Todos los colores de la oscuridad

You do know that in the real world, the chances of encountering women like Edwige Fenech, Susan Scott, and Marina Malfatti in the space of even a YEAR are almost zilch, right? George Hilton encounters them all in one day. He's an old man now, but I doubt he's got any regrets, and probably still has one of the most enviable wank banks in existence.

Edwige does a lot of 'startled over the shoulder glances' in this one, so if you're a big fan of that you will like this, a quasi-giallo involving that early seventies obsession: the satan worshipping cult. But I'm getting ahead of myself there. The main question of the first half of this film is: If Edwige has flashbacks to witnessing an OLD Ivan Rassimov killing her mother when she was a child, then why does she think a YOUNG Ivan Rassimov is stalking her now?

Needless to say when we first meet Edwige she's a messed up girl (in her head, she still looks immaculate no matter what happens to her) - she witnessed her mum being killed, she lost a baby in a car crash caused by husband George Hilton, and now she can't get it on with him due flashbacks. What's a girl to do? Go see a psychiatrist like her sister Susan Scott recommends? Or join a Satanic cult, drink the blood of a sacrificed dog, and get it on with some smelly hippies? If you thought Edwige's character in Anna, the Mafioso's Punching Bag was gullible, you aint seen nothing yet!

The Satanic cult element is introduced fairly early, but the main mystery of the film is who can Edwige trust? Probably not Ivan Rassimov, as she spends most of the film running away from him, but was is George Hilton up to? Is he a travelling salesman or is he something else? What about psychiatrist George Riguad? Or why does Susan Scott hate George? And what did lawyer Luciano Pigozzi want to talk to her about? Sergio Martino does a good job here of making everything as trippy as possible. The film starts with a bonkers dream sequence involving a floating man in drag and a pregnant woman rubbing blood on her stomach. He chops up the editing at several points so things repeat themselves, shows scenes that may or may not have happened in Edwige's head, and also has Edwige having visions of things that haven't happened yet. You can't go wrong with a good rooftop chase so Sergio throws one of them in too, and actually manages to explain most of what's going on before the end of the film! Except those visions.

That's it - I've now watched every Edwige giallo film (Top Sensation, Five Dolls for the August Moon, Strange Case of Mrs Wardh, Your Vice is a Locked Room and only I have the Key, The Case of the Bloody Iris, All the Colours of the Dark, 1975's Strip Nude For Your Killer and 1988's Phantom of Death). Apart from those, Edwige would appear in a whole lot of 'sexy comedies' that were seemingly the most popular genre in Italy in the late seventies. She would also appear in a couple of Euro Crime films, including Mean Frank and Crazy Tony, which I switched off after ten minutes due to the horrible comedy.

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.

All The Colors of the Dark is a combination of a giallo, an occult horror and a Roman Polanski style claustrophobic apartment-based thriller. It's possibly director Sergio Martino's most ambitious film from a period when he produced a series of excellent pictures. Unlike Martino's other gialli, this one is much more psychological in approach. It doesn't have a series of murders or anything like that but instead focuses on the troubled world of its female protagonist played by cult actress Edwige Fenech. She is recovering from a car crash which claimed the life of her unborn baby, shortly after this she is menaced by a mysterious man and is introduced to a black magic group by an enigmatic neighbour. The story isn't all that great to be perfectly honest it's the style in which it's presented that's its strength. It's consistently photographed in an interesting way, with unusual angles and good colour schemes. The disorienting camera angles do add to the overall theme of a psychologically troubled woman. The London settings are also used very well indeed – the apartment block and country manor are both very effectively shot. It would also be deeply remiss to not mention Bruno Nicolai's soundtrack. It's a really nice psychedelic piece that adds to the atmosphere very nicely, it comes into its own in the scenes of the cult indoctrinating Edwige Fenech's character into their circle; this scene is one of the best that Martino ever directed, it's pure 70's psychedelic delirium. It's only matched in this movie by the very creepy and bizarre opening dream sequence which includes things like a murdered pregnant woman and a hideous old crone dressed like a child's doll.

The movie is immeasurably helped by the presence of Edwige Fenech. She looks like the definitive giallo heroine here, with her gorgeous mane of long black hair, porcelain skin and big eyes. She is certainly a welcome character to base the movie around and does play the vulnerable victim very well it has to be said. Her co-star, the always excellent Susan Scott, who plays her sister, is sadly underused but at least she's there. The male stars don't particularly shine but Ivan Rassimov has a fairly memorable role as the blue-eyed psycho. Overall, Sergio Martino produced another fine Italian thriller with this movie. I'm not convinced it's his best necessarily, and perhaps it sometimes promises more than it actually delivers. Nevertheless, this one should most certainly please fans of this kind of thing.

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.

"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