Siete notas en negro

It's nice when the main character of the giallo you're watching receives all their clues in one huge psychic download five minutes into the film.

Psychic lady, who has already remotely viewed her mother's suicide when she was a child (the only truly gory bit of the film), gets her vision when driving away from the airport after dropping off her new hubby (the always great and glary Gianni Garko of I Am Sartana, I will Kick Your Arse fame).

From then on out it's up to psychic lady to figure out all the clues. Who has she witnessed being murdered and walled up? Why doesn't her vision add up to police evidence? Who done it? It's difficult to review gialli without ruining them so I'll stop there.

I've seen this reviewed as Fulci's best film and his best Giallo, but personally I'd rate Lizard In A Woman's Skin higher (it's more surreal for starters). I would put in on a par with Don't Torture A Duckling though - I was glued to the screen. This man had talent at this point in his career.

Next up: Ghosts of Sodom. I'm thinking the next review won't be so glowing.

... Actually it is not exactly an horror movie, but rather more a thriller (or, better, a giallo). Visionary, tense, well acted (& dubbed), nice locations (villas, interiors, landscapes, cars, etc.), care to costumes and details, a nice 7 notes tune... it is a truly enjoyable little gem from the (not enough) celebrated Italian gore maestro. The plot itself, assuming it is possible to have such supernatural powers, develops convincingly and without too many disgusting bloody scenes . In some points (the visions, particularly the reversed statue) I had the feeling that Kubrick in Shining (1980) might have stolen something (MURDER...). Will it be possible? Oh, I was forgetting, the actress (O neill) is wonderful, and Ferzetti (Once upon in the West, On Her Majesty's Secret Service) is playing as well. 8.5/10 Well done Lucio!

The Psychic is one of Lucio Fulci's most well thought out films with less gore than usual and more focus on characters and suspense. Some might find it dull, but I found it refreshing. Who knew he had it in him? Wonderful music score, too!

Murder to the Tune of Seven Black Notes is the last of Fulci's pre-gore flick Giallo's, and it has to be said that it's the lowest quality of the bunch. That, however, is more down to the fact that the others are such brilliant films rather a shortfall with this one. Having already done straight murderers with A Lizard in Woman's Skin and Don't Torture a Duckling, Fulci has resorted to a supernatural plot line for his fourth Giallo feature and the plot draws its mystery and intrigue from it. Fulci has taken influence from the more psychological Giallo films made before this one, as well as a plentiful helping of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Black Cat". The plot kicks off properly with the uncovering of a skeleton inside the walls of a villa belonging to the husband of our young lady protagonist. Clairvoyance is the reason for finding the skeleton, and naturally it isn't long before the husband is put under suspicion for the murder given that the body was uncovered inside his house; and he finds himself on the inside when it turns out that the body belonged to one of his ex-lovers...

Despite the fact that this film serves as something of a prelude to the latter half of Fulci's career, there is a surprising lack of blood and guts, and this film isn't even as gory as the earlier Don't Torture a Duckling. Fulci presents his plot with a surprising amount of restraint, and doesn't even take the opportunity to show a heavily decomposed corpse as he did in the largely gore-less One on Top of the Other over a decade earlier. While the plot itself does serve up intrigue, it has to be said that it's a little too bare to cover the running time properly. The suspense is there throughout, but Fulci's script certainly could have benefited from adhering a little more to the common convoluted Giallo plot. The technical side of the film makes up for this shortfall, however, as Fulci's use of the camera is excellent and he continually presents a morbid and foreboding atmosphere, particularly inside the central villa location. The tension mounts as we approach the ending, and Murder to the Tune of Seven Black Notes boils down to a satisfyingly macabre - if a little abrupt - conclusion. This film may not be Fulci's best Giallo attempt, and it is liable to disappoint fans of his later, bloodier films; but if you like your atmospheres grim and your plots suspenseful; Fulci's fourth Giallo comes recommended.

This underrated giallo is probably Lucio Fulci's best movie. Without his usual gorie style, the film is about a clairvoyant woman, Virginia (Played by Jennifer O'Neill- Scanners), who has a vision of a murder that happened years ago. When she goes to her new husband's country house, she finds out that it's the same place she saw on her vision. So she smashes one of the walls of the house and finds a skeleton in it. Now the police think Virginia's husband is the murderer. But she doesn't think the same and does everything possible to prove he's innocent, so she start to investigate (giallo style of course)- Sadly ignored at the time of it's release (Maybe because it has almost no blood and no nudity), the film is filled with suspense, especially after the hour mark. It has a great storyline and above average acting. The score deserves a special mention as it is arguably the best giallo music ever, even beating Goblin's Deep Red. Recommended to anyone who likes the giallo genre, Lucio Fulci's fans and people who think he's a hack. Definitely a 10/10.