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A sexy actress has her throat cut on a movie set with the cameras rolling and a shadow caught on film may be the murderer's...

This minor, low-budget entry in the giallo canon sounds better than it actually is and doesn't seem to take itself too seriously because the cast and crew of the film-within-a-film border on parody. Among the suspects and victims are an eccentric auteur, a disgruntled writer, some temperamental actresses and a few technicians with axes to grind and this insulated world gives the movie a claustrophobic feel -but breaking out in an extended chase sequence through the midnight streets of Turin only grinds the movie to a near-halt. The unusual finale takes place in a theater with everyone dressed as "Diabolik" -including the killer- but it's too little, too late. With only three murders and no gore, this threadbare thriller is reely nothing special.

The title 'Clap, You're Dead' refers to the clapperboard used by the film industry, the world of movie-making the setting for this obscure semi-comedic giallo from director Mario Moroni. A maniac is killing the cast of the latest opus by eccentric film maker Benner (Antonio Pierfederici), suspicion falling on fired electrician Richard Hanson (Ivano Staccioli). The sacked sparky is blatantly a red herring, the real culprit glaringly obvious from the first moment he appears on screen, although Police Inspector Menzel (George Ardisson) remains oblivious to the very end.

This minor giallo lacks panache and looks as though it was made on a very meagre budget, with ugly cinematography throughout. The potential for a cool meta-slasher that plays with the 'movie in a movie' setup is squandered by Moroni who seems more intent on getting as much T&A on screen than actually doing anything remotely interesting with the story: the plot is extremely basic, lacking the clever twists and turns one usually expects from the genre, and the death scenes are uninspired. Only the last act shows any degree of ingenuity, a Hitchcockian finale in which the killer dons a Danger Diabolik-style costume (black body-suit and balaclava/hood) in order to sneak up on his next victim during the shooting of Benner's ultimate scene, the twist being that numerous extras are wearing identical costumes. It's too little too late to save the film.

3/10. There's a very good reason why this one is so obscure.

Camptastic rare Giallo here which might even border on post-moderism and be a bit of a piss-take. Kind of like Scream without all the annoying know-it-all characters.

A film is being made by an eccentric jerk director who seems to making it all up as he goes along, much to the annoyance of his scriptwriter. Most of the cast are annoying too, and one actress has just had a hissy fit and sacked electrician Hanson. Next thing you this girl has her throat slit and a tan-coloured gloved killer is on the loose. Uh-oh! Time to bring in those cops.

You'll be glad to know there's not much plot to be going on with, but the thanks to the director the cops have a clue: A shadow appearing in shot during the actresses' last scene. Things build up nicely as we have two witnesses to this, and plenty of suspects to choose from as the killer works his/her way through the cast. Do I need to even say that the director insists on continuing to make the film?

Suspects include the director and his assistant who seems to avoid the cops, the scriptwriter, the electrician and some posh babe, although I have no idea what her role was. There's not a lot of murders but there are many silly scenes, from an actress attacking sexism in the film industry while completely naked to a very drawn out dance sequence where the band follows an actress around while she dances. The director's various tantrums spice things up a bit and the policeman's sidekick comes in for a lot of abuse from his superior. There is also a huge amount of jump scares, from dangling feet to someone seemingly just throwing a cat at an actor.

The film is nicely paced for the most part, but then spends a huge amount of time on a chase sequence with the guy you is the red herring. This lasts about six hours but finally the film picks up things again as the director insists on every male cast member and staff getting dressed up in masked and running around the theatre which makes things go all post-modern as he becomes the focus of the last scene of the film, and the film within the film.

I think sometimes people take these things too seriously. This might not be the best giallo ever made, but it's a load of campy old fun. I liked it. So sue me.

Don't though, because I need that money for curry.

As Italian gialli go this is certainly not great, but it is a fairly entertaining movie. It takes place on a movie set where a prima donna actress is murdered. Soon after two other female witnesses are also bumped off. But the plot frankly is pretty stupid and barely makes any sense. This works best as a satire of the Italian movie industry of the era. You have the tyrannical, pretentious director, the disgruntled screenwriter, the bickering and/or nymphomaniacal actresses. In one of the funniest scenes an actress has a star fit about having to perform nude in a scene in the movie-with-in-the-movie where she is a burned at the stake. But, in an ironic in-joke,she gives this entire monologue about exploitation and sexism in the Italian film industry completely naked, and then stalks off to her trailer in the same manner (where she, naturally, meets the killer).There are also a couple of memorable scenes including a costume party/final scene near the end where everyone in the cast and crew dresses up like the characters in "Diabolik" (despite the warning from the police that this will--obviously-- make things very easy for the killer who is still at large).

The co-writer/co-director Robert Mauri earlier directed the horror classic "Slaughter of the Vampires" and later did the trashy "Porno Killers". This is an appropriate transition piece between the two. The only recognizable actress here is Annabella Incotrerra, who was a supporting actress in a number of better-known gialli ("Black Belly of the Tarantula", "Case of the Bloody Irises", "Crimes of the Black Cat"). She's top-billed, but like all the other actress is pretty much just piece of freely displayed tail (but she's certainly the most memorable one, dressing up like a harem girl and doing a sexy dance at a party and then taking a long, gratuitous, and ultimately fatal, shower).

This is a giallo-by-the-numbers really with all the usual ingredients (except that the violence is kept almost entirely offscreen). Still I found it pretty entertaining overall.

I searched this extremely rare Giallo for quite a while, and now, after I have watched it, I understand, why it is that rare even for Giallo standards: It's simply not a good one. The budget must have been horribly low, and the film never succeeds to keep going. Even the climax at a theatre, where all potential killers are hidden under the same "Diabolik"-style masked dresses, doesn't really deliver the goods. A further problem is that the film often doesn't know if it wants to be funny or serious. Especially the role of the choleric director delivers some rather tiring jokes.

The plot itself is usual Giallo fare: A crew that is filming a horror movie is stalked by a mysterious killer who slays three of the beautiful young actresses. There is a main suspect (a crew member that got fired shortly before the first murder occurs, after he had an argument with the first victim), a police inspector that doesn't search for possible other suspects and a dose of sleazy sex. The violence is mostly kept on a low graphic level, except for a scene, in which a later murder victim gets attacked by the killer in a bathroom: he slams her head against the shower knobs (ouch!). But especially during this scene, the direction of photography is undeniably clumsy and hectic, so the scene loses its potential (the camera work is rather under par anyway).

All in all a disappointing Giallo without the cult potential of rare genre gems like the marvelous "Un Bianco Vestito per Marialè" or "Il Tuo Vizio è una Stanza Chiusa e Solo Io ne ho lo Chiave" to name but two. Interesting for collectors only. Rating: 3 out of 10.