Nude... si muore

Hum-drum and fairly routine murder mystery set in an all-girls school, with a mysterious killer eradicating them one by one. It is fairly stylish and keeps the gore to a minimum; as a result it works as an interesting mystery, nicely resolved, but with a few exceptions the characters are poorly and dully acted and it's not a very provocative story, and there's a bizarre coda at the end involving a sudden James Bondian character who shows up as one of the girls' dads, which obtrusive and unnecessary). Much of the film's storyline and many of its set-pieces are things we've seen before many times. It's a straightforwardly depicted murder mystery but devoid of almost any elements of the usual giallo trappings (graphic gore and unabashed nudity), as such it's kind of a "giallo light" – enjoyable but without the visceral punch that the cinematic ilk has come to be known for. Perhaps the biggest drawback of the film, like many thrillers, is that the characters constantly perform completely unnaturally, speaking and acting and behaving in a manner which is completely unrealistic, unnatural, and often illogical; what they do moves the plot forward but they never really make the story, its setting, or its characters fully realistic and convincing.Michael Rennie guest stars (dubbed into Italian by somebody else) as the police investigator. English actress Sally Smith is delightful as one of the spunkier students with a knack at investigating herself; she is very energetic and expressive and lots of fun to watch; unfortunately she didn't do much after this. Eleanora Brown is also very memorable as the redhead student who becomes the primary target for the killer; she was in a couple giallos prior to this but appeared in no more films afterward. The rest of the cast, including the vastly overrated Italostar Mark Damon, are pretty much uninteresting. Antonio Margheriti's direction is solid and effective, though, and the film is well shot and nicely edited. A moderately pleasing Carlo Savina score provides an enjoyable musical backdrop, as does the rousing 007-ish main title song, "Nightmare."

Unlike many Giallo films, Antonio Marghetiti's Schoolgirl Killer hardly features any of the blood, sex and general sleaze that have made the genre famous, and instead puts its focus on the murder mystery and central set of characters. In fact, it's amazing just how restrained this film is, considering that it is set in an all-girls school and how almost every Giallo film with a similar setting takes full of advantage of this. The director does an exquisite job of presenting his story and his setting, and the film features some stunning camera work, which beautifully captures the well designed sets, and the fashion sense of the girls at the college. The film begins with a murder in which the killer strangles a woman and has the body put into a trunk which is then delivered to an all-girls school. Shortly thereafter; Betty-Ann, a student at the school is murdered in the basement, and when another young girl is killed in the shower, the police, led by Inspector Durant, are called in. And they're not the only ones on the case, as amateur detective Jill is also investigating.

It's true that there is hardly any originality at all in the film, and influences range from the obvious films such as Blood and Black Lace, to a certain American classic. This has lead many to call the film tired and unexciting, but I disagree as the relaxed way that the story is told allows the audience to get involved with the mystery, and the comedy elements of the film bode well with all giggling girls school environment. The main problem with this film is that's barely any blood whatsoever, which leaves the murder scenes feeling rather. There are other subplots going on, however - things such as the tentative romance between a teacher and one of the pupils, and Margheriti does well at presenting a whole range of characters, any of which could be guessed at as the killer before the twist ending is revealed. The ending of the film has been used so many times now that it's a cliché, but that aside; it does come as something of a surprise. The problem with the ending, however, is that it basically admits that most of the film has been rather pointless, as there were only two people that needed to be murdered - but Giallo isn't well known for logic, and while this might be derivative, it's still well worth seeing!

This is interesting giallo-style Italian thriller similar to the later horror masterpiece Suspiria but without the supernatural elements, and the schoolgirl giallo What Have You Done to Solange? but with less sleaze (in fact, it seemed like the edited version shown in the US didn't even have any nudity in it). It's very hard to find these days, but worth finding. It's a very seminal film if nothing else. The first bathtub murder was borrowed verbatim for the murder of the Cristine Galbo character in Solange. I'm pretty sure the morbid joke of the killer keeping the first body around right under the nose of the later victims inspired Black Christmas, which in turn inspired Halloween, and after that the deluge. (In fact, much of the later US slasher subgenre could easily be traced to two Italian films--this one and Mario Bava's Twitch of the Death Nerve). And certainly no one can deny the influence on Suspiria. While it probably wasn't the first horror movie/thriller to be set in a girl's school or girl's dormitory, it might have been the first to fully the exploit the psycho-killer and "Ten Little Indians" possibilities of this creepy setting. If you like this movie(and you speak Spanish), also check out the contemporary Spanish horror/thriller, La Residencia which is very similar.

There are artists (like Argento)and there are hacks (like Bruno Mattei) and inbetween there are pros like Antonio Margheriti. He could turn out quite competent movies which, although lacking in originality, have a certain verve. This one develops more along the lines of an Agatha Christie effort than anything else, eschewing as it does the supernatural elements of the ostensibly similar SUSPIRIA.

I wouldn't bother with the cut version as it has been trimmed of almost all the nudity and violence, which are pretty much what one watches these things for. What remains are the performances: Michael Rennie fans should beware as he is barely in it, but there is a great (dubbed) turn from Lorenza Guerrieri as Jill, a hyper-imaginative pupil.

For Margheriti fans, I would place this among his dreary late-60s efforts - nowhere near the Gothic elegance of DANSE MACABRE or VIRGIN OF NUREMBERG, and neither coming close to the simple joie de vivre of his 80s movies with David Warbeck.

Titles can be misleading. Antonio Margheriti's "Nude... Si Muore" (aka. "Naked You Die"/"Schoolgirl Killer") is NOT the exploitative and blood-soaked Giallo full of sleaze and nudity one might expect from its title. Sure, the film was made in 1968, at which time the Italian Giallo had not reached the sleaze and violence level it obtained in the early 70s, but the title "Naked You Die" still promises nastiness, especially in the wonderful Giallo-genre. What "Nude... Si Muore" is, however, is a superbly set, beautifully shot and atmospheric Giallo that sets its focus on the mystery, more than on the Horror elements. Yet I cannot deny that the film did just not quite reach my (very high) expectations. For two reasons, that is. First off, I am a great fan of the late genius director Antonio Margheriti. His brilliant Gothic masterpiece "Danza Macabra" (aka. "Castle Of Blood", 1964, with the wonderful Barbara Steele, my favorite actress, in the lead) is a personal favorite of mine, and many of his other films, such as "La Vergine Di Norimberga" ("Terror Castle", 1963) are also excellent films that every Horror fan must see. Secondly, this film was recommended to me by a fellow Giallo-buff as being particularly great and atmospheric. And atmospheric it is, and doubtlessly a very good thriller, but, as far as I am considered it is not a particularly impressive film within my beloved Giallo-sub-genre.

A posh boarding school for girls from rich families is being stalked by a killer. Several new teachers have arrived, and, naturally, everybody is a suspect... The performances are quite good, the cast includes well known faces for fans of Italian genre-cinema, such as Mark Damon ("I Tre Volti Della Paura") and regular cult-cinema actor Luciano Pigozzi, who, among many other films, often had supporting roles in Mario Bava's films. Beautiful Elonora Brown stars in the lead, sadly it is the last role the then 20-year-old actress has played up to date. The girls are entirety pretty, and I also found the actresses' performances quite good. The film's most memorable qualities are the superb and beautiful setting and ingenious camera work, intensified by a funky and great score by Carlo Savina. What (slightly) annoyed me at times was the constant attempt of bringing in (very cheesy) humor. Also, the mystery part could have been a little more complex. Overall, "Nude... Si Muore" has some flaws, but it is supremely shot, highly atmospheric and very entertaining, and a film that my fellow Giallo-buffs should enjoy. Recommended.