Director: Fernando Di Leo
Year: 1971
Country: Italy
Alternate Titles: La bestia uccide a sangue freddo; The Beast Kills in Cold Blood; Asylum Erotica
Genre: Giallo
Plot:
Sent to a mental facility, a young woman finds that the asylum is the setting of a rampage against the residents and staff at the hands of a maniacal killer and tries to find a way of setting things straight once the bloodbath begins turning up more victims when he starts to target her.
Review:
This here turned out to be quite the impressive and enjoyably trashy giallo. With the main focus of the film stretched out in a large, gloriously Gothic villa there's an absolutely spectacular atmosphere here that makes the film seem far more suspenseful than it really should be as the massive lay-out, numerous long twisting hallways and cavernous structures providing the perfect foil for a location which is a rather suspenseful setting for such a film. That plays into the film's main enjoyable section here in that this one is so enjoyable trashy and sleazy that it really does come off far more watchable than it really should. With the Gothic atmosphere firmly established, that it utilizes these in conjunction with the utterly bizarre weaponry featured for the killing tools as on the wall of the communal sitting room is every medieval weapon any homicidal maniac could dream of, just hanging there for the plucking and there's even an iron maiden as a special bonus.
That the absurdity of the situation, wherein this is supposedly a facility trying to nurture people's well-being would allow for such a devastating potential outcome makes this quite a sleazy time here almost as much as the other main fun to be had in its copious nudity. The story has nearly the entire cast far more concerned with hitting the sack with the patients, from forcing them into shower sessions, extended lesbian encounters scrubbing their bodies down with loofahs, enthusiastic butt massaging, hypnotically-erotic dance sessions, and what seems like the main pastime at the château, indulging in languid self-pleasure between the sheets. These occur with such alarming frequency that it simply adds to the trashy charm of the film alongside the crude-if-unrelenting gore used for the kills which are given life due to the rather abundant torture tools on display. here. Though the majority of these are rather cheesy, there's a certain level of brutality inflicted in these scenes, from the assault on the patients in the garden to the utterly absolutely crazy finale where the killer strikes dozens of people across the head with a spiked mace that's rather chaotic.
These here are the film's good points that manage to hold off the few flaws present. The main issue here is that sleaze and absurdity that flow throughout here might become something that works against it when this one really gets going, fully making for a bit of overkill at times. It's quite much for some, and there's a slew of things about it that make for a challenging time. As well, the other issue here is the fact that there's no real mystery here for the strange killer running loose as it's quite obvious and doesn't come off as a surprise once it starts in, making for a little dull beginning as it sets this up which gives it away quite early. These here here it back even though there are some pretty enjoyable positives here.
Overview: ****/5
A trashy and ultra-sleazy giallo with a lot to like about it, this one comes off incredibly well in this particular style while also being somewhat let down by its presentation in the long run. Give this a watch if you’re a fan of the genre in the genre, appreciate this era of Eurohorror overall, or are fans of the creative crew while most others out there might want to heed caution.
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