Director: Armando Crispino
Year: 1972
Country: Italy/West Germany/Yugoslavia
Alternate Titles: L'etrusco uccide ancora; The Etruscan Kills Again; Overtime
Genre: Giallo
Plot:
Discovering a tomb of Etruscan ruins, the lead excavator of the expedition finds himself the main suspect in a series of strange murders in the area due to his previous relationship with his ex-wife who’s now living in the area with her abusive new husband, and as the murders continue must clear his name to stop the rampage.
Review:
This was a decidedly enjoyable if flawed giallo effort. What tends to work nicely here is the far more original and creative setup that attempts to mix the supernatural with the giallo. The main setup here involving the discovery of the bodies while he’s trying to clear out the remains and the subsequent investigation that begins which unearths all manner of incriminating evidence pointed at him is a solid start to this one. Building up the idea of him as the guilty party through the alcohol-fueled memory loss is a fine way to go about this from a red herring standpoint as well as the other highlighted figure in the orchestra conductor that plays another prominent role here which is a fine touch. It’s especially true when added alongside the few bits involving the potential for the spirits of the dead to be the culprits as it produces that option a few times quite logically.
That carries over into the solid and somewhat brutal encounters that take place here. The opening attack in the tomb itself is a striking touch that has some fine brutality involved, while later stalking scenes including the attack on the couple who had just engaged in sexual relations around the house into the basement for a solid double-murder sequence or the final battle in the mansion home of the leads where it brings out the thrilling reveal of the killer with the backstory motivation which all have some nice kills as well to bring this along rather nicely. On top of that, there’s also the film’s really fun and enjoyable car chase that takes place through the crowded city where the foot chase to proceed it gives way incredibly well to the chase itself including full-throttle speed battles along cramped streets for a solid time overall. These factors are enough to help hold this one up overall.
There are some big issues here holding this one back. One of the main factors to be had here is the wholly unlikable and irritating main group of characters we’re supposed to be following. The supposed hero is an alcoholic brute who picks fights with everyone he meets for the slightest indiscretions, his girlfriend is so weak-willed and pathetic for her romantic dalliances that she becomes a non-factor for most of the film, and the conductor husband is a biter miser throwing temper tantrums and verbally berating everyone around him. That we’re supposed to care about this particular lot of characters is a gross miscalculation, and it signals the other big factor in the sluggish pacing that drags the film out considerably with the endless scenes of everyone snapping at each other that the majority of this one plays out as. While not completely damaging, these provide enough to lower it significantly.
Overview: ***/5
A rather enjoyable and generally likable giallo, this one finds itself let down by some big issues just enough to be a solid second-tier genre effort. Those who enjoy the style as a whole, are huge Eurohorror connoisseurs, or are curious about it will have a lot to like here while most others who aren’t fans of these factors should heed caution with this one.
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