Director: Alberto De Martino
Year: 1972
Country: Italy/Belgium
Alternate Titles: L'assassino... è al telefono; Scenes from a Murder; The Final Curtain
Genre: Giallo
Plot:
After arriving in Italy, an actress suffers a case of amnesia struggles to regain her memory and forcing her friends to try to help her, which soon unravels a mystery involving a renowned assassin hunting her down and sending her on a quest to figure out who he is before he kills her.
Review:
Overall, this was a fairly solid if somewhat problematic genre effort. Among the better features of this one is the manner in which this sets a strong central premise in motion. The idea of her suffering from amnesia and being unable to come to terms with anything that’s happened in the last few years as a result starts this off rather nicely with a great space for introducing an intriguing mystery to carry out the rest of the film. The threat of wondering whether the killer is going to catch up to what she knows, the plight of her friends to get her the treatment she needs to regain the locked away memories she has of them, or to continue the play she’s supposed to star in creates a fine starting point here that’s immensely fun to see start up in this selection of the film, much like the idea of realizing that the killer has caught on to what’s happening and sets out to keep her silenced forever.
This allows for a somewhat intriguing set of slashing scenes to come as we follow the hitman around trying to carry out the mission. The constant shots of the imposing figure standing around watching her interact with others, ready to produce the trust switch-knife at the proper moment, or carrying out clandestine meetings with the criminal group using him, provide a solid framework for the few times when he tries to ambush her around the city. While some of these interactions are nothing more than fake-outs for the play she’s supposed to be performing in, the idea is solid enough that they remain quite thrilling until the reveal, as it all comes together in the fun finale involving the chase through the empty theater. With some solid tension in the silence of the majestic hall, the idea of the killer finally closing in and making a move on her, and the inability to get to safety in the twisting labyrinth of the situation, the chases are rather fun and bring some great energy to this one that’s been somewhat lacking in the rest of the film leading to some enjoyable factors.
There are some factors here that hold this one back. One of the main issues here is the fact that it’s just so slow and barely functioning that there’s a chance to lose interest in this one rather easily. The main culprit of that is the genuine lack of action until the final half, as the film is far more concerned with the kind of interactions designed to regain her memory so that she can unravel the mystery, yet that ends up focusing on her being an unbearably unlikable figure who toys with people’s emotions in a manipulative manner to uncover their true intentions. Whether it’s sleeping with people to then claim after the fact that she remembered there was a spark in their relationship or withholding pieces of evidence from others to see if their story matches hers, this factor becomes the primary focus here instead of seeing the killer strike frequently. That manages to make the tempo of this one go by with such slowness that it’s hard to be invested in the killer’s antics.
Overview: **.5/5
A generally intriguing if somewhat flawed genre effort, there are some worthwhile elements on display here that come together to hold it up against the big flaws that bring it down. Those with an interest in the style presented here, who are general fans of Eurohorror or who are fans of the creative crew, will want to give this a shot, while most others should heed caution.
This review is part of our ongoing series of reviews for Italian Horror Month, every November on the site:
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