Neuf invités pour un crime

"Nove Ospiti per un Delitto" is a mediocre giallo in the tradition of Agatha Christie's "And Then They Were None". Nine members of the same family go to an island, where nobody lives - but the head of the family (Arthur Kennedy) owns a nice house there. Problem is that he and his three sons keep a dark secret, and this dark secret begins to haunt them as soon as they are on the island. One by one falls victim to a mysterious killer.

Arthur Kennedy leads a remarkable male cast in this rather low-budget-effort which fails to thrill the audience. John Richardson gives too a fine performance, just as do Massimo Foschi (protagonist in Ruggero Deodato's impressive "Ultimo Mondo Cannibale") and Venantino Venantini. Unfortunately, as mentioned before, the movie itself is nothing special. Director Baldi fails to deliver a thrilling atmosphere, even though he tries to do so. The most interesting thing is that none of the characters are sympathetic; they are all rather mean and selfish, so nobody really cares when somebody dies... Only interesting for fans of the giallo genre or fans of the surprisingly good male cast.

Mixed bag of a giallo

Pros: The acting is well done - especially in the second half as the danger increases and the characters are under pressure.

It's a beautiful island location.

Even though the twist was predictable, it was well done. It's a pretty classic twist if you've seen a number of giallos.

Cons: The first half is very slow and filled with gratuitous melodrama and gratuitous nudity. Many of the cast members look similar and without establishing distinct visual clues to who is who - it's easy to confuse who is who. I wish the script and make-up/wardrobe spent more time making these characters more distinct.

I did not like the soundtrack.

'Nine Guests for a Crime' is a fun Giallo murder mystery thriller with an interesting narrative structure that takes full advantage of the whodunit aspect of the story. The movie is briskly paced with some genuinely tense moments. The island location is visually stunning with gorgeous scenery which gives this an eerie atmosphere and sets the tone perfectly for the murderous mayhem.

The plot - A group of family members sail a yacht to a deserted Mediterranean island for a holiday at the island's villa, only to be killed off one by one by a mysterious killer which may or may not be linked to a past murder that happened there many years ago.

The movie is a very standard 70's trashy thriller that boasts a strong cast with plenty of entertaining moments, but what lets this down is the poorly executed death scenes that needed better gore effect & therefore very lacking and while the film is nice to look at, the tense moments are poorly staged, despite a decent set-up with the opening flashback really setting the tone, but the direction largely feels like someone going through the motions instead of doing something that could have really elevated this flick.

Overall 'Nine Guests for a Crime' is entertaining enough Giallo fodder, but doesn't quite rise to the classic levels of the genre and could have done with a bit more energy.

A family consisting of a patriarch, his much younger wife, his troubled sister, his sons, and their wives go on a vacation to a remote Mediterranean island where years earlier the father and sons had murdered the lower-class lover of their sister/aunt. At first there are a lot of sexual shenanigans--one of the brothers succumbs to the temptation of his impotent brother's hot-to-trot wife, the father's young wife is carrying on with his other son right in the room where the man's own wife slumbers. Eventually though the guests begin to be picked off one-by-one in rather grisly fashion, and the movie gets a lot more interesting. As others have said, this movie greatly resembles the Agatha Christie murder-mystery "Ten Little Indians", even more so than some of the other Italian gialli that also mined that famous book for inspiration like "Five Dolls for an August Moon" and "The Weekend Murders". (In fact, if you're very familiar with the book, you might be able to guess the identity of the murderer in this one).

The male cast here is indeed quite impressive including Arthur Kennedy (as the father) and John Richardson, Massimo Foschi, and Venatino Venetini as the sons. As for the female cast, well, they do take off their clothes a lot. Actually, the most recognizable might be Sofia Dionisio (aka Fabiani Flavi), the sister of Silvia Dionisio and one-time sister-in-law of director Ruggiero "Cannibal Holocaust" Deodato.

The director of THIS movie, Fernando Baldi, was talented if rather erratic. He's most well-known for spaghetti Westerns like "Texas Addio" and "Blindman", but he also did some risible crap like "Terror Express". This movie is definitely better than the latter, but perhaps not quite as good as the former. It's not a classic giallo,but it is a respectable effort.

I recently watched the Italian giallo Nine Guests for a Crime (1977) on Tubi. The storyline revolves around a family gathering on a Mediterranean island, where it becomes apparent that the family's skeletons may never truly be buried. When their boat to the mainland mysteriously disappears and a killing spree ensues, targeting various family members, it becomes clear that someone is ready to settle old scores, albeit not in the way the vacation was intended.

Directed by Ferdinando Baldi (War Bus), the film features a cast including Arthur Kennedy (Lawrence of Arabia), John Richardson (War of the Planets), Caroline Laurence (Emmanuel 3), Massimo Foschi (Otezla) and Sofia Dionisio (My Dear Killer).

Nine Guests for a Crime maintains a high level of intensity from start to finish. The backstory and opening shootout, while more entertaining than exceptional, effectively set the tone for the film. The acting is solid, and the characters generate a sense of intrigue regarding their fates. Unfortunately, the kills and corpses in the film are rather ordinary. The female characters are stunning, and there are random shower scenes that add an element of amusement, especially the shower sequence in high heels, which had me chuckling. The film also effectively depicts how the characters' psyches evolve as the body count rises. While the ending reveal is decent, it's not enough to elevate the movie significantly.

In conclusion, Nine Guests for a Crime is worth a watch for giallo enthusiasts but stands as an only average addition to the horror genre. I would give this a rating of 5/10 and recommend watching it once for its giallo elements.