L'assassino è costretto ad uccidere ancora

Mr. Mainardi (Euro fave, George Hilton) accidentally witnesses a man (Michel Antoine) dumping a body. Rather than report the crime to the police, Mainardi blackmails him into murdering his wealthy wife, Norma. Things go smoothly, but before the killer can dispose of Norma's body, a delinquent couple steals the car which has the corpse stashed in the trunk. The maniac begins tracking them down as the two are completely oblivious to what they've gotten themselves into.

Before I bought and watched "The Killer Must Kill Again", Luigi Cozzi wasn't a director I had been particularly fond of. Being the sucker for gialli that I am, I decided to take a chance on this one when the DVD hit. While this isn't in the upper tier of Italian horror, it did prove to me that Cozzi is quite capable of doing something above substandard sleaze and cheese.

This is actually a quality film, though I fail to see how it has found itself classified as a giallo. We know who the killer if from the get-go, though he is never named. There is no mystery here unless you wonder what led to his initial murder which Mainardi stumbles upon. I have to say that it reminded me of Hitchcock's classic suspense pictures more than it did any giallo. "Dial M for Murder" definitely came to mind at first, but then it went off in it's own direction. On the other hand, as is usually the case in the giallo sub-genre, virtually none of the characters are totally innocent. The protagonists steal a car and $150, plus they lie constantly. I also thought it was amusing how Luca is romancing this girl, only to help another girl on the side of a road and then do her in the stolen car. Sometimes you just have to get any wherever you can! My main issue with the film is that after the car is stolen, it gets bogged down and doesn't really pick up again until the killer finds the couple. This portion could have been spiced up a bit.

The killer himself is actually a pretty intimidating fellow, what with Michel Antoine's reptilian facial features and large build, but he definitely has a lot of hell in this movie. Things just never seem to go right for him. As the greedy blackmailer, George Hilton is convincingly suave, even with the weird sideburns. These two make for a fine pair of villains.

Cozzi's direction is solid, and there are only a few small doses of the cheese that would dominate many of his later films. He employs some nifty camera tricks that he surely picked up from Argento. I also liked how he had the two very different sex scenes playing out seamlessly at the same time. In fact, that mean-spirited rape is the only real bit of nastiness on display here. Again, not the norm for a giallo, but the lack of it certainly doesn't hurt the film any.

Overall, this is a fine piece of work from a man who I originally had pegged as another Bruno Mattei. Any fan of the gialli sub-genre should be pleased, even if it isn't a giallo in the truest sense of the word. While the pacing goes off the rails at one point and the climax feels a tad anti-climatic, it's not enough to ruin things.

Giorgio Mainardi is a man at odds with his wife. When his wife threatens to cut him off from her back account he searches for a way to get back. While sitting in his car contemplating things Giorgio sees a man pull his red VW up to the river and push it in (along with the body of a woman). Mainardi hatches a scheme while in cahoots with the killer to rip himself of his wife and grab all her cash. All, as you may guess goes horribly wrong.

The overall storyline is quite compelling. There were several instances where I thought to myself that I had not seen that particular wrinkle before. But sadly there was not enough action for my taste. The cinematography and acting were very good but the "road" scenes just weighed the movement down. "Killer" is an average giallo who scores for some interesting "wrinkles".

I loved this movie. First and foremost, in my opinion, this is NOT a giallo. I'd classify it more as a crime/thriller...or even a drama or a black comedy.

You know who the killer is from the beginning, so there isn't much mystery to it...but unlike many other 'similar movies' there is a double dose of tension and suspense which genuinely gets under your skin.

Masterfully directed by Luigi Cozzi ("Contamination"). I was impressed with the guy who plays the killer, I thought he was superb and creepy, and even though we get up close and personal with him, he remains creepy until the end.

Necessary viewing for lovers of Italian horror.

8 out of 10, kids.

A tense and thrilling Giallo co-produced by Italy/Spain/France including ordinary grisly killings with a lot of twists and turns. This ' Gialli' getting certain success , being compellingly shot, including well staged crimes with full of enjoyable visual content , twists and turns . This is the usual Gialli where intrigue , tension , suspense , stabbing and chases show up lurking and threatening through apartment, seaside house, cars and grim interiors. The film combines atmospheric blending of thrills , chills , nudism and suspenseful final. Giorgio (George Hilton) is an ambitious adulterer who makes a deal with a serial killer to dispose of his wealthy wife, Nora (Tere Velazquez) . Unfortunately, a thrill-seeking young couple (Beatriz Galbó, Alessio Orano) become involved into a twisted criminal plot when they rob the killer's (Antoine Saint-John) car with Nora's corpse in the trunk , ending up at a run-down seaside house. Slowly some people are found dead and while an obstinate police inspector (Eduardo Fajardo) investigates the strange missing wife with numerous suspects

The film packs suspense, terror, effective aesthetic, plot twists , intrigue and being a very exciting terror-thriller. The rather perplexing tale weavers so many red herrings when ultimately the murderer is caught . The movie is made up of a series of Giallo horror set pieces that are shot in eye-poping style and ordinarily getting hints to solve the crimes until a surprising final twist. Director builds intrigue, suspense and tension beautifully with rich atmosphere and driving attractive musical score. Stars George Hilton who gives an acceptable acting as the greedy husband . Hilton starred a lot of Spaghetti/Chorizo Westerns, such as: ¨I Due Figli Di Ringo¨, ¨Un poker Di Pistole¨, ¨The gold professionals¨, ¨Sartana¨ , "Professionals for a Massacre" and many others ; though also performed a great number of Giallos as ¨All the Colors of dark¨ , ¨The perverse Mrs Ward¨ and ¨Scorpion tale¨. While Tere Velazquez performs his beautiful wife, being accompanied by a fine support cast. But is Antoine Saint-John or Michel Antoine who steals the show as the creepy and heinous serial killer. Here stands out the affectionate appearances from charming Eurotrash goddesses , such as : Femi Benussi , Cristina Galbó, Carla Mancini and brief acting by Sydne Rome as first victim. And being a Italian/Spanish/French coproduction , appearing here and there Italian actors : Femi Benussi, Alessio Orano and Spanish : Beatriz Galbó, Eduardo Fajardo, Tere Velázquez ; and French : Antoine Saint-John.

Nice ambiance and evocative settings, enhanced by the well photographed in Icet de Paolis, Milano, Lombardo, Italy , carried out by a good cameraman, Riccardo Pallottini. As well as intriguing and suspenseful musical score by Nando De Luca. The motion picture was decently directed by Luigi Cozzi or Lewis Coates providing startling visual content and tension enough. This Italian filmmaker is a craftsman who has directed some flicks with penchant for Sci-Fi, Horror , Giallo , adventure and fantasy, such as : ¨Hercules¨,¨The adventures of Hercules II¨ , ¨Escape from Galaxy 3¨, ¨Sinbad of the Seven Seas¨, ¨Nosferatu in Venice¨, ¨Paganini Horror¨, ¨Tunnel under the World¨, ¨The killer must strike again¨. His biggest hit was Star Crash¨ and he was attached to direct ¨Lifeforce¨ at one stage . Rating : 6/10 .

Most giallos are scarlet whodunits's, but Luigi Cozzi reveals his killer (Antoine Saint-John) two minutes in and directs our attention to a business relationship struck between the killer and a sleazy ladies' man (George Hilton).

Despite breaking a golden rule of the genre, "The Killer Must Kill Again" is a fresh, kinetic thriller with uneven performances (the women), terrific cinematography and striking set pieces.

Antoine Saint-John is positively electric as the arrogant psychopath and rivets our attention to the screen.

For a change, the storyline is relatively linear and free of the usual clutter. The violence is bloody and smoothly directed, and Cozzi demonstrates a real flair for atmosphere.

Certainly not as operatic as an Argento or as sleazy as a Polselli, it is, nevertheless, compelling celluloid and a million miles away from inept Cozzi trash such as "Star Crash" and "Contamination".