Libido

'Libido' is a slick and stylish gothic Giallo thriller with a foreboding atmosphere and a well-executed narrative that sustains momentum right up until the chilling climax. The movie is simple yet effective with its slow and deliberate pace which may not be for everyone, but there's enough suspense and tense moments to keep you engaged and thankfully the movie doesn't outstay its welcome.

The plot = Christian (Giancarlo Giannini) returns to his ancestral home where as a boy he witnessed his father murder a young woman and now as a man he's plagued by those memories and worried that he'll turn out the same way.

The opening scene does a fantastic job of setting up what's to come. The direction by both Ernesto Gastaldi and Vittorio Salerno is strong with an interesting and well written premise. The cast performances are also strong with Giancarlo Giannini providing a great and believable lead with a very captivating performance. Dominique Boschero is also fantastic in her role as the wife. Mara Maryl is a standout in her role as Bridgette and finally Luciano Pigozzi also gives a solid performance and rounds off this small cast rather well.

Overall 'Libido' is a solid Giallo thriller that fans of the genre should check out if you're a fan of well-made psychological thrillers.

Even with all the renewed interest in Italian gialli these days, it's a little unfortunate that this one will probably never be re-released on DVD because it is one of the few gialli filmed in black and white. And that's too bad because it is really an excellent little film. A young boy sees his father murder his mistress during a bondage session in a mirror-filled room. The father apparently commits suicide by jumping off a cliff (although his body was never found)and the boy eventually ends up in a mental hospital. Years later as a young man he returns to his childhood home with his wife, his lawyer, and his lawyer's sexy girlfriend. A number of strange things begin to happen and the man begins to suspect that his father is still alive.

For much of the movie it is tantalizingly unclear whether the man is still insane (a la "Repulsion"), the other characters are trying to drive him insane to get their hands on his father's inheritance (a la "Gaslight"), or the father really is still alive. The story is excellent and unusually logical for a giallo, and the end includes some delicious twists. Not surprisingly, the director Ernesto Gastaldi would go on to become one of the most famous screenwriters of these kind of films. Of course, he doesn't quite have the visual panache of more famous gialli directors (i.e. Bava, Argento, Fulci, Martino), but some scenes, particularly the ones in the room of mirrors, are pretty memorable.

Gianni Giancarlo is the name actor, but he was pretty young here and seems to play his role a little too seriously. The best thing about this movie though is Maria Chiavetti (Gastaldi's wife)who plays the lawyer's girlfriend. Not only does she give the movie all its sex appeal by dancing in lingerie or strutting around in a kitty-cat bikini, but she provides a lot of Marilyn Monroe-style humor. And while her blonde airhead status would seem to mark her as an early victim, she plays a big part in the surprise twists near the end, proving more charismatic and versatile than the soon-to-be-famous, but here pretty one-note, Giancarlo. And she also apparently was the one that came up with the original idea for the story. This is impressive film, and the version I saw (in Italian with English subtitles) looked great.

Four people arrive at a seaside mansion, which is the ancestral home of one of the party - a young man who witnessed his father murdering a woman there when he was a child. Various antagonisms exist between the characters and to make matters worse, there is a hefty inheritance at stake - isn't there always?! And will history repeat itself in the form of murder?!! Do you know what, it might just...

This very early giallo owes more to the likes of the French classic Les Diaboliques and Hammer psychological thrillers such as Taste of Fear, than it does Mario Bava's early giallo proto-types, The Girl Who Knew Too Much or Blood and Black Lace. To this end, it doesn't have a maniac on the loose scenario and instead focuses on a small cast, where the central character is so emotionally vulnerable that we are not sure if they are being driven mad or insane to begin with. It's a fairly basic and minimalistic movie in a lot of ways but it does have some visual black and white elegance and nice touches such as the mirrored room. The small cast isn't bad either with future Hannibal and Bond actor Giancarlo Giannini suitably intense as the psychologically damaged son, giallo regular Dominique Boschero a welcome presence once more as his wife, character actor of dozens of side roles Luciano Pigozzi is successfully shifty once again as the lawyer and Mara Maryl (who came up with the idea for the film!) romps about in bikinis as the resident fox. But what may define Libido most of all in giallo terms, is that the most prominent screenwriter of the genre, Ernesto Gastaldi, was given a rare opportunity to direct here. He doesn't do a bad job and the film, while a bit unexciting for the most part, does have a fairly diverting final third where events do ramp up a bit. Its no classic but it's a nice example of a very early Italian thriller.

Mara Maryl (Mrs. Gastaldi) is the Italian sex kitten in the style of Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren and her performance, and Dominique Boschero's performance, gives Libido its energy and forward thrust. Their easy-on-the-eyes beauty and great bodies don't help young Giancarlo Gianni forget the childhood memories that haunt him. His father was a sexual sadist who took pleasure in abusing women and Giancarlo fears he has inherited his dad's sickness. He also fears he is being haunted by his ghost. Mara's character, the wife of the ubiquitous Luciano Pigozzi (the Italian Peter Lorre), is ditsy but that's kind of a facade. Unfortunately, despite the great reputation of Ernesto Gastaldi as a giallo master, Libido is not on DVD or Blu Ray in North America and that's a bummer because it's one of the best of the early giallos. The black and white cinematography and location is excellent. It would have been less impressive in color. If you can find this film on the web or through a DVD vendor, give it a watch. Mara, as Maria Chianetta, wrote the giallo film Scorpion With Two Tails.

This well-made four-person thriller follows on the tradition of such films as "Gaslight" and "Diabolique", while at the same time anticpating later gialli motifs such as the haunting music tune and the black gloves. Slow-paced first half, entertaining second half, with enough plot twists to get your head spinning. **1/2 out of 4.