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A stylish Italian slasher movie, filled with beautiful women (most of whom appear topless at one point or another), atmospheric sets, and reasonably gruesome murders. If that's all you're looking for, you won't be disappointed, but the plot is certainly nothing exceptional.

I'm not sure why some of the comments for this film were so unenthusiastic; I usually jump all over a slow horror film, though I don't believe this to be one at all. Anchor Bay's print is great, and the film is beautifully photographed. The scene in the muddy birch forest is alone worth the price of owning this. Sure, the standard giallo plot of a mad killer, driven to kill due to a childhood trauma is no surprise, but that's not really the point is it? This is also not a gorefest, but many great giallos are not. The very essence of giallo, as I understand it, is visual style (and extremely beautiful women) over plot substance, and that certainly defines this film, which sits comfortably in my Italian horror top 15, if not top 10.

I don't think I'll ever be able to explain the appeal of Italian slasher/giallo films. I often enjoy the hell out of them, but it's safe to say that I don't have a prayer in hell of ever getting anyone I know to ever share my sentiments. Their negative reactions often stem from the bad acting, laughable writing and slow pacing that plague these works and the scary part is that I have a hard time disagreeing with any of their complaints. Sergio Martino's "Torso" is definitely a film for which all these negative detractors apply to, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't provide its fair share of entertainment.

It would be best to classify "Torso" as a middle-of-the-road entry in the popular slasher/giallo genre. It is certainly watchable, but is not particularly invigorating and pales in comparison to the best works of Dario Argento. While Argento's films were often plagued with more than their fair share of deficiencies when it came to script and pacing, the director had a gift for drawing one so deeply into his visual nightmares that any need to apply logic to the proceedings was non-existent. Films of this genre have to deliver truly startling sequences in order for the viewer to look past their shortcomings. While "Torso" does contain a few sequences like that (the last third's cat-and-mouse game between the heroine and the killer is especially effective), its pacing is too slack for it to be truly involving and certain elements of the film are just plain laughable. In particular, a flashback sequence to a traumatic childhood event makes for the silliest, most ludicrously funny explanation for a serial killer's behaviour that I have ever seen. But as I stated, hilarious moments like that can also be contributing factors to my enjoyment of these films. So when all is said and done, "Torso" is worthy viewing for fans of the Italian slasher genre. Enjoy it if you can, but do not worry too much if neither you nor anyone else you know understands why.

In Perugia, a serial-killer is strangling college students. Inspector Martino (Luciano De Ambrosis) is in charge of the investigation and has a black and red scarf as the only lead to be followed. He asks the scarf street vendor Gianni Tomasso (Ernesto Colli) if he recalls who might have bought the scarf, but the man tells that he cannot remember. Then Gianni blackmails the killer and becomes his next victim.

Meanwhile the college students and girlfriends Jane (Suzy Kendall), Daniela (Tina Aumont), Katia (Angela Covello) and Ursula (Carla Brait) travel to an isolated villa to spend a couple of days together during a break from the art history classes of their professor Franz (John Richardson) that has befriended Jane. When Jane twists her ankle, Dr. Roberto (Luc Merenda) is summoned and asks her to rest. The student Stefano Vanzi (Roberto Bisacco) stalks Daniela since he is obsessed for her. Are the girls in danger in the villa? Who might be the killer?

"I corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale", a.k.a. "Torso", is an average giallo. The story and the screenplay do not develop well the killer and the conclusion with the serial-killer explaining his problems is very poor and disappointing. The hot team of actresses is the best in this movie, specially the gorgeous Suzy Kendall. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Torso"

Note: On 11 June 2020 I saw this film again.

Between 1971 and 1973 Sergio Martino directed a series of five astonishingly good horror-thrillers. In fact, it could convincingly be argued that in those years Martino was the premier Italian director in this genre. Torso is the final film in this sequence and while it may possibly be the least of the five it still remains an excellent entry in the giallo sub-genre. All five of his gialli had different angles that meant that they were not copies of each other. The Case of the Scorpion's Tail was a classic-style giallo that had a strong mystery element, The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh added a significant layer of eroticism, Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key added intense melodrama into the mix along with the plot of Edgar Allan Poe's the Black Cat, All the Colors of the Dark combined the giallo with an occult horror story; what Torso did was move the genre closer to the slasher film. To do this the movie is stripped of much of the detective mystery strand that typified the genre in the early 70's and instead focuses on the sex, violence and tension. Maybe by 1973 the Italian public were growing tired of the plethora of mystery-driven gialli? I can't say but Torso certainly marginalises this and magnifies the salacious content.

The story revolves around a group of young college women who are terrorised by an unknown black-gloved killer. The girls themselves are, of course, gorgeous. Most of them seem to spend quite a lot of time lying around semi-naked as well. So from an erotic point of view this is a film that doesn't exactly mess about. In terms of its violence it's probably not as nasty as its reputation suggests although there is the famous hack-saw sequence that is admittedly quite grim albeit not especially graphic. There are several individual stalk and slash scenes, the best of which is a sequence in the woods. This part is very atmospheric, helped also by the effective music. Its scenes like this one and the saw idea that make this one feel like a precursor to the slasher films that would follow a few years later. But the best thing about Torso is its final third. In this part lead actress Suzy Kendall is trapped in a villa with the killer at work in the same house but unaware of her presence. This extended, deadly game of cat and mouse is really expertly handled by Martino and is one of the most suspenseful sequences in the giallo genre. It is ultimately what defines this film.

Torso is yet another excellent giallo from Sergio Martino. It comes highly recommended to fans of the genre. Just be aware that it's less concerned with plot mechanics and much more on suspense and vicarious thrills. Because the final third is so claustrophobic and intense it means that the wider mystery is almost forgotten about. But if this doesn't trouble you too much and you are happy with thrills that don't trouble your brain too much then this is a quality ride.

A typical Giallo with high amount of red herrings and at the time the film was highly censored in several countries due to the grisly killings and lots of blood and gore . Someone is strangling beautiful college girls in Perugia . The only clue about the murders of coeds that are shocking in the University of Perugia is that the killer owns a red and black scarf , and police are stumped . While the sadistic serial killer continues strangling to death defenceless coeds with a red and black scarf an American exchange student named Jane (Suzy Kendall) and her friends (Angela Covello , Tina Aumont , Carla Brait) decide to take a break from classes by going up to Danielle's uncle's villa in the country . There Jane suffers hallucinations and strange dreams , being really plagued by nightmares. Unfortunately the killer decides to follow them, and the women begin suffering a rapid attrition problem . The beautiful but unfortunate girls are mercilessly pursued by an ominous series killer . A blood-drenched nightmare from which you awaken too late ! .Something is out there .. coming closer .. Don't be afraid to be afraid ! .

Sergio Martino's Gialli getting certain success , being compellingly shot , including well staged crimes with plenty of startling visual content . This is the usual Gialli with a string of appalling lust murders with usual series killer wearing scarf and knife , where intrigue , tension , suspense , stabbing and chases show up lurking and threatening throughout a mansion , building , streets , corridors and grim interiors . The film combines atmospheric blending of thrills , chills , nudism , high body-count and suspenseful final . The rather perplexing tale weavers so many red herrings until ultimately the murderer is unmasked . Based on a story by prolific , Gialli expert Ernesto Gastaldi and whose scripts were created films as Death Walks at Midnight , The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh , The Sweet Body of Deborah Secrets of a Mafia Mistress , Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key, So Sweet... So Perverse . Nice ambiance and setttings , enhanced by the well photographed city of Perugia , carried out by good cameraman , Giancarlo Ferrando. As well as intriguing musical score by Guido and Maurizio de Angelis . Along with British main stars , Suzy Kendall and John Richardson, appearing various Italian actors , such as : Luc Merenda , Tina Aumont , Roberto Bisacco , Angela Covello , Carla Brait , giving all of them passable interpretations .

The picture was decently directed by the Italian director Sergio Martino . Talented and versatile writer/director Sergio Martino has made unaffected products for mass consumption , realizing a vast array of often entertaining films through an uneven career . Brother of producer Luciano Martino, Sergio has frequently worked with actors George Hilton , Ivan Rassimov , Claudio Cassinelli and actress Edwige Fenech . Directing all kinds of genres as horror, gialli , sex comedy and Spaghetti Western as proved in Mannaja , Arizona returns . Sergio Martino was an expert on Giallos , such as : Torso, The suspicious death of a Minor , The Case of Scorpion's tale, Murder in an Etrusco cemetery, The strange vice of Mrs Ward and this Tutti i color del buio 1972 . Furthermore , he made other genres as Warlike : Casablanca Express , and Sci-Fi : Destroyer , 2019 After the fall of New York . Rating : 6/10, a notable slasher that will appeal to Giallo enthusiasts and Suzy Kendall fans.

Spoilers!

There's no point in giving Torso a sensible review. Torso is a hack of a movie, produced by famed producer Carlo Ponti only capitalize on the Giallo trend (gory, lurid Italian thrillers) of the 1970s, started mainly by the little gem of a movie, Bird With The Crystal Plumage, directed by Dario Argento. There's so little worth mentioning about Torso, the makers of the movie having failed to achieve anything they set out to do. The end result of Torso looks more like a big budget Herschell Gordon Lewis flick (with its inept acting, story, gore, nudity, etc) than a stylish work by Argento or even Luici Fulci. Unlike Argento movies, Torso is crass and worthless and is nothing more than cheap and boring producer's end product disguised as a giallo.

The "film" is a complete patchwork of nonsensical scenes strung together with the flimsy excuse to titillate, and it fails to do even that. For instance, during the opening credits, we see a threesome. What does this scene have to do with the rest of the story? We only learn about the meaning of that scene at the very end and if you blink, you'll miss the reason. In other words, it's completely trivial. The "story" starts with two murder scenes, which ends with three young folks being dead. Their mutual friends, 4 beautiful women, traumatized and shocked by these gruesome murders decide to go to a secluded villa, to drink, dance, sunbathe in the nude and have lesbian "sex"!!!!

Yep, that makes sense!

Funny enough, if the four babes wanted to go into hiding, as inconspicuously as possible from the killer, they totally failed as we see the women, dressed in next to nothing, attract the attention of EVERY men in the village, including the village idiot. Of course, with everyone in town knowing the girls are at the villa, the killer arrives there on the same day! As the girls enjoy their blissful rest at the villa, we are treated, amongst other things, to a "hot" lesbian scene that's witnessed by the village idiot AND the killer. With so many witnessing what goes on behind closed doors, who needs walls? The lesbian sex scene is hilarious. It's obvious the two women were very uncomfortable with the whole thing. Anyway, the killer goes after the terrified village idiot and kills him in the most unconvincing way. This scene is long and utterly pointless. So, that leaves the four hot babes at the mercy of the "psychosexual" killer! We should see tons of action with murder, mayhem, violence, more nudity, right? NAW!

Our heroine (played by a too old and bored looking Suzy Kendall) wakes up the next morning only to find all her friends butchered! What? You mean, we don't see how the three babes were killed? No protracted and gratuitous murder scenes? Eh, didn't we pay to see these type of scenes? Why did we get to see the village idiot killed and not the hot babes??? So, now our heroine is trapped in this piece of trash...eh, is unable to leave the secluded villa with the killer busy sawing the three babes into pieces (he's never done that to the other victims. This murderer has no pattern whatsoever). Wait a minute! You mean the killer doesn't know Kendall is the house? Huh? Eventually, the killer finally realizes Kendall is in the house and there's a cat & mouse bit and when the conclusion finally arrives, it is *truly* lame and the reason why the murderer is a "psychosexual" killer is unbelievably inane and laughable!

The only good things in this "film" are, first, the original title, "Bodies bare traces of carnal violence". Second, some of the music is good. And third, all the actors are really beautiful. Unless you really like Eurobabes, do not buy the DVD. It's a rental and you'll be glad you rented it.

With a title like 'Torso' one would expect this Italian horror film to either be very bloody or very lurid. In this case, it's both.

Murders at a Rome college forces a group of lady friends to retreat to an isolated house in the hills. But little do they know the killer has followed them...

While director Sergio Martino isn't Dario Argento or Mario Bava his direction in this film is pretty well done. He makes the most of a simple storyline with some lush filming locations, solid scenes of tight suspense, and an all-around attractive cast. Particularly great is the beautifully atmospheric stalking sequence with Carol in the woods, as well as the highly intense scene where Jane must hide from the killer while he dismembers one of her friends. This effort will be most entertaining to the exploitation fans, as the film has plenty of female nudity and the occasional bit of gore.

The cast is fairly decent, Suzy Kendall is the biggest stand-out though as a young woman trapped by the killer.

Over all a good horror effort that would later influence the slasher genre. Torso isn't for all tastes, but for the game giallo or slasher fan it's a great treat.

*** out of ****

This was hyped to death as a slasher flick but it plays more as a murder mystery.

A couple of ladies spend time at a country mansion. A ski-masked creep with a large hacksaw starts killing. As far as plots go, that's it, and originality wasn't big for the writers. But in fairness, it wasn't as trite back then as it is now either.

Smoky atmosphere with some decent chase scenes. And the producers were clearly Argento fans. The scares were there, but not enough of them really. I'd say more, but I'd blow it.

This is a decent enough outing.

The first half of this film is great, fast paced, you actually get to see the murders kinda atmospheric. The second half though is boring as hell. Every scene seems to drag on and on. As the film progresses it slowly gets worse and worse. The killers motives are corny, the best murder scene isnt even in the film, and at towards the end every little thing is drug out and made suspenseful to the point I began yelling at my TV.

Do i regret watching it? no Would I watch it again? probably not It just gets way too slow and dumb at the end

What more can I say? This is by far one of the best Slasher/Giallo's I've happened upon in years! Violent, atmospheric, stylish, moody and did I mention violent?

Yes violent is definitely the word, because this packs it on like hamburger joints pack in salad.... Tons! Slashings, stabbings, eye poking, strangulation, drowning, etc, etc, etc...

Don't listen to people whine about the only uncut version being Italian. I can assure you that once this bad boy starts playing, you won't care one bit!!!

"Bodies Bare Traces of Carnal Knowledge" gets a very BIG 10/10

Returning to this film after a couple of years I find it not quite as good as I remember and in fact I now prefer the earlier part whereas before I preferred the last half hour. The finale is still very good but there are changes in style here that bother me a little. We start out in full on sexy giallo style. Great angles, bare flesh and nasty exploitative killings. In the middle there is a more mundane less sparkling aspect to it. It has to be said that the walking through the swamp like woods to meet death is a spooky, almost surreal scene. Unfortunately the big three murders all happen off camera and at once and if the finale is suspenseful, it is also a little drawn out and maybe better pacing would have made this good film into a great one.

Fine picture, some fine women with pretty faces, legs and boobies. Fine sound and good music. Sympathetic. Nothing special about the killer, the mystery and plot. And every man in this film wants some fine pretty meat

6/10.

"Torso" is a simply stunning giallo. Sergio Martino's movie has some genuine edge-of-the-seat moments, a very attractive female cast, a superb score by Guido and Maurizio De Angelis and beautiful cinematography.

While some of the special effects are a little on the poor side, the film succeeds in keeping the viewer enthralled in the plot and its strong points far outweigh any minor criticisms.

I really enjoyed this movie. It's not often that a film can keep me in suspense like this one did. Stylish, thrilling, erotic and gripping, "Torso" gives most other giallo films a real run for their money.

TORSO (I Corpi Presentano Tracce di Violenza Carnale)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Mono

Following the murder of several classmates by a frenzied sex-killer, a group of female students retire to an isolated villa until police have apprehended a viable suspect. But the maniac is wise to their deception, and he/she follows them...

This stylish, gripping giallo-thriller - the equal of anything directed by Dario Argento at the time - was co-written by veteran scribe Ernesto Gastaldi and director Sergio Martino, the latter a journeyman technician whose commercial ethos catapulted him from one genre to another within the dictates of Italian popular cinema (cf. THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARDH, THE VIOLENT PROFESSIONALS, SEX WITH A SMILE, etc.). Despite bland performances from an unremarkable cast - including Euro stalwarts Suzy Kendall (THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE), John Richardson (THE MASK OF Satan) and Luc Merenda (COSÌ SIA) - and some pretty obvious red herrings amongst the supporting players, TORSO is augmented by a number of beautifully crafted set-pieces - most notably the stalking of a young woman (Cristina Airoldi) - through desolate marshland by the masked maniac), photographed with stunning visual flair by Martino's regular DP Giancarlo Ferrando (THE CASE OF THE SCORPION'S TAIL) and edited to perfection by Eugenio Alabiso (MOUNTAIN OF THE CANNIBAL GOD).

The second half of the movie, during which Kendall becomes enmeshed in a nightmarish situation at a remote but picturesque country villa, is genuinely nerve-racking, staged with cat-and-mouse efficiency by Martino at his most inspired. Spiced with audience-pleasing elements of sex and violence which tested the limits of censorship in 1973, TORSO is a minor gem. Produced by Carlo Ponti, previously responsible for the likes of WAR AND PEACE (1956) and DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)!

(English version)

A bunch of sex crimes happen around a college. Four women decide to get away for a while in this deserted house in the middle of nowhere. They immediately engage in lesbian sex, sunbathe in the nude and skinny dip---while they know there's a killer around! I saw the uncut version of this released on DVD. The violence was considerably cut originally when this came to the US in the early 1970s. Well, even intact, this is lousy. It's full of pointless female nudity and lesbian sex scenes. I realize most giallos have that but this one has an incredible amount! It OPENS with a long lesbian sex sequence which has little bearing on the plot. It's an Italian movie and with the sole exception of Suzy Kendall everyone was dubbed--and pretty badly too. They also can't act--only Kendall is any good (even if she's far too old to be playing a college student). The kill scenes have plenty of blood but the gore scenes are laughably fake. To make matters worse the plot makes next to no sense. There are only two real suspects--and one is made to act so suspicious you know he's not the killer! If you want to see every giallo ever made this is for you. But if u want a horror movie with brains, talent or realistic gore u can skip this one.

I was surprised at how well this movie was made. The direction is first rate. I saw a restored and "uncut" Danish DVD. It looked great. Although I'm not sure about the "uncut" part, as the are still images with full frontal nudity which do not appear in the movie. But there are plenty of attractive topless females. There's also plenty of violence and gore. But the story is good, too. Females are stalked by a violent psychopathic killer. They seek refuge in an isolated mansion. The police is on the trail of the killer. They story is well-written and shows the characters as having some intelligence. The only thing missing is more character development of the females. One doesn't sympathize much with any of them because we don't get to know them all that well. There's also a good explanation given for the killers motives. Overall a surprisingly good achievement.

I really think this is a pretty good giallo movie. The story is pretty simple with a unknown killer killing current people who a reason. It's basic for a giallo movie goes and stuff you expect to see from it. One thing that is interesting is how its pretty similar to 80's slasher movies that comes later in years. Also the movie itself have a really good atmosphere to it with its music and cinematography during the suspense scenes. It also have a good build up towards the death scenes which makes a effective to see it. One flaw I have with the movie is that current scenes feels like it's dragging itself way too long and could be easily cut down.

The revealed of the movie is mostly mix for me. The killer revealed isn't that surprising and the motive is.

Taking place in a miniworld of bad haircuts and awful dressing trends, 'Torso' is a terribly narrated and bad acted movie whose only merits rely on artsy environment and occasional stylish direction. Anyone calling this a giallo is completely missing the point, because all the common places of giallo are missing here. This movie is nothing more than an exploitative bodycount in the vein of any European 70s movie. In fact, this could be the epitome of "blood and tits". Well, way more tits than blood.

Two adjectives that shape this movie are "silly" and "embarrasing". I'll start the dissection.

The director shows a striking inability to tell the story properly. It takes 30 minutes to introduce all the characters, and many of them are thrown in to fill the quota of possible suspects. There are lots of irrelevant roles. The story takes twists too, but in the most unfocused way imaginable. I got the feeling the story wasn't written when the shooting started.

On the funny side, the movie shows no shame in displaying the most cheesy images I've seen in ages: silly hippies, ugly rednecks in their rural world... The embarrassment goes on with the painfully exploitative scenes. Most notably, nude scenes. It's so blatant you'll blush. Some character reactions are indescribably dumb too. This flick will be a hard time for people who get easily embarrassed, and a hell of a good one for the cheap "blood and tits" lover. The gore is seductive, but FX are on the lowest level of all.

I bet Sergio Martino knows a thing or two about film-making, because it shows every now and then, but this cheese fest is not the right opportunity to display his talent. Such bad actors, such lousy dialogue, such incompetent storytelling cannot make it into a good movie. Who is actually the main character here? What's the use of the street seller? What about the opening credits? Some happenings border on impossible, the end with the killer's expository dialogue made me laugh. The movie gives birth to a new acception of the word "unexpected", but in the less "Psycho (by Hitchcock)" way. Only for fetish lovers of italo trash. Like me? I thought so, but this lacks so much quality...

RATING: 3.1