Mio caro assassino

Anyone who ever saw "My Dear Killer" is most likely to agree when I claim that it's nearly impossible to find another horror film with a more convoluted plot! I never thought I'd say this, but this movie almost exaggerates with the constant adding of new twists and complexity! "My Dear Killer", which is a giallo in the purest definition of the term, features nearly a dozen murder victims and an equal amount of suspects. Paying close attention to the development of the plot is difficult enough already, so guessing along for the killer's identity is pretty much out of the question. And yet, it's another wondrous example of Italy's finest horror sub genre, with brutal slaughters, controversial themes and great music! Giallo-regular George Hilton ("All the Colors of the Dark", "Case of the Bloody Iris") plays Peretti, a police detective charged with investigating the eerie murder of an insurance inspector. He was obviously getting too close to someone's dark secrets and, in order to solve the case; Peretti has carry on with the decapitated victim's research. All traces lead to the unsolved kidnapping and eventual murder of a young girl in the area. The killer clearly doesn't know how he is to getting caught, as he precautionary starts to eliminate everyone close to the case. Be advised that the above is a very vague description of the plot, as a more detailed summary would cover several pages. Apart from a few minor holes in the plot and a handful of illogicalness, "My Dear Killer" is a hugely compelling and intense murder-mystery. Especially the violence will appeal to hardcore horror fans, as the killer even uses circular saws and construction machinery! Tonino Valerii is not a very eminent Italian horror filmmaker (or at least not as eminent as, say, Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci or Sergio Martino), but his directing is truly stylish and he obviously read the "big book of giallo-guidelines" carefully before he started making this movie. Highly recommended!

Director Tonino Valerii is best known for his great Westerns , such as "I Giorni Dell'Ira" (aka. "Day Of Anger" 1967), "Il Prezzo Dell Potere" (aka. "The Price Of Power", 1969) and the comical "Il mio nome è Nessuno" (1973). Films like these make Valerii the Italian Western's most memorable director besides the three Sergios (Sergio Leone, Sergio Corbucci, and Sergio Sollima). But Valerii, who also served as assistant director to Sergio Leone for "A Fistful Of Dollars" and "For A Few Dollars More", is not only a great Western director. "Mio Caro Assassino" aka. "My Dear Killer" of 1972 is an excellent and highly intriguing Giallo and the ideal proof that Valerii is also a master of Thriller/Horror cinema. This is arguably THE Giallo with the most complex plot ever, and the constant twists make this film a tantalizing and absolutely unpredictable experience that no lover of Italian Horror can afford to miss. "My Dear Killer" does not deliver casual entertainment however - This film's exceptional complexity requires the viewer to concentrate on the plot. I can assure however, that no Giallo fan will regret concentrating on this film, which is stunning throughout and excellent in all regards.

Ispector Luca Peretti (George Hilton) is investigating a murder series that is somehow connected with the kidnapping of a little girl that occurred a year earlier... As my fellow Giallo fans should appreciate, the death toll rises constantly, and the twists and number of suspects make it almost impossible to guess who the killer is. This excellently photographed film has the typical atmosphere of good Gialli from the early 70s, and the many twists are highly elaborate. Regular Giallo leading man George Hilton is great in his role as the investigating inspector. The cast furthermore includes such great regulars of Italian genre-cinema as Piero Lulli and William Berger, and all other performances are also very good. This is may not be quite as blood-soaked as some other great Gialli, such as Sergio Martino's "Torso" or most of Dario Argento's films, but the exotic choices of murder weapons should also make this interesting enough for the gorehounds out there. The film's main focus is the complex plot, but the killings are depicted in a violent and very stylish manner. None other than maestro Ennio Morricone delivers the great score, the highlight of which is an exceptionally eerie lullaby theme song. From the great beginning to the ingenious end - "Mio Caro Assassino" is a complex and tantalizing must-see for all Giallo-fans, and also highly recommended to all other lovers of suspense and great cinema in general!

Director Tonino Valerii is best known in the USA for the spaghetti western "My Name is Nobody," but "My Dear Killer" is no less an excellent example of the giallo genre than "Nobody" was to its own. The plot revolves around a series of murders committed by an unknown assailant intent on keeping the deaths of a small child and her father unsolved. As is the case with most gialli, there's a detective one step behind the murderer, a lush and creepy music score (this time by Morricone), a houseful of suspects, creative and illogical murders, and a downbeat and melancholy plot. What elevates this one above all the others made in that banner year for the genre (1971), though, is the detail given to the script and production. The characters are all fully formed and functional to the story, which itself is well thought-out and clever. The resolution is well-handled, and even if the killer's identity is impossible to guess beforehand, the means in which he (or she) is finally discovered will make you smile. Add to this one of the saddest musical-score main themes in movie history, featuring a woman's voice singing a haunting child's melody, and you have a giallo that fans of the genre should definitely not miss.

From the opening strains of its eerie, baby-lullaby theme song to its haunting final shot of a child's drawing, "My Dear Killer" (1972) is a giallo pervaded with a sense of tragedy. A year before the action depicted in the film, a young child had been kidnapped from her wealthy parents' country villa and left to die, and now a wave of homicides, seemingly connected to this tragedy, opens the case anew. Giallo regular George Hilton plays Inspector Peretti here, a character who surely deserves a medal or promotion of some sort for getting to the bottom of this case; indeed, "My Dear Killer" is one of the most complicated gialli that I have ever seen. It is the type of film that you watch by the skin of your teeth, just barely comprehending the plot as things unspool; a repeat viewing--in my case, anyway--reveals that this seemingly unfathomable plot does make perfect sense. Anyway, Hilton (mustachioed here, for a change) is excellent, as usual, director Tonino Valerii keeps things nice and suspenseful, and the maestro, Ennio Morricone, provides a score that, if not his most memorable, is appropriately nerve jangling (and eerie, as I mentioned up top). While not a particularly violent giallo, a pair of set pieces should make this film of interest to all the gorehounds out there: one decapitation murder using an enormous dredging machine, and, most horribly, the death of a gorgeous schoolteacher with a circular power saw. (Don't all women have this tool lying around their apartment?) This latter scene, although not overly graphic, still proved kind of hard for me to watch. As far as the killer's identity is concerned, I suppose it IS possible to figure this one out, but my advice would be to just relax and enjoy the fun. The DVD that I just watched, by the way, from the fine folks at Shriek Show, looks just fine, but includes no subtitling option...not even with the interview extras, which are all in Italian! A pity...I would have enjoyed Hilton's comments on this very entertaining giallo, all these years later....

Unlike many other gialli, "Mio Caro Assassino" is not merely a succession of nasty murder scenes; it is bloody yet classy. It boasts an intricate, puzzlelike plot, some very good POV camerawork, a few stunning women (Patty Shepard, Mónica Randall, Helga Line, Marilu Tolo, etc.), a dependable lead in George Hilton (who has cited this film as one of the most noteworthy of his long career), another chilling la-la-la-la-la theme by Ennio Morricone, and a nifty Poirot-like climax, where Hilton gathers all the suspects in the same room and summarizes the case. A superior example of the genre. *** out of 4.