Knife of Ice (1972) by Umberto Lenzi


Director: Umberto Lenzi
Year: 1972
Country: Italy/Spain
Alternate Titles: Il coltello di ghiaccio; Silent Horror
Genre: Giallo

Plot:
Heading off to a lavish estate, a mute woman arrives to visit her cousin only to be rocked by a violent murder in the area, and when it appears the culprit belongs to a Satanic cult that has now targeted her brings danger to most of those around her forcing her to bring an end to the killings.

Review:

Overall, this one is a rather fun genre effort. One of the better elements is the fun start to things where we get introduced to everything going on. From the revelation about the accident that leads to her current condition as well as the subtle hints that she’s actively interested in the occult, this sets up some intriguing plotlines relatively quickly. The idea of following up the mystery laid out by the surprise murder it showcases some pretty solid plotlines to come about since this drops the characters into the fray rather nicely.

This is another intriguing aspect as the central murder mystery and investigation lead to a lot of fun. The connection to an ongoing and seemingly unrelated kills offers up a great starting point much like the strong connection to the occult with the Satanic paraphernalia recovered from the crime scenes. As the investigation reveals a slew of solid red herrings over the course of the film as the few clues to be found offering up a nice amount of intrigue when people act shady or suspicious for no reason, especially in the middle of a murder investigation.


There’s also a lot to enjoy with the suspense derived in the latter half where the body count rises considerably and more substantial attacks occur. Managing to get some solid scenes from the chase through the cemetery to catch the fleeing suspect, a chilling game of hide-and-seek played at the house and the outright chilling stalking through the house where we finally get the killer in action in a prolonged sequence that has a lot to like, these generate some thrilling aspects for the film which overall well incredibly well for this one.

This one doesn’t have much to dislike about it. The most egregious and outright appalling is the wholesale opening as the real-life animal slaughter shown during the bull-fight, which is unnecessary and cruel in a matter that gets even more unbearable with the repetition to denote her shocked state. The other issue here is a rushed and confusing ending that doesn’t answer anything, has no motivation for anything and is done in such a matter as to make it seem utterly unimportant like its sole purpose is to be surprising. These factors keep it down for the most part.


Overview: ****/5
A generally solid and enjoyable thriller which is only undone by a few minor factors, this one manages to be a wholly fun and thrilling mystery for the most part. Give it a look if you’re a fan of the creative crew, the general style of suspense thrillers or the genre as a whole, while those who enjoy more traditional slasher style giallo or turned off by the style might not enjoy this one.

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