Red killer

Instead of an extremely sloppy movie, "A Dragonfly for Each Corpse" is Spanish giallo that is competently made and entertaining enough to be enjoyed by genre fans. Naschy is surprisingly interesting as a main character and the whole thing has a nice pacing and isn't too long for it's own good. It's nothing marvelous, thrilling, memorable or God forbid scary, but it's still a decent crime story for a relaxing afternoon and as a nice bonus, if you are watching an uncensored version, you will be rewarded with a little bit of nudity. All in all, it could have been much worse. 6/10! Only for Naschi and genre fans!

This thrilling film deals with Paolo Scaporelli (Paul Naschy or Jacinto Molina who plays in Dirty Harry style with cigar included) is a police inspector assigned by his chief (Mariano Vidal Molina) to investigate the case of the ¨dragonfly¨ , killing series have been committed by an ominous murderer at city of Milan . The psycho-killer murders his victims cruelly by means of slashing , beheading and axing . The inspector is helped by his gorgeous girlfriend (Erika Blanc) . The series-killer puts a dragonfly on the corpses of the victims as pimps , prostitutes drug addicts and underground people . There are several suspicious , who's the killer ? .

This is a Spanish Gialli though filmed in Italy . It contains suspense , tension , whodunit and lots of blood and guts with abundant sensationalistic scenes and a Naif style. The movie has a bit of ridiculous gore with loads of blood similar to tomato . B-entertainment with a fairly suspenseful and horrifying story in which a killer series undergoes a criminal spree by means of slitting , necrophilia , decapitation and other brutal executions . This tale about a Detective and people who is attacked by a malevolent murderous begins well and grows more and more until the exciting finale in which we figure out the nasty guilty on a building , including some strong fight scenes . There is another double version that packs nudism in charge of Erika Blanc and other women . Lots of blood and gore in several images that impacted the viewers for that time . The film follows the Dario Argento wake formed by his animal trilogy as ¨Four flies on grey velvet , The cat with nine tails and The bird with the crystal plumage ¨ . Nice cinematography in correct remastering by Miguel Mila and shot on location in Milan city . Ample support cast , usual of Eurotrah as Angel Aranda , Vidal Molina and Maria Kosti ,Eduardo Calvo , both of whom habitual of Jacinto Molina films . The late Naschy was a good professional , writing, filmmaking and acting about hundred titles , mainly in terror genre. ¨ A dragonfly for each corpse¨ is written by Molina along with 21 screenplays as ¨Mark of Wolfman¨, ¨Night of Walpurgis¨, ¨Vengeance of the mummy¨, ¨Licantropo¨, among them . He directed 13 films as ¨The Cantabros¨, ¨Return of Wolfman¨, ¨The Beast and the magic sword¨ and many others.

This slasher motion picture is professionally directed by Leon Klimovsky , a slick craftsman who directed all kind of genres, as Terror for Paul Naschy (Marshall of hell,Rebellion of dead one,Orgy of vampires, Werewolf shadow,Dr Jekill vs. the werewolf), Warlike(June 44 attack force Normandy, A bullet for Rommel, Bridge over Elba) and Western (Badland drifter,Some dollars for Django,Death knows no time, Two thousand dollars for Coyote) . Rating . 5 , acceptable and passable. The picture will appeal to Paul Naschy fans and Giallo buffs .

A Dragonfly for Each Corpse (1975)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Inspector Scaporella (Paul Naschy) begins to investigate some strange murders where the victims have dragonflies attached to them. Before long it becomes clear that the victims are all morally questionable people and it appears that the killer is taken them out because he (or she) considers them bad.

A DRAGONFLY FOR EACH CORPSE is a somewhat entertaining Spanish giallo that tries to mix some stylish murders with a detective story. When most people think of a giallo they think about the films from Italy but there were several other places that tried to cash in on the genre and that includes Spain. There's certainly nothing ground-breaking about this movie but if you're a fan of Naschy and the genre then you'll want to check it out.

When viewing the film today, the one thing that really stands out is the fact that films like SEVEN and SAW somewhat had familiar stories so you have to give this film credit for taking the idea of having someone kill off "bad" people. The first couple death scenes are quite creative and bloody but those expecting non-stop gore will be disappointed because after the first two they become rather tame. I'm not sure why the film started off so violent and then took a few steps back. The rest of the death scenes happen off screen or at least with less violence.

I thought the performance by Naschy was quite good and it's always fun watching Erika Blanc. The screenplay isn't the greatest thing out there as there are times towards the end where the viewer really quits caring about who the killer is. A tad bit more style or some more energy would have helped things as the 87-minute running time begins to drag in the final quarter.

With that said, A DRAGONFLY FOR EACH CORPSE isn't a masterpiece or even a good picture but there are enough good moments to make it worth watching.

A Dragonfly for Each Corpse is quite unusual in that it is a Spanish movie filmed in Italy. More specifically, it tries to pass itself off as an Italian giallo. By the time this had been released this particular sub-genre had already past its peak years but its characteristics were so well established by that point that they could be mimicked quite easily. This film doesn't just copy the conventions of the genre; it also goes to the trouble of setting its action in Milan to make it seem even more like a true Italian product.

Its director was León Klimovsky who made quite a lot of genre pictures, including the impressive Vampire's Night Orgy (1974). In this one, he directs the top Iberian horror actor of the day, Paul Naschy. This chunky leading man appeared in many genre pics and in this instance he plays a cynical, violent cop who investigates a serial murder case. The killer's calling card is a wax dragonfly left on the corpses of the victims, all of whom are considered 'degenerates'. Interestingly, Naschy's detective actually seems to sympathise with the killer's objectives for the most part! Anyway, what follows is a violent and sleazy whodunit, where the mystery killer batters their way through the cast via a variety of slaughter methods.

The mystery here is, as is typical for the genre, somewhat convoluted with quite a large selection of suspects/victims. It's not a bad mystery though, even if it might be a bit heavy on the police procedural side of things. Admittedly it does end with a particularly biscuit-taking lack of explanation for the mayhem that we have just spent the last 90 minutes witnessing and the unmasking of the killer is somewhat underwhelming too. But this is not really a deal-breaker given that gialli in general often put very little effort into this side of things. On the other hand, there is a pleasing selection of salacious content sprinkled throughout to keep things interesting such as violent murders, completely gratuitous nudity, a seedy plot-line and a stupendously silly set-piece where one character tries to make a getaway on a roller-coaster car! So all-in-all, a pretty enjoyable movie with the requisite lack of political correction and an abundance of of-its-time fashions that make these films so much fun.

This Spanish-Italian co-produced Giallo belongs to the more obscure outings of the cult genre. Most people involved in the making were Spaniards, and it has never got a release in Italy, which is unique for a film of that kind.

In Milan, a killer slays drug addicts, prostitutes and other "immoral" people in nasty ways. Small dragonflies (made of wax or something like that) are left on the bodies of the victims. And the more people die, the more clues lead the investigating inspector to believe that the killer is a mutual friend of his wife and himself.

The film's premise is quite interesting, although not too original. The body count is surprisingly high, although they are not as graphic as in some other Gialli. Nevertheless, the murder scenes are quite nasty. Paul Naschy (who also starred in the probably best Spanish Giallo "Los Ojos Azules de la Muneca Rota" and in the Jack-the-Ripper-inspired "Sette Cadaveri per Scotland Yard") is casted against type as the investigating officer (in the afore mentioned two Gialli he was an innocent and rather tragic suspect), and Erika Blanc does a good job as the inspector's wife who knows the killer quite well - unknowingly, of course.

The problem of the film is that it becomes arbitrary after a good start. Especially the identity of the killer doesn't convince very much, his or her motive as arbitrary as the maniac's identity. Also, some scenes with the inspector investigating are merely brought in to include fight scenes or nude scenes instead of pushing the plot forward. And for good measure, there is also a gang of thugs wearing Nazi-style clothes! All in all, "Una Libelula Para cada Muerto" surely is funny and interesting for Giallo collectors, but don't expect to watch a genre movie above average.