Die Nacht der rollenden Köpfe

Ordinary Italian murder/horror/mystery fair. I found it to be visually spectacular with swaying camera work common to Argento and others.

The movie delivers the goods with naked drop dead gorgeous women and fairly graphic killings. The plot is too complex, but these type of movies really are more about style.

This is a rather mediocre giallo, yet another one co-starring Susan Scott and Simon Andreu; though not a Luciano Ercoli film, it would place somewhere between his two DEATH WALKS titles.

The backdrop for the mystery this time around is a dance academy - hence the original title, which translates to DANCE STEPS ON A RAZOR'S BLADE; the English one, then, refers to the fact that the killer is ostensibly lame. Among its roster of artistically-oriented(!) characters is a photographer (Scott), her special-effects technician boyfriend Robert Hoffman, a musician/producer played by Andreu and Anuska Borova as a scoop-seeking female reporter (who has a twin sister, a former dancer whose colleagues are being brutally murdered!). George Martin(!), who plays the Police Inspector, also co-wrote the script with the director; his face seemed oddly familiar to me but, looking at his filmography on the IMDb, I only recognized the fine Spaghetti Western THE RETURN OF RINGO (1965) - which, incidentally, also featured Scott (under her original Spanish name of Nieves Navarro)!

The film provides plenty of red herrings throughout, but the final revelation is so abruptly presented as to be practically unintelligible! As was the case with THE FORBIDDEN PHOTOS OF A LADY ABOVE SUSPICION (1970), Scott is decked out in some horrendous 70s fashions (worst of all an over-sized cap like the one Jack Nicholson - in The Joker's guise - would wear in BATMAN [1989]!). Besides, the film's overall visual style is pretty uninspired (apart from the stalkings, done from the killer's POV), with its eye squarely on the narrative's exploitable elements - witness the numerous wholly gratuitous sex scenes, and even featuring a dance pirouette that culminates in a striptease! The dubbing, too, is among the worst I've had to sit through for this type of film. Roberto Pregadio's score is pretty nice, though - whose main theme, in keeping with the musical elements of the plot, is turned into a recurring motif.

Susan Scott of "Death walks at midnight" and "Orgasmo Nero" fame stars in this fairly unremarkable entry into the giallo genre directed by Maurizio Pradeaux. She witnesses a murder of a girl through a telescope, but fails to see the killer's face (who's dressed in typical giallo fashion). With the help of her boyfriend (Robert Hoffman from Umberto Lenzi's "Spasmo") she starts her investigation, while the killer proceeds to cut the witnesses' throats with a straight razor. There's nothing special about 'Death Walks With a Cane', it's a routine giallo with little originality about it. You've got all the usual stuff here: violent murders, weird characters,crazy plot twists, but there's still something missing. Firstly - suspense, the movie is pretty damn low on thrills. Secondly - sense of style. What kind of giallo is this without stylish locations? The story is supposed to be taking place in Rome, but the action mainly revolves in some un-photogeic back streets. No gorgeous architecture,just old shacks. The most upsetting thing about the film is the camera-work: flat and uninspired, with lots of pointless zooms and occasionally out of focus. Only during the murder scenes do the proceedings look a little more lively with some nice camera angles. The murders are gory and quite well executed. The score for the film composed by Roberto Pregadio isn't progressive or groovy or pounding or anything at all. Merely generic. There's a good deal of nudity in 'Death Walks With a Cane'. Robert Hoffman (who was just excellent in "Spasmo") and Scott do what they can with the material they're given, battling through some hysterically funny dialogue. The supporting cast includes Simon Andreu and Luciano Rossi who's always played demented creeps in westerns and police films. Sadly, this time Luciano Rossi is wasted as just one more red herring. The film isn't great, still worth a look for giallo fans but had a potential to be a lot better. If you want to see the same cast in a decent film, watch "Death walks at midnight".

Ketty,a photographer living in Rome,accidentally witnesses the murder of a young woman at the hands of a razor-wielding black-gloved killer.Ketty and her fiance,Alberto,go to the police-only to learn that two other witnesses to the crime have been slashed to death.Ketty fears that she will be the next victim when her ballerina friend Magda is brutally killed by the same elusive culprit.The police are baffled,unable to find a motive.It is Alberto who discovers the connection:all the murdered girls were dancers.Investigating further,Ketty finds a photo identifying the killer.But before she can warn Alberto,Ketty is trapped in a lonely greenhouse,stalked by the vicious madman!"Tormentor" is a pretty stylish Italian giallo that features plenty of graphic violence and nudity.The film is quite suspenseful and there are some bloody razor slashings.So if you're a fan of Italian giallos give it a look.8 out of 10.

"Death Carries a Cane" does a pretty good job in misleading and misdirecting you. So you never know who the killer is until the ending. But the motive given for the killer doesn't make any sense. With much more effort that could have made this movie into a classic. Also some scenes did not make sense at all. Like there were scenes cut out that have to give a logical explanation for what they are doing in the scene. This giallo might be a tad sleazy for some but in a healthy way. Because the women in this move are pretty attractive. Especially Nieves Navarro (or Susan Scott). There is something about this woman that screams sophistication. All the more hilarious later on when she is being made fun of towards the end. Overall not the most impressive giallo still a good one for a rainy Sunday.