Director: Maurizio Pradeaux
Year: 1973
Country: Italy/Spain
Alternate Titles: Passi Di Danza su una Lama di Rasoio, Tormentor
Genre: Giallo
Plot:
After witnessing a violent murder, a photographer tries to convince her boyfriend of the incident but gets nowhere until the killer starts killing off a series of regular interlopers in the case and forces the two to try to figure out the killer's identity before he targets them.
Review:
This was a decent enough if flawed genre effort. What really tends to push this one along is the actual murder mystery that plays out which is a rather intriguing and engaging storyline. Initially appearing to be centered around the incidental tourist, the gradual reveal of the killers' vendetta against the ballerina company through the use of the mannequins being supplied by the boyfriend that ties everything together and brings them their involvement into the rampage. The build-up to this isn't that bad, from the discovery of the bodies and the revelation of the handicap that spurs the interest in the two and provides this with some decent red herrings. That also leads this one into some enjoyable stalking moments that have a lot to like, from the opening sequence involving the murderer striking which is seen through a telescope lens that runs out of time before the face can be seen, the stalking of a witness through a darkened hallway where the killer again strikes out of nowhere and the tense chase on city streets to get away from a location containing clues to their identity as they race to find a phone from which to call and report on their findings. The finale in the house where the killer appears is exceptionally fun as well with the blackout and misidentification of the killer and the resultant chase through the grounds out to the backyard which has a shockingly tense confrontation in the greenhouse to finally resolve matters. Alongside the nicely frequent nudity present here from the capable performers, these here are enough to hold it up over the problems present.
The main issue at hand here is the fact that this one never really manages to offer any kind of enjoyable twist on the formulaic story presented. Once again this presents a film in which someone commits a murder seen only by the main character who has nobody else believe their story which is a rather flimsy pretext to start it off but it just dives into numerous cliches after that point. Rather than just dismiss the outrageous story as the ramblings of a deranged woman, erring on the side of caution with someone reporting such an incident would've generated a far more interesting story here due to plainly going around the familiar plotline that comes along. The other big problem is that this leaves the film rather bland during the investigation here without too many bodies to knock off which is what leaves the film to feel dragged-out in points that don't really need it.
The characters here are decent enough if hampered by the cliched story. Nieves Navarro as Kitty does the best work here as she's quite engaging as the fiery, no-nonsense type that had been her trademark style exhibited in the two films for her husband, Death Walks on High Heels and Death Walks at Midnight. It's a one-note character and she can become aggravating with her characters' inquisitiveness bordering on pushiness, but she does have a sympathetic air in the first half and her raw sexuality does make it easy to root for her before disappearing for large stretches of the film. Robert Hoffman as her boyfriend Alberto Morosini is a bland, lifeless slog that exists for nothing more than a red herring who has a lions' share of the screentime here. His only discernible character trait being a limp much like the killer, he seems too volatile and two-faced to be of much interest here and really isn't that interesting during the investigation.
Anuska Borova has a dual role as the flamboyant dancer Lidia and her calmer sister reporter Silvia Arrighi has some solid work her as the source inquiring about the murders with the police, but really exists more for her various nude scenes with her boyfriend Marco. Played by regular Navarro costar and tormentor Simon Andreu, this is also nothing more than a red herring designed to pad out the suspect list due mainly to his reputation and nothing else. No one else here really makes much of an impression. These here are what really hold this one down.
Overview: ***/5
While not in the same league as the greatness of the other gialli from that time-period, this one certainly has it's fair share of moments that make it watchable at worst. This is really only for the most undiscerning giallophile while those looking to dip into the genre should look at other fare first.
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