Tutti i colori del buio

Sergio Martino is famous for producing high quality Giallo films and All the Colours of the Dark does that reputation proud! While I cant say that this is as good as the likes of The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh or the amazing Your Vice is a Locked Door and Only I Have the Key, All the Colours of the Darks stands apart from Martino's other films as it's much more psychological, and spends most of it's running time following a single character. The style of the film is very psychedelic, and this ensures that it always feels very much like a movie from the seventies. There isn't a great deal of actual horror, but this is made up for by the disorienting atmosphere, which ensures that the film is always unpredictable. The film works from a screenplay by Martino's regular collaborator, Ernesto Gastaldi, and it's safe to say that this film is Italy's answer to Rosemary's Baby. We follow Jane Harrison, a woman recovering from the car crash that claimed the life of her unborn child. Her recovery takes a turn for the worse when she finds herself under threat from an organisation of Satanists.

The cast is something of a "who's who" of Italian cult cinema. Frequent Martino collaborators George Hilton and the beautiful Edwige Fenech take the lead roles and the film wouldn't feel complete without them. Edwige Fenech fits the lead role like a glove. She's at her best when she's playing the vulnerable victim, and that is the role she has here. The sleazy George Hilton has been better, and he isn't given much to do in this film; but it's always nice to see him in a Giallo. Cult star Ivan Rassimov stands out as the villain of the piece, while Susan Scott; the beautiful actress who has appeared in films such as Death Walks at Midnight and Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals makes a mark in supporting role. The plot moves well, and Sergio Martino does a good job of getting us behind the lead character. The music and cinematography are superb, and Martino's use of colour helps to ensure that the film has a vibrant atmosphere, which suits the plot well. The climax is a little abrupt, and despite the scene leading up to it; I've got to admit that it left me a bit cold. The rest of the plot is great, however and while this isn't Martino's most successful foray into Giallo; it's still a very good one, and comes recommended.

All The Colors of the Dark is a combination of a giallo, an occult horror and a Roman Polanski style claustrophobic apartment-based thriller. It's possibly director Sergio Martino's most ambitious film from a period when he produced a series of excellent pictures. Unlike Martino's other gialli, this one is much more psychological in approach. It doesn't have a series of murders or anything like that but instead focuses on the troubled world of its female protagonist played by cult actress Edwige Fenech. She is recovering from a car crash which claimed the life of her unborn baby, shortly after this she is menaced by a mysterious man and is introduced to a black magic group by an enigmatic neighbour. The story isn't all that great to be perfectly honest it's the style in which it's presented that's its strength. It's consistently photographed in an interesting way, with unusual angles and good colour schemes. The disorienting camera angles do add to the overall theme of a psychologically troubled woman. The London settings are also used very well indeed – the apartment block and country manor are both very effectively shot. It would also be deeply remiss to not mention Bruno Nicolai's soundtrack. It's a really nice psychedelic piece that adds to the atmosphere very nicely, it comes into its own in the scenes of the cult indoctrinating Edwige Fenech's character into their circle; this scene is one of the best that Martino ever directed, it's pure 70's psychedelic delirium. It's only matched in this movie by the very creepy and bizarre opening dream sequence which includes things like a murdered pregnant woman and a hideous old crone dressed like a child's doll.

The movie is immeasurably helped by the presence of Edwige Fenech. She looks like the definitive giallo heroine here, with her gorgeous mane of long black hair, porcelain skin and big eyes. She is certainly a welcome character to base the movie around and does play the vulnerable victim very well it has to be said. Her co-star, the always excellent Susan Scott, who plays her sister, is sadly underused but at least she's there. The male stars don't particularly shine but Ivan Rassimov has a fairly memorable role as the blue-eyed psycho. Overall, Sergio Martino produced another fine Italian thriller with this movie. I'm not convinced it's his best necessarily, and perhaps it sometimes promises more than it actually delivers. Nevertheless, this one should most certainly please fans of this kind of thing.

A woman : Edwige Fenech , recovering from a car crash along with her boyfriend : Uruguay-born George Hilton, suffers hallucinations and strange dreams , being plagued by nightmares about a coven of devil bloodline worshippers . She lost her unborn child , being nowadays mercilessly pursued by an ominous killer with blue eyes : Ivan Rassimov and wielding a knife . A blood-drenched nightmare from which you awaken too late ! .Something is out there .. coming closer .. Don't be afraid to be afraid . They exist . They bear the Mark of the Devil inside them. They May be neighbors . They May be your wife , husband , sweetheart . They May even be your children . Their time has come . They cannot be exorcised from the World because their power has grown too strong.. their numbers too many !

Sergio Martino's Gialli getting certain success , being compellingly shot , including well staged crimes with plenty of startling visual content and adding Rosemary's Baby thematic . This is the usual Gialli where intrigue , tension , suspense , stabbing and chases show up lurking and threatening throughout parks , buildings , elevador, corridors and grim interiors . The film combines atmospheric blending of thrills , chills , nudism and suspenseful final . The rather perplexing tale weavers so many red herrings when ultimately the murderer is unmasked . Based on a story by prolific Santiago Moncada and whose scripts were created films as The Cauldron of Death , Bell from Hell , Corruption of Chris Miller and A Hatchet for Honeymoon by Mario Bava . Nice ambiance and setttings from Jose Luis Galicia and Raúl Pérez Cubero , enhanced by the well photographed London carried out by good cameraman Miguel Fernández Mila . As well as intriguing musical score by Bruno Nicolai, usual collaborator to Ennio Morricone . Being an Italian/Spanish co-production here appears Italian actors : Edwige Fenech , Ivan Rassimov , Marina Malfatti , Luciano Pigozzi or Alan Collins , Dominique Boschero and Spanish ones : Nieves Navarro or Susan Scott , Jorge Rigaud and Julián Ugarte , giving all of them acceptable 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 , 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 : 6.5/10, a notable slasher that will appeal to Giallo enthusiasts and Edwige Fenech fans.

Tutti i colori del buio or All the Colors of the Dark (also released as Day of the Maniac and They're Coming to Get You!) got some good points - a nice soundtrack (including some good psychedelic rock tunes), some well crafted scenes/settings and psychedelic shots, some beautiful ladies. Where this movie lacks is in providing an interesting story line and the elements of horror or terror are rather on the weak or tame side. The occult scenes with some trippy elements are well shot and spiced up with some softporn elements. Is it bad? No. Is it good? Not so much. Only recommended if you want to watch some movie deep rooted in the 70s style of Italian movie making - but for a real giallo movie this one is too tame in my opinion.

"Tutti i colori del buio" is worth a look if you are interested in the visuals of cinema. Sergio Martino's directing of the mostly dreamlike scenes is almost unbelievable. The use of wide-angle lenses, strange perspectives and slow-motion serves perfectly the weird atmosphere of this thriller.

Add to this a stylish 70s score by Bruno Nicolai and an unusually good script (well, for Italian giallo films) and you have another unknown classic.

9 out of 10