Un delitto poco comune

mediocre slasher is very bloody but poorly made and wastes genre favorite Donald Pleasence badly this is poorly written and kind of dull too while it has it's effective moments this is just one sluggish and mediocre time that is not worth seeing oh and Michael York gives a somewhat decent performance *1/2 out of 5

This horror/giallo was directed by Ruggero Deodato, who was more famous for extremely controversial films such as the very unpleasant The House on the Edge of the Park. With The Phantom of Death he reigned in his excesses and produced a far more restrained affair. Its story does have an original angle. A famous pianist discovers he has a rare disease which ages him extremely rapidly. This sets off a homicidal impulse in him and he thereafter goes about murdering women. He becomes hard for the police to track down seeing as the evidence suggests a much older man is responsible for the killings.

The cast in this one is very good on paper. Michael York is the pianist, giallo legend Edwige Fenech is his wife and Donald Pleasance is the cop pursuing the killer. York and Fenech put in a bit of effort with their characters but Pleasance seems to be going through the motions a bit. The lethargy is reflected in the film overall as it is a little dull for the most part and generally lacks suspense. There is a series of murders to enliven things a little but even they don't make too much of an impact. It's a shame in some respects that it is such a pedestrian effort because the central concept is at least an attempt at something a bit different. It's definitely a watchable enough film, however, just a little disappointing considering the potential.

This thriller exists in two versions: One for TV and export that is quite tame, and an uncut version with extremely gory murder scenes which, as far as I know, was only released in parts of Europe (mainly Southern Europe). I have never seen the "clean" version, so this comment reviews the uncut (French) version.

Robert Dominici (Michael York) is a successful and attractive pianist whose life could not be better. But one day his doctor tells him that he suffers from a rare disease which makes his body grow old horrendously fast. No wonder that the disease throws Robert completely off balance (hence one of the export titles), he leaves public life and starts to kill young women in nasty ways (just before the goriest murder, Ruggero Deodato has a short cameo!). Police inspector Daddi (Donald Pleasence) has to solve the crimes.

York and Pleasence are tremendous, and the female lead is led by giallo cult actress Edwige Fenech. York's character is, despite his gruesome killings, rather truly tragic than villainous. With this film, Deodato made one of the best gialli of the 1980s, but it's a shame that the censored version is far better known in the German and English spoken parts of the world. Everybody who has the opportunity to get the uncut version should not hesitate and grab it.

"Phantom of Death" is one of the lesser known Ruggero Deodato's horror/giallo entries.Michael York plays a famous pianist Robert Dominici.He has a rare disease that contributes to turning him into psychopathic killer.Donald Pleasence plays the cop who tries to track him down.The film itself is rather dull,but it offers some really bloody murder scenes.I liked especially the scene where the woman is stabbed repeatedly until she smashes through a window.The acting is okay,but there is not enough suspense for my liking.Check it out,if you are a fan of Italian horror.6 out of 10.

A female doctor is murdered by a sword. The film makes some pretense of mystery about the identity of the killer, but it doesn't really do a very good job (and the video box gives it away completely). The killer has a rare disease that causes him to rapidly age and also causes the deterioration of his mind. Thus, one murder is thought to have been done by someone of about thirty years of age, and the next by a fifty-year-old.

The murder scenes aren't bad, but the rest of the movie does drag. The killer talks a lot, and what he says isn't of much interest. He also likes to call the police inspector played by Donald Pleasance. The police are all very bad at their jobs, fatally screwing up sting operations, letting suspects go before putting them in a lineup, and so on. Overall the movie is perhaps more of a drama musing about aging and death than it is a horror movie.

Like Psycho IV two years later, this film also has a mentally ill character concerned about passing on his genes. In Psycho IV, that made sense, since Norman had more or less become "normal" through treatment. Here, it's a little more surprising that the man whose mind is supposed to be quite deteriorated is worried about it.

I saw the uncut version of this on video. Can't say it's worth looking for - hold out for a widescreen DVD, and then it might be slightly more worthwhile.