Watching this film it's amazing how much cinema has changed in the past 30 years. This is the film that inspired the entire giallo genre, where the visual drive of film takes priority over the narrative. The script is therefore extremely perfunctory, with atrociously dubbed dialogue, minimalistic characterisation and outmoded sexual politics to say the least. If the script lacks sophistication however, visually this film is nothing short of stunning. Bava eschews rapid editing for a more langorous style of long gliding tracking shots and pans. Surprisingly ungraphic as well, considering its successors; the build up to the murder is more important than the act itself. What I find most amazing is how so much is achieved on a cinematic level on such a low budget. Every shot is planned to make the most of the sumptuous sets as possible; there is always something of visual interest onscreen, from the inspired use of foreground in the moving camera shots to pictural composition and the masterly use of colour and lighting. The second murder in the antiques shop is particularly stunning. Ultimately, as in a lot of the films of the genre (the early Argento films for example), the lack of any real narrative focus means that the film loses momentum towards the end. Still, stylistically a masterpiece.
