Director: Lucio Fulci
Year: 1969
Country: Italy/France/Spain
Alternate Titles: Una sull'altra; Perversion Story
Genre: Giallo
Plot:
On the verge of great success, a doctor deciding to risk everything for the woman he’s having an affair with is relieved when his wife dies and leaves him with a fortune, but as he tries to acclimate to his new life comes to believe that a stripper who looks identical to his late wife might be more than she lets on.
Review:
This was a spectacular suspenseful giallo with a lot to like about it. One of the best attributes here is the engaging mystery at the forefront of this which provides plenty of opportunities to engage in psychological shenanigans. The initial setup at play, with the doctor fooling around on his wife with the patient who not only makes plans to be together but also tries to go behind his wife’s back with the affair to leave her for his over before the ensuing scandal with his wife’s death, starts this off on an appropriately twist-ladden ath. The later shock of the unexpected insurance policy which they can use to be together is another fine touch to start the games further.
It all comes to a head later on with the introduction of the stripper and his fascination with her which comes quite nicely. Being naturally obsessed with her looks, the very nature through which they start their relationship gives this a fantastic counter to the setup here where it soon dawns on him that his desire is based more on the idea that she’s the spitting image of his former wife. The means through which this occurs from the medicinal evidence to the anecdotal including the genuinely erotic lovemaking they share together which is what draws the police investigation into this which slowly unravels the tangled clues of the crime which enables for for a generally tight and engaging storyline.
That leads to the immensely likable finale where the various storylines and twists get the chance to make sense. As the police investigation into the wife’s death brings about the reveals about the insurance money that shows up as the motivation to finally move forward, the actual reveal that comes about proves to be quite shocking for what everything means as well as the logical throughline for everybody involved. The reveals about the fates and motivations of all of the major players involved is a generally impressive one that has some shocking outcomes that are taken into account here, and alongside the film’s impressive sense of eroticism with tons of fine nudity there’s quite a lot to like with this one.
There are some issues with this one that hold this back. The main factor with the film is the excessively overlong and uninteresting finale which spends quite a lot of the section not only revealing the full twist but also features way too much time in the prison dealing with the exploits of the detective trying to prove the subterfuge while he wastes away in jail for the crime. This isn’t all that interesting and just comes off as repetitive rather than the suspenseful nature it was intended where the wait to figure out if they’ve gotten away with the plan as he rots in jail for his fate to be sealed doesn’t have a lot of intrigue to it. This could’ve been handled in a different manner, as it’s the main issue to be had here.
Overview: ****.5/5
A highly effective and generally enjoyable giallo, there’s not a whole lot to hold this one back beyond a small issue with one section of this one. Those who appreciate this period of the genre, are huge Eurohorror completionists, or are fans of the creative crew will have the most to like here while those who don’t appreciate those factors should heed caution.
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