Arabella, the Black Angel

THe trouble about this film is to get a good quality uncut copy.When you do you will see one of the great[not the greatest]over the top italian sleaze thriller films.Hollywood[here i bless myself] would never make anything like this.See it and enjoy but dont tell your maiden auntie.

After being caught at a whorehouse, a woman finds her hidden nymphomaniac desires brought to the surface which not only has the benefit of helping her husband write a new book but causes a vicious killer to target her victims putting them in danger of being next on the list.

This is one of the more engaging and fun trashy gialli. What really gives this one a large part of the fun here is the fact that there's such a sleazy and trashy feel to this one which really helps to make it more enjoyable. In dealing with her nymphomaniac manner, it includes not only the dealings with the continuous sex scenes and her sleeping around with everyone but also the opening shots at the whorehouse which manage to include all manner of kinky sexual thrills being enacted upon which really sets this off on a rather nice note which is always nicely realized and incredibly welcome considering the quality provided. By remaining an integral part of the film as a whole and staying quite relevant due to the various kinky sex she engages in for the sake of getting the novel written, there's a copious amount of nudity that she provides here with the lengthy sequences giving plenty of opportunities for that particular brand of sexual thrill which is nicely enhanced by the severity of these scenes. Once the storyline moves into more rational giallo tropes with the victims being killed off in exceptionally grisly methods, things pick up and it begins getting even better with the film allowing for all manner of fun to be had with the ability to switch from the stalking scenes showing the traditional black-gloved killer prowling the area with weapon in hand and dishing out the brutal kills such that the initial death with the blackmailing police inspector which launches everything into motion causes some great stalking scenes to occur here with the motel ambush on the first victim or the later scene involving the killer striking the woman down rather than the usual male victims targeted before. Likewise, the finale out in the woods after she manages to pick up her last john and features not only the big revelation about his secret life but also the nice twist involving the killer's identity which is rather shocking and nicely handled. As well, the way in which these are intercut alongside the concurrent police investigations managed with the crazed lesbian inspector trying to fit everything together only to have her own troubled past ending up causing the investigation to stumble slightly, it maintains a highly engaging mixture of sleazy thrills alongside the strong familiar giallo tropes present which manage to fully embrace the elements quite comfortably and easily which all makes for a great time here. There is a minor issue to be had here, which does manage to hold it down slightly in that the film really doesn't seem to offer up much in terms of coherence or logical plot-devices which concerns the relationship between everyone which is so twisted and confusing it really makes no sense. As a couple, they make no sense and the motives for why they agree to undergo the whole affair is a strange one which goes hand-in-hand with the killer's motive as well since that makes no sense either. Still, the troubled logic is all that really holds it down.

Rated Unrated/NC-17: Male and Continuous Full Female Nudity, Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and strong sex scenes.

They often say the greatest Gialli (excessively violent Italian murder mysteries) were only produced during the early 70s. Well, they are probably right. You can hardly refer to the late-80s "Arabella the Black Angel" as a good giallo, but boy is it ever entertaining!!! In fact, the whole giallo sub-plot is nothing but a mere footnote, since the film is primarily a semi-pornographic thriller full of demented characters with perverted fetishes and kinky after-dark habits.

Beautiful and voluptuous nymph Arabella, or Deborah, roams the streets at night and visits secluded bondage/orgy clubs because her beloved husband Francesco is paralyzed and can't physically please her. The reason why he's in a wheelchair is actually quite hilarious and, moreover, Arabella's own stupid fault! During a raid at the orgy club, she's raped by a filthy copper who subsequently lets her go, but only to show up at her front gate the next day for a second portion of joyful sex! Arabella knocks him dead with a hammer, because she knows Francesco is watching, and apparently this vile act sparks up their sex life again! Francesco encourages his wife to pick up random strangers for sex, while he writes her adventures down in a new erotic novel, but meanwhile there's also an unseen killer with shiny black gloves butchering Arabella's bed partners with a pair of scissors.

The plot continues to make utterly bonkers twists and turns, since the traumatized police inspector Gina (with massively oversized glasses to illustrate just how feminist she is) gets put on the scissor-murders case and her lesbian lover promptly backstabs her, but it's all too to insane and useless to write down. The only thing you need to know is that "Arabella the Black Angel" is purely unhinged Italian exploitation trash! The obvious giallo trademarks (black gloves, ominous music, vicious gore, etc) are definitely there, but quintessential things like suspense and surprise denouements are sorely missing. The identity of the scissor-killer is easy to guess, but it doesn't matter all that much, because the beauty of Tiní Cansino's continuous nakedness compensates for all the shortcomings. Director Stelvio Massi was a prolific Poliziotesschi director during the seventies, but during the 80s he had to revert to making sleazy flicks like this one.

Trying to revive a life that has ended, eroticism viewed more like a virtue, but burdened and victimized by the christian, puritan values that come from outside forces. Hard to judge performances in an italian movie from this era, the dubbing doesn't help, but everyone feels genuine in this, tinì cassino as the titular black angel is fantastic, a completely thankless role that is entirely focused on eroticism, sensuality, a genuine sex drive that falls under every scene. Stelvio massi's direction is fantastic, the 4:3 frame just acts as a great wavelength to where incredible blocking and camera movements are seemingly easy (which they aren't), the constant zooms, the glorious sense of atmosphere, this is a director's movie and the way he shoots bodies, the fog, the nighttime, and the outward virtues is glorious. R. filipucci's screenplay, because it is italian, is nonsense in many ways, but the structure allows this to form into something genuinely mysterious, i can easily say i didn't know what was going to happen, so kudos to that, the screenplay forms pretty perfectly where it allows a sense mystery and character to actually be built. A fantastically mesmerizing, erotic, tantalizing, unnerving, and genuinely disturbing movie that could only come from weird italians.

No pun intended and totally different heat that you may think of. Or maybe exactly the right one. If you do not think of the movie with that title, but more of sexual exploitation .. mixed with giallo elements. If you are a fan of giallo, maybe you will rate this a bit higher too.

It starts off - well it makes no secret what this is. Including a forced sexual encounter our main character has to endure. Or does she enjoy it anyway? I would beg to differ in that instance, but the movie does not really seem to care. Depending on your moral stance and if you are able to watch for the movies sake (after all it is a movie and not reality), you may be able to forget ... well how cliche some portrayals are. And I am putting it mildly I know - it is because naming things make them bad for review purposes. Or rather people get offended.

Well if you are easily offended this movie is not for you - nudity, blood and madness ... and all not really well done. Dialog and script and acting go hand in hand ... towards the abyss ... not in a good way.