This party is dullsville.
Five young men and five young women drive to a castle for a weekend of swinging fun; they are joined by curvaceous temptress Serena (Antonella Lualdi) and psychic Anthony (John Drew Barrymore), who predicts that something terrible is about to happen and that they should all leave immediately. The carefree youths ignore the ominous warning but soon realise that someone in the castle is a murderer...
Not long into this film, Serena starts to gyrate her hips to the groovy single Sexy Party, to be joined by the five other girls; it's a hilariously dated scene and consequently very entertaining. Unfortunately, everything that follows is far less enjoyable, as Serena turns up dead and the group try to figure out who the killer is. What should have been a whole load of 'old dark house' fun is rendered virtually unwatchable as the annoying characters stumble from one dull scene to the next, the only respite coming as the girls change into some old clothes, sauntering around in their underwear.
3.5/10 - this Italian murder mystery feels a bit like a giallo, but it lacks that genre's usual style and high body count. I'll round my rating up to 4 for John Drew Barrymore's hair-style and the amusing moment where one of the guys, looking for a way to open a secret doorway, says 'There must be a button somewhere... maybe it's this one', before pressing the glaringly obvious button right in front of him. Well, duh!
Not long into this film, Serena starts to gyrate her hips to the groovy single Sexy Party, to be joined by the five other girls; it's a hilariously dated scene and consequently very entertaining. Unfortunately, everything that follows is far less enjoyable, as Serena turns up dead and the group try to figure out who the killer is. What should have been a whole load of 'old dark house' fun is rendered virtually unwatchable as the annoying characters stumble from one dull scene to the next, the only respite coming as the girls change into some old clothes, sauntering around in their underwear.
3.5/10 - this Italian murder mystery feels a bit like a giallo, but it lacks that genre's usual style and high body count. I'll round my rating up to 4 for John Drew Barrymore's hair-style and the amusing moment where one of the guys, looking for a way to open a secret doorway, says 'There must be a button somewhere... maybe it's this one', before pressing the glaringly obvious button right in front of him. Well, duh!
- BA_Harrison
- 2 sept 2023