpion's Tail a pure thriller, but there is enough Giallo in it to honestly qualify for the title. Fans of both genres should enjoy it and while it isn't at the top of the heap, it falls into the category of solid and good. Worth the watch in my book any day.

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

The Cat o' Nine Tails

This week I chose:

The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971)

This Giallo by genre master Dario Argento is the second in his so called animals trilogy starting with The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and ending with Four Flies on Grey Velvet. I had seen this movie before, but that was 15 years ago or thereabout. I remember that I didn't care much for it, and that was about it.

With all the Gialli I have seen in recent years however, I wanted to give this movie a second chance.

The movie opens with someone breaking into a genetic research institute. The watchman is knocked out, but nothing seems to have been stolen. Retired reporter Franco Arno (Karl Malden) lives nearby with his young niece, who helps him as he is blind. He hears something during the break in and his sharp investigative instincts are alerted. The next day he meets Carlo Giordani, a reporter who is covering the burglary. A short time later, a researcher at the institute dies and Franco convinces Carlo that it was murder. Both men love solving puzzles and team up to solve the mystery as person after person dies.

The Cat o' Nine Tails is by no means a bad movie, let's make that clear. It is wonderfully shot with some great scenes, the actors are great, the score is good but... it is almost two hours long and the story is pretty dull. Unlike Crystal Plumage and Four Flies where the stakes are high and the main character has to keep going, Franco and Carlo could have just given up without all that much happening. Sure, a murderer would probably have gotten away with it, but that happens all the time anyway. The stakes here are so low for most of the movie that it unfortunately turns into a bit of a snooze fest. That changes later on, and there are a couple of really intense scenes. The milk scene is positively Hitchcockian.

Argento has said that The Cat o' Nine Tails is his least favorite movie of all the ones he has directed, and I can see why. There is the nucleus of a great story here, but it gets painted over with scene after scene that plods along in a sedate pace.

There is a bit of romance, but since The Cat o' Nine Tails lacks a female main character, it becomes underdeveloped. The lack of a female lead is actually pretty rare for a Giallo, at least in my experience, but that in itself does not hurt the movie. It simply needed to be shorter and sharper.

So, do I recommend this movie? Again, yes and no. If you just want a fun Giallo then give this a miss, but if you are on an Argento trip then you should definitely watch this. As I said, it's not bad it just isn't as good as what Argento can do. If you set your expectations to the right level, you'll be fine.

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

 

Five Dolls for an August Moon

This week we're talking about:

Five Dolls for an August Moon (1970).

This Giallo directed by genre stalwart Mario Bava is a fun mess. The story is this:

Rich industrialist George Stark invites two business partners and a professor together with their wives to his private island. The professor who has invented some incredible resin thinks he's there to relax, but he is there so that the businessmen can persuade him to sell them his formula. People starts to turn up murdered, until we reach the end.

As I watched Five Dolls, I got the feeling I was watching an Agatha Christie movie filtered through a Giallo lens, and it turns out I was right. This is essentially a bit of a rip off of Christie's And Then There Were None. The original director dropped out and the producers got Bava instead. He felt the script needed a lot of rework due to being too close to Christie but filming was slated to start two days later and he had no time. No time and no money either. The actors had to wear their own clothes, that's how small the budget was. With all this in mind, it's amazing this movie is not just watchable but even enjoyable, even if only just.

The cinematography is solid, which isn't surprising as this is Bava we're talking about. The actors are pretty solid with some good names like William Berger, Ira von Fürstenberg (who is a genuine princess), Edwige Fenech and more. What isn't good is the soundtrack which alternates between bad 70's jazz and some I don't know what music. I'm not hard to please when it comes to movie music, but this was unfortunately horrible.

As I watched the movie I was being quite hard on it, but upon reading about how hard it was to get anything at all to screen, I feel a lot more forgiving. For a Giallo, Five Dolls for an August Moon is incredibly tame. No real blood and no nudity. If not for Bava's style and experience, there would be no thrills at all. But he manages to pull this movie across the finish line. That said, there are a couple of massive plot holes that did disappoint me. As always, I was trying to solve the mystery but you can't. Not with the information the movie gives you anyway. You might as well just pick a character at random and see if you picked the killer.

So, do I recommend this movie? To completionists, I do. You might wonder why I would recommend Five Dolls for an August Moon at all after everything I just said, but it has heart and Mario Bava was skilled enough to turn a rotten turnip of a script into something edible if forgettable. Hardcore Giallo or Bava fans can find something to enjoy here, but not anyone else. I like Five Dolls for an August Moon but I will probably never watch it again.

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

 

Why it's Rude to Suck at World of Warcraft.

Hello!

This week I was planning on talking about the 1974 Giallo, The Girl in Room 2a, so I watched it yesterday. The problem is that it is pretty awful and I don't want to sit here and crap on someone else's hard work. I can be critical, yes, but however I tried, I can't really say anything positive about The Girl in Room 2a.

This left me with a conundrum. I didn't have enough time to watch anything else but I need something, and that's when it struck me. A couple of weeks ago I skimmed a Reddit thread about toxicity in World of Warcraft, and someone linked the following video.

Now, this is 84 minutes long but it's fascinating. The video breaks down how people play WoW, the rise of addons, how Blizzard, unlike many other developers can't make players do anything and how external data affects how the game is played. 

If you have any interest in the subject matter I strongly urge you to watch it.

Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKP1I7IocYU

 

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

 

 

 

Autopsy

This week I felt like getting back on the Giallo train so I watched:

Autopsy (1975).

Also known as The Victim or Corpse (terrible titles), this Giallo/Horror is known in Italy as Macchie Solari which translates to Sunspots. Autopsy is directed by Armando Crispino and is scored by Ennio Morricone.

The movie opens with sinister footage of solar flare activity before showing us a bunch of very graphic suicides. We then meet Simona Sanna (Mimsey Farmer), a young pathologist working on her masters degree with a thesis on suicides and faked suicides. The morgue she works in is slammed and she is so exhausted that she starts hallucinating that the corpses are coming to life and having intercourse with each other. We also meet her frustrated boyfriend, a rich photographer and race car driver Riccardo (Ray Lovelock). His main source of frustration seems to be Simonas insistence that they don't fool around until after her thesis is complete.

After a grueling days work, Simona returns home and meets an American, Betty Lenox who is staying in the same building, a building owned by Simona's father. Betty is found dead soon after, apparently yet another suicide, but her brother Father Paul Lenox (Barry Primus), insists that she was murdered.

Simona is pulled into the investigation of Betty's death and soon finds herself in over her head. Everyone seems to be hiding something and trust is hard to come by. People die but are they suicides or murders? Can she even trust herself?

By now you have probably noticed that suicide is heavily featured in this movie. There is also an almost absurd amount of nudity and simulated sex. Simona studies what I have to assume are real photographs of medical deformities and crime scene photos, some that are pretty nasty at that. There is also a scene featuring animal cruelty so if you are sensitive, consider this your warning!

Autopsy is labeled as a Horror/Giallo on Wikipedia and that is true. The beginning has strong horror vibes but after a while it seamlessly translates into a pretty typical Giallo. I haven't seen any of Crispino's other movies but Autopsy is nicely shot. The overall vibe is good, you can really feel the heat and stress building and the actors are solid. Mimsey Farmer has appeared twice here before, in Four Flies on Grey Velvet and in The Perfume of the Lady in Black. Lovelock was in Let Sleeping Corpses Lie and in Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man. The rest of the cast are all old hands in Italian cinema and I recognized several faces all throughout.

Autopsy is a solid Giallo even though it feels a bit meandering. The list of possible suspects is a bit too short for such a long winded script and the ending was a bit of a letdown. Instead of the mystery being solved, we are just told who the villain is. Not a deal breaker, but definitely unsatisfying.

So, do I recommend this movie? Yes, to Giallo and Horror fans I do. I doubt many others would get any real enjoyment from Autopsy. I had a good time, even though this is far from a masterpiece. Even if the ending had been better I'd still rate this as a middle of the road affair which in itself is fine. Solid is still solid.

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