Die Farben der Nacht

Though typically billed as a traditional giallo, All The Colors of the Dark owes more to Rosemary's Baby than it does The Bird With the Crystal Plumage. The stunning Edwige Fenech plays the lead character who finds herself getting wrapped up in a bizarre cult after a neighbor tells her that it might help her get over some of her issues. Naturally, things don't end well when she starts suspecting that this cult doesn't have the best of intentions.

For those expecting buckets of blood, you'll be disappointed, but the script for All The Colors Of The Dark and much smarter and more thoughtful than a lot of other giallo scripts and is filled with twists, turns, and even some honest-to-God suspense.

"Tutti i colori del buio" is worth a look if you are interested in the visuals of cinema. Sergio Martino's directing of the mostly dreamlike scenes is almost unbelievable. The use of wide-angle lenses, strange perspectives and slow-motion serves perfectly the weird atmosphere of this thriller.

Add to this a stylish 70s score by Bruno Nicolai and an unusually good script (well, for Italian giallo films) and you have another unknown classic.

9 out of 10

There's isn't any black-gloved killer butchering one fashion model after the other with an exceptional weapon here, yet that certainly doesn't make "All the Colors of the Dark" any less of a genuine Italian giallo! This solid thriller, directed by the almighty Sergio Martino ("Torso", "Blade of the Ripper") , benefits most from its extremely stylish cinematography and, of course, the mesmerizing looks of lead actress and reigning giallo-queen Edwige Fenech. With this natural beauty running around hysterically all the time – often scarcely dressed – you almost feel forced to forgive the story for being overly confusing and the violence for being too tame. Jane is a young woman, still recovering from a traumatizing accident in which she lost her unborn child, and suffers from re-occurring nightmares as well as hallucinations of being stalked by a blue-eyed creep. With her lover Richard out of town a lot, others try to help Jane with her mental problems. Her sister recommends seeing a psychiatrist and a befriended girl in the apartment even advises her to join a satanic cult. This last initiative obviously isn't a very good idea, as lovely Jane becomes involved in an occult mess of rape & murder, starring all the people of her unexplained hallucinations. Sergio Martino creates and sustains a powerful atmosphere of paranoia and morbidity, yet it's truly regretful that there isn't any more gore on display. Jane's nightmares are remotely bloody, but true fans of Italian horror cinema require a bit more sadism. There are several suspenseful scenes to make up for this, notably the one where Fenech awakes in a countryside cottage and painfully realizes she STILL isn't safe. The screenplay makes several intriguing twists & turns near the end, just in time to make it a great giallo after all. I have to admit that the first hour of "All the Colors of the Dark" nearly wasn't as compelling and involving as other contemporary gialli. The music is great as usual and, apart from Edwige, this movie also contains great performances by George Hilton, Ivan Rassimov and Nieves Navarro.

Tutti i colori del buio or All the Colors of the Dark (also released as Day of the Maniac and They're Coming to Get You!) got some good points - a nice soundtrack (including some good psychedelic rock tunes), some well crafted scenes/settings and psychedelic shots, some beautiful ladies. Where this movie lacks is in providing an interesting story line and the elements of horror or terror are rather on the weak or tame side. The occult scenes with some trippy elements are well shot and spiced up with some softporn elements. Is it bad? No. Is it good? Not so much. Only recommended if you want to watch some movie deep rooted in the 70s style of Italian movie making - but for a real giallo movie this one is too tame in my opinion.

This is an entertaining Italian giallo that has often been unfairly compared to "Rosemary's Baby", even though the only bambina on display here is lead actress Edwige Fenech. There is a satanic cult here as in the Polanski classic, but they are much more interested in making Fenech the centerpiece of their ritualized sex orgies and getting their hands on her inheritance than they are in impregnating her with the Devil's spawn. And while "Rosemary's Baby" makes perfect sense, this is a quintessential giallo where making sense is completely beside the point. There is a powerful sense of paranoia in this film, but it is hysterical paranoia of low-budget Italian thrillers rather than the subtle, creeping paranoia of "Rosemary's Baby". Basically the plot here is just an excuse to move between dramatic chase sequences, bizarre dream sequences, and delirious satanic sex. The movie is certainly aware of it's similarity to the Polanski film and cleverly uses it to produce red herrings by giving the heroine a mysterious, remote husband (George Hilton) and a very odd psychiatrist.

Fenech was always good in these hysterical victim roles, and she is ably supported here by the rest of the cast. The creepily blue-eyed Ivan Rassimov is a killer stalking her. (Why? Who knows, but he's great). Nieves Navarro (aka Susan Scott) plays the conniving sister and provides some relief nudity for Fenech. George Hilton is smooth and suave as always (he even seems remarkably unperturbed that his wife is cheating on him with an entire satanic cult).

This is not the best gialli with Fenech (that would be "What Are Those Strange Drops of Blood Doing on Jennifer's Body")nor is it Martino's best (that would be "Torso"). But it's the best one they did together. And there are good-looking widescreen bootleg copies of it floating around. It's definitely worth checking out.