The Strangler (1970) by Paul Vecchiali

Director: Paul Vecchiali

Year: 1970

Country: France

Alternate Titles: L'étrangleur

Genre: Giallo

Plot:

Living in the middle of Paris, a detective sets out to stop the string of murders being committed by a savage killer strangling women to death with a special series of white scarves, and when he finds his effort fruitless in stopping his rampage resorts to increasingly more unorthodox and illegal means to bring him to justice.

Review:

This was a somewhat intriguing if off-kilter giallo effort. The main focus here is on setting up the atmosphere and presence of the situations where the killings are based on the setup allowing him to provide every kind of means necessary to be in the right place at the right time to strike which is pretty much the main way of getting the detective going in the proceedings. The ensuing investigation reveals that the psychological neurosis at the heart of the film is all rather cleverly handled with the series of reveals making sense as a psychological profile for who he is and why he’s doing what he’s doing which is somewhat unorthodox from the traditional stalk-and-slash efforts that this type of film usually appear to be but is still fun enough for what it is.

However, the fact that this one is so stylized and unconventional is also a major detriment to the film as a whole. The murders, though frequent, are lamely executed with the victims putting up no amount of discomfort or stress at the proposition of being killed and instead seeming to unnaturally pose in sensual positions that take a lot of the sting out of the situation. This may not sit well with those expecting a series of suspenseful stalkings or violent strikes for the death scenes, as instead of this or even an investigation into the identity of the one doing these crimes the fascination rests on inconsequential means and outside forces that make the film somewhat of a slough to get through and might not be the most enticing for hardcore genre fans.

Overview: ***/5

Unconventional and off-beat but still likable giallo effort, there’s enough here to be of interest to fans of the genre or the style but its flaws might be too much for those looking for the more conventional outings. That makes it of use for fans who appreciate this type of arthouse approach or are the most devout fans of the movement while most others out there should heed caution with this one.