La peur au ventre

Someone is the classic giallo uniform (hat, gloves, raincoat, stocking over the face) is murdering the adulterous wives of the upper classes and leaving pictures of their crimes at the scene. Try not to focus on the men in this situation getting off without punishment - just go with the flow.

A moustachioed Farley Granger is on the case, which quickly becomes a serial killer case when another unfaithful woman is stalked, in slow motion, on a beach, then slashed to death. Farley finds pictures scattered about that crime scene too, although the offending male always has his face scored out. Who could be putting paid to the pampered people of the pompous populace?

So everyone that's rich is knocking boots with each other, we find out as all the surviving ladies have a naked massage thing going on. Silvano Trinquili is having it off with his neighbour, whose husband is crippled, and when she's murdered, her husband stupidly falls down a flight of stairs and dies, which may be the most pointless random death in a giallo I've watched to date.

Oh, and there's the obvious red herring. Played of course by Luciano Rossi, this red herring is the guy who prepares the corpses - he loves running his hands over them and speaking to them and tells the policeman that they are at the most beautiful in this state. I think the character's name was Reddo Herringi.

Although it is packed full of naked women, the plot kind of plods along bumping off people here and there. The ending is a cracker however - one of those out of nowhere endings you get in Italian cinema (see Black Turin for another one I didn't see coming). This is one of those gialli that you'll get to once you've watched the more interesting ones.

This is yet another giallo helmed by a little-known director; the suggestive but actually deceptive original title, which translates to REVELATIONS OF A SEX MANIAC TO THE CHIEF OF THE MOBILE SQUAD, would lead one to believe that this is very low-brow stuff indeed – however, the end result (propelled by a pounding Giorgio Gaslini score) is not bad at all. Besides, there is a good cast on hand: the obligatory American 'star' is once again Farley Granger (looking remarkably more mature than in SOMETHING IS CREEPING IN THE DARK [1971]), but then we have what can best be described as cameos by "Euro-Cult" regular Silvano Tranquilli and three of its luscious starlets – Sylva Koscina (playing Granger's wife), Femi Benussi and Susan Scott; all the females are made to shed their clothes, with the latter two even involved in surprisingly explicit sex scenes! Incidenatlly, along with STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER (1975; also with Benussi), this was the most erotically-oriented genre effort I have watched so far; in fact, the movie under review was subsequently re-assembled and distributed as outright hard-core material under the moniker PENETRATIONS (but Granger understandably – and successfully – sued the producers over it)! The plot sees the traditional black-gloved killer targeting a small town's apparently unending population of cheating wives (leaving as calling-card photos of them caught in flagrante, albeit with their respective partners' face clinically erased); in this respect, it also emerges as one of the more moralistic giallo entries (at least, this time around one is spared the usual pursuit of the proceeds of either an inheritance or an insurance policy!). By the way, the film even foregoes the last-minute explanation of the killer's motives which concludes (unsatisfactorily) many a giallo – though, in view of just this unexpected striving for satirical relevance (which proves rather vapid nevertheless, given the sheerly exploitative elements by which it is surrounded), here was perhaps a case where one would have liked to know what made this particular person tick (a gratuitously deranged morgue attendant had been made to fit the bill all along, but the real culprit was not too far off the mark anyway)!!

One of the things I like in the gialli is their mixture of sex and crime - you can have your thrills and watch at the same time beautiful women with scanty or no dress at all being pursued and killed - their eyes bulge in terror, they scream, their beautiful arms try to defend themselves and finally they lie still .... so sweet... so dead! Very politically incorrect, I know! But we can't deny that we all have our darker side - personally, in real life, I don't like violence, but in my imagination many things can happen - I can even fly!

Other attractive thing in the gialli is their sense of improvisation - as they are made mainly on a low budget, many times, friends and relatives are called to act in minor roles, or to work in the crew. This is why "So sweet, so dead" (Rivelazioni di un....) transmits a feeling of spontaneity. Scenes like a party in a house, friends playing volleyball etc. feel natural. There are also some comic touches added here and there and Luciano Rossi gives us his usual dose of weird humor. Women are getting undressed most of the time, and some, as soon as they undress, get killed. I think you already know the plot: A serial killer is murdering all the unfaithful wives in a well-to-do circle.

The final scene is somewhat shocking! It seems to condone the killer's feelings, if not his actions. If you take the film seriously, you won't like it. Take the film as it is, with its fast and active camera work, lots of female flesh and thrills, and you can't go wrong.

Accuse the film of misogynistic or of whatever you want. Explain me just one thing: Why is it that beautiful women from all over the world went to Italy to get barbarically killed in the gialli? Just answer me that. Enjoy!

'So Sweet So Dead' is an ultra-sleazy giallo flick directed by Roberto Bianchi Montero with a simple yet effective plot, good pacing, a lot of kills and tons of nudity. All the elements that you would expect from a decent giallo movie. But what holds this back from being a great genre entry is the lack of creativity within several elements of the kills and story, but it's still an enjoyable time.

The plot follows Inspector Capuana (Farley Granger) who is assigned to investigate the case of a serial killer who is murdering unfaithful wives and leaves compromising photographs of the women with their lovers at the crime scene.

I have heard good things about this and while I was certainly entertained throughout (mostly), it just feels like its missing that something special that could have really elevated this to classic status. Of the genre. The lead performance by Farley Granger was very uneven which is a shame as he's normally great in classics such as (Rope & Strangers On A Train), but here he just seems embarrassed to be here and feels very much phoned in. Not saying that this was bad or anything in-fact there was a lot to enjoy here such as the decent visuals with some nicely stylish shots, a good amount of tension and an awesome looking killer that will delight any fans of the genre.

Overall 'So Sweet So Dead' is good enough with a solid mystery, but the movie does lose its way in several areas and could have done with a bit more imagination and a stronger lead male performance.

An interesting addition to the Giallo genre. Most commentators have concentrated on the apparent misogyny and gratuitous nudity as well as the unfortunate version with porno inserts (which I haven't seen). I'm not sure about the first criticism and as to the second aspect it's an integral part of Giallo. Why else would most of us sit through badly dubbed plodding dialogue and awful acting except for the occasional glimpse of the unadorned form of Babara Bouchet or Sylvia Koscina? To mind my far more interesting is the political undertone referencing the corruption of the upper classes in 1970s Italy which is in tune with "respectable" movies such as 'Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion' and 'Illustrious Corpses'. I wouldn't want to spoil the movie for those haven't seen it, but there are also definite similarities with later efforts such as 'Dressed to Kill' and 'Seven'.

In the Giallo catalogue, I'd put this up with 'Don't Torture a Duckling'. Not as flashy as Argento, but it has something. My DVD is I think a video transfer. Maybe time for a proper digital version?