5 femmes pour l'assassin

When Giorgio Pisani returns home he finds his wife (that was expecting a baby) dead, but their child is alive. But then he discovers something that unsettles him.... and strangely enough someone starts to kill all pregnant women around. The police step in to investigate the murders.

This is a strange giallo – In 1974, Stelvio Massi made 3 films – "Macrò", "Squadra volante" and "5 donne per l'assassino". This may explain why the film has such an air of improvisation - the story is chaotically told and the film is uneven. Massi wanted to make a sophisticated, atmospheric giallo and sometimes he succeeds in creating good moments, thanks mainly to a good camera work. Active hand-held cameras following the action, a fast editing and zooms in and out skillfully used, give the film an almost frantic feel . There's also an inspired and flamboyant soundtrack (ranging from free jazz to romantic themes) that sometimes seems somewhat unrelated to the images. Limitations of time and budget gave the murder scenes (some of them good) an incomplete look – the final touch that crowns them is kind of amateurish. The main attraction of "5 donne per l'assassino" is the female cast – delicious eurobabes that are not shy of nudity, be it while they're making love, be it while they're being killed.

In short, the story in "5 donne per l'assassino" is simple and not very original, but the film is frenetic and extravagant. "5 donne per l'assassino" has its moments, but it's not a "good" film (too irregular for that!), still, real giallo buffs may discover something under its rough/stylish surface.

In FIVE WOMEN FOR THE KILLER, a man (Francis Matthews) returns home from a trip to find his wife dead. Soon, other women begin meeting the same fate, all sharing one thing in common.

This is a rather languid, by-the-numbers giallo, although the setup is novel. There is the expectedly-gloved killer, as well as a bevy of beautiful, female victims and a school of red herrings. There's just not a lot of action and the pacing is quite sluggish. This sort of film needs to be more suspenseful or at least have a good chase or two. As it is, there's not enough going on to make it all that interesting.

Recommended only for the die-hard giallo completist...

A writer comes home to discover his wife has just died during childbirth. The baby is not well and is held at a hospital while he continues to write a newspaper column.

Pregnant women are cut up with a fertility symbol carved into their bodies and the writer has the misfortune of being linked to these various women.

Abrupt editing and jarring music make the film tough to sit through. The director seems to be attempting to mimic the style of Alfred Hitchcock without Alfred's proven technical genius.

The murder victims do shed their clothing before being murdered but the overall storyline becomes apparent before it ends with only a slight twist.

Although implausible, the screenplay had enough sudden new developments to satisfy the giallo buff ; unfortunately , it's Stelvio Massi 's wish ,but it's Dario Argento's and Mario Bava's reality ; his directing is poor,editing absurd ,and the actors are left to their own devices .Gore , (soft) sex and female nudity galore replace Bava's skillful lighting effects and Argento's sense of mystery and of disturbing places .

Even the action is monotonous and repetitive :every time woman gets pregnant (or claims she is) ,one knows something awful will happen to her....which does not sustain suspense .

The legendary Italian genre filmmaker Stelvio Massi takes a rare foray into the heady, be-gloved milieu of the schlocky Giallo with 'Five Women for The Killer' aka '5 Donne Per L'Assassino', and for my money it still makes for a diverting piece of compelling genre cinema, besides, it's somewhat curious seeing the urbane British character actor, Francis 'Dracula' Matthews in such luridly unfamiliar surroundings! The only other Giallo I am aware Massi shot was the Bruno Nicolai-scored, much-loved 'The Case of The Bloody Iris' starring the deliriously delightful, sinfully sultry, yet curiously monikered superstar Edwige Fenech.

Maestro Massi is generally known for his exciting, uncommonly boisterous Euro-crime titles, but he is a versatile, more than capable director whose CV boasts some rather exemplary titles. It must also be noted that the sleazy premise to the unfairly neglected 'Five Women For The Killer' is pretty unsettling, as the initial murder remains a rather grim affair, reminded me a tad of the similarly stark Joe D'Amato effort, 'Absurd'. And the stolid, ubiquitous, but always likeable italian actor Howard Ross is fine as the beleaguered police commissioner, plus the requisite Giallo eye-candy is strikingly supplied by sleek, scintillating blond Katia 'Designated Victim' Christine! And along with Fernet-Branca posters and tall glistering glasses of J & B whiskey, no Giallo is close to being authentic without a bespoke sexy-sinister score, and talented composer Giorgio Gaslini delivers delivers the groovy goods!