Passi di morte perduti nel buio

Quite ludicrous but bright and breezy enough to be likable this is, wait for it - a comic giallo. I know, obviously, we are on dangerous territory straight away because, what with all the twists and turns and often daft denouements, gialli, are sometimes laughable enough. Yet here we have a particularly complicated one, albeit with simple enough start, Agatha Christie style with six people in a railway carriage, light goes out, one dies, who dunnit? But this is complicated by the fact that one gets involved in blackmail and then maybe another and there are characters chasing characters, we are struggling to keep up only for the characters to start making jokes (sometimes amusing, sometimes not). On the positive side, it looks tremendous, great costumes and furnishings with the girls not afraid to slip off their clothes, the killings are fairly gory and the score keeps things bobbing along as the cast seem to be genuinely enjoying themselves. Just wish I had as much fun watching.

Maurizio Pradeauxs second Giallo has not only got a similar title (the first one is "Passi di Danza su una Lama di Rasoio"), but it also recycles many elements of his first one. As in his other genre outing, the killer murders his/her victims with a razor. The killings are quite nasty, but the special effects are unable to convince completely. The most interesting aspect of this film is its setting: The story takes place in the Greek capital Athens.

Sadly, Pradeaux makes a big mistake: While his first Giallo focuses on suspense, this one boosts stupid gags and one-liners to "relax" tension and suspense. Even worse, the gags are often shamelessly sexist, leading to the impression that all female characters are at least slightly dumb. And it's mainly this fact that makes the whole movie a letdown.

So, if one has to watch one of Pradeauxs two Gialli, "Passi di Danza su una Lama di Rasoio" is a better choice than "Passi di Morte Perduti nel Buio".

This is another little-known but well-above-average giallo, in its case a latter-day entry; again, we have here an American actor – Robert Webber as an Inspector having to contend not just with a series of murders but a constantly upset stomach! – sparring with the protagonist, Leonard Mann (Italian despite the English-sounding name). Atypically, the film intercuts the genre's trademark intensity with a good deal of humor (including the hero fleeing detection in drag!); while it may feel uneasy at the start, the mix soon becomes acceptable and, in fact, proves considerably entertaining. In this respect, Mann's dumb girlfriend proves a bit much – having said that, there is one other kooky female character, a young safecracker who aids them in unmasking the villain of the piece! As usual, the film concludes with a rushed, muddled and rather banal explanation of the killer's motives (incidentally, the original murder cleverly occurs in a train compartment just as the vehicle enters a tunnel!) – which, however, is atoned for by one last delightful joke involving the inexperienced petty criminal. Like I said, its light mood notwithstanding, DEATH STEPS IN THE DARK (nicely shot in Greece, by the way) certainly does not hold back on blood-letting – since this had become pretty much the norm following Dario Argento's vicious face-lifting of the genre with DEEP RED (1975); still, there is one additional incongruous (and, in hindsight, unnecessary) element in the few – albeit surprisingly explicit – sex scenes (notably a lesbian coupling seen in extreme close-up!)...

After the murder of a young woman on a train from Istanbul to Athens, five people are questioned by the police, the main suspect being photographer Luciano (Leonard Mann). With the law breathing down his neck, Luciano tries to prove his innocence while the killer continues to rack up the bodies.

Death Steps in the Dark has got a convoluted plot, a killer who wears black gloves and uses an open razor, plenty of attractive young women, bright red gore, gratuitous female nudity, and cool close-ups of the murderer's twitchy eyeball - but it's still not a typical giallo: in addition to the usual genre ingredients, this one also includes quite a lot of comic relief. The tongue-in-cheek humour is incongruous with the nasty slayings - one second we have a graphic shot of a razor slicing through flesh, and moments later there'll be some daft comment from the hero's ditzy Swedish girlfriend Ingrid (played by Vera Krouska - easy on the eye, but oh-so-irritating) or some craziness that involves the police's prime suspect dressing in drag. No matter how hard director Maurizio Pradeaux tries, his mixture of sadistic killing and silly comedy doesn't work

The murders are well-handled by Pradeaux, but the actual story is a mess, so much so that that it is necessary for some lengthy exposition at the end, courtesy of the police inspector (Robert Webber), so that the viewer can make some sort of sense out of what they have just seen. That said, no amount of explanation could make the final scene seem less asinine: Death Steps in the Dark has one of the most ridiculous climaxes ever, so stupid that it almost makes one admire its chutzpah.

4.5/10, rounded up to 5 for IMDb.

Infrequently discussed, the playful blood-spiller 'Death Steps In The Dark' still sparkles seductively in the gaudy pantheon of Vintage Italian terror! While maestro Maurizio Pradeaux's no less watchable 'Death Carries a Cane' is better known, I found his 1977 outing to be far more entertaining than the latter. Not only do you get the requisite full-frontal nudity so ubiquitous in the genre, including a gloriously prurient Sapphic montage near the opening of the film! Pradeaux's compelling thriller is suffused a light, comedic touch not generally found within the idiom; so amongst all the black-gloved, razor-wielding, fear-flocked frenzy, the narrative is leavened by a welcome sardonic tone, admittedly far-from subtle, it nonetheless adds an amusingly quirky sheen to the generally humourless genre.

Graphic razor-slashings, gratuitous nudity, plentiful guzzles of J&B whiskey, the veritable elixir of Italian exploitation! And a mesmerizing, booty-humpin' jazz-funk score by sound master Riz Ortolani makes 'Death Steps in the Dark' one of the more memorable and re-watchable Italian thrillers. Whether Pradeaux's delightful film was specifically designed as a Giallo parody certainly doesn't detract from the myriad lurid pleasures the hyperbolic genre is infamous for; since 'Death Steps In The Dark' actively remains an exciting briskly-paced, scintillatingly sanguineous 70s whodunnit, not oft mentioned, this high quality, full-blooded Giallo is well worth rediscovery!