Les Nuits de l'épouvante

"Murder Clinic" is one of them obscure and early (mid-60's) Gialli that you'll probably never see, unless you're willing to purchase a prehistoric VHS copy or – even worse - a bootleg DVD ripped from the aforementioned prehistoric tape. You know those things that are practically unwatchable because the original colors faded and the picture is constantly fuzzy? In other words this Giallo is only meant for the eyes of avid Giallo-buffs, as I sincerely doubt a proper release on disc will ever follow. "Murder Clinic" is a very passable Italian horror effort, but nevertheless amusing and it certainly contains a handful of potentially good ideas. It was the sixties, so Gialli movies still leaned towards Gothic settings and darkly sinister filming location. But, on the other hand, the Giallo-formula was still relatively new and thus the screenplay (penned down by veterans Ernesto Gastaldi and Luciano Martino) is very straightforward with clear twists and logical red herrings. The year is 1870 and the sinister events take place in a private clinic run by the demanding Dr. Vance and his obnoxious wife Liz. The movie doesn't waste too much time, as there quickly pops up a hooded killer who waves around a sharp razor and butchers patients as well as staff members. There are a number of possibilities for whom the killer might turn out to be, and the least you can say is that the denouement is acceptable. The murders sequences are decent, obviously not outrageously gross but definitely bloodier than I anticipated for a 60's film. There are some tedious parts and the acting performances – with the exception of William Berger as the Doc – are very much below average. The music is atmospheric and luckily the film only ran for a good 80 minutes. Not so much because I was bored to death, but because the incredibly poor bootleg disc hurt my eyes and ears.

A hooded killer armed with an open razor is stalking the corridors of an isolated clinic for the mentally ill. Suspects include dashing doctor Robert Vance (William Berger), his jealous wife Lizabeth (Mary Young), crazed schizophrenic Fred (Massimo Righi), shifty employee Ivan (Germano Longo), and a mysterious disfigured patient kept hidden from sight. Will new nurse Mary (Barbara Wilson) stay alive long enough to discover the truth?

A gothic horror with giallo trappings? Or an early giallo with gothic horror elements? Either way, The Murder Clinic is a somewhat uneasy mix that doesn't entirely satisfy. The gothic atmosphere isn't laid on thick enough, and the killings will probably prove too few and too tame to keep most giallo fans happy. The film does, however, feature plenty of suspects and red herrings to keep viewers guessing, and the whole thing is concluded in a logical manner that, unlike many a giallo, won't keep you awake pondering over questionable plot points.

At just 86 minutes, the film is well paced, the acting is solid, and the direction more than adequate for this kind of thing, so while The Murder Clinic isn't an essential giallo or an unmissable gothic horror, it's still worth a go if you can find a copy.

I saw this for the first time recently aft reading Coventry's glowing review n indeed this one's a very obscure one.

The plot in short - Patients and staff of an isolated mental hospital are being killed off by a hooded figure who stalks the halls. While a doctor is busy experimenting skin grafting on animals, his wife gets concerned when a beautiful guest arrives.

I feel the Korean movie A Tale of Two Sisters n its remake The Uninvited (2009) borrowed from this movie.

Even Beneath (2007) borrowed from this one.

Murder Clinic is one of the lesser known Giallo's that has yet to be brought into the spotlight like many of the better examples of the genre have been already. In my opinion, this is a film that will never get the shiny DVD release; and the reason for that is simply that it's not all that good. That's not to say that it's a terrible film; clearly director Elio Scardamaglia has an eye for Gothic visuals; the sets and atmosphere bode well with the plot line and the film does emulate the classic Universal horror style very well...but there's really not enough of the film and what there is of the plot is very clichéd and since most people that bother to seek out this film will be hardened horror veterans (like myself), no viewer of Murder Clinic is likely to find anything they haven't seen before. As the title suggests, the film focuses on murders at an English clinic and the story takes place in the 1870's. Basically, a bunch of the clinic's vulnerable residents are being picked off by a razor-wielding maniac and we get a handful of possible suspects.

The plot actually doesn't play out too badly; we get treated to a few murders before being introduced to the 'monster' of the story and the back-story behind that monster (which is actually fairly interesting but could and should have been handled in a much better way). However, the film does have a tendency to run into the melodramatic and while Elio Scardamaglia's direction is sound, the film was clearly shot on a low budget and he doesn't ever manage to make the film look anything more than a cheap affair (although in fairness, the VHS copy I saw does the film no favours). The film only runs for about eighty minutes and that's a good thing to be honest as it definitely would have started to get boring if it were any longer; although the runtime we do have only just keeps the film from becoming boring. The way that Murder Clinic handles red herrings is good and we get four main ones and to the film's credit, it's not immediately obvious who the killer is before it's revealed. Overall, this is not a great Giallo by any means and only hardcore genre fans should check it out; but it's a decent watch at least.

'Murder Clinic' is an Italian Giallo horror flick from the 1960's tinged in a cool gothic atmosphere with a stylish period setting, gorgeous set designs and a colourful visual palette and an interesting mystery element, this obscure Giallo was a decent viewing experience with a good plot but could have done with a bit more flavour which could have made this a top tier entry of the genre.

The plot = Set in 1870's England at an isolated clinic run by Doctor Vance (William Berger) where patients and staff start getting killed by a hooded maniac who stalks the halls at night.

The movie is incredibly well shot with bold cinematography and the clinic itself looks effectively creepy with the long dark hallways and constant shadows which instantly evokes a sense of dread throughout as the various characters wander through them. But there are a couple of things that lets this movie down firstly the pacing is really off with too much time spent on melodrama aspect and not enough on the mystery and much in the way of tension or kills and talking about the death scenes they were really lacklustre. The big reveal at the end was also disappointing as it was way too easy to figure, but there were enough interesting red-herrings thrown into the mix to sustain interest.

The cast were thankfully strong, and the interesting array of characters does make this flick worthwhile. William Berger gave a compelling performance as the disgraced Dr Robert Vance and carried the movie incredibly well. Barbara Wilson was decent as the new nurse Mary compassionate and breathtakingly beautiful. Mary Young was also great as the jealous and bitter wife as well as Delphine Maurin who gives a standout performance as the tragic disfigured sister-in-law Laura. Then there's Francoise Prevost as scheming and mysterious Giselle who arrives at the clinic and really spies the story up with a blackmail subplot.

Overall 'Murder Clinic' is fairly routine, but still watchable and you could tell that the genre was still in its early days as the tropes weren't yet perfected at this early stage as the Giallo's that would come out in the 1970's.