Director: Alfred Vohrer
Year: 1963
Country: West Germany
Alternate Titles: Das indische Tuch
Genre: Krimi
Plot:
Following the death of their patriarch, a family is brought together at his estate to read out the reading of his will that provides a series of instructions for how his property is to be divided, but when a killer starts knocking off the family must solve their identity before it’s too late.
Review:
Overall, this was a fairly solid and likable enough feature. Among the better elements present here is the immensely effective and enjoyable setup, which plays well with the confines of the genre. The central setup involving the haunted family with a laundry list of closeted secrets and suspicions against each other forced to spend the week in a creepy Gothic mansion to see out how much of an inheritance they receive from a recently-deceased family member only to find themselves being picked off one-by-one by a savage killer makes for a prime starting point within here in terms of getting the group out to the remote location, away from help, and subject to a threatening incident that could potentially ruin them. This series of introductory work at the beginning serves to get a handle on who each of the family members is, what their connection to each other is, and why they’d want to get their hands on the money potentially left behind, creating a healthy roster of red herrings to be brought up throughout the film that gives everything a fun touch.
As well, there’s also the more enjoyable and immensely likable series of interactions with the family spying on each other or coming across the killer proper. With the castle grounds where the family is staying under the guise of the inheritance to be read out, this quickly delves into a series of impressive setpieces showing them targeting each other in clandestine conversations or snooping on each other using a series of secret tunnels found throughout the house, focusing on bringing the killer into their room at any time he wants. This helps to add a touch of Gothic horror atmosphere to the proceedings, much like the stalking scenes that feature a solid string of stalking setpieces involving the killer’s point of view coming upon the victim from behind, twirling an Indian scarf that offers up some fantastic scenes throughout here. From scenes in the hallway of the house emerging from the paintings to ensnare a victim, an attack using the fog of a sauna to obscure an attack, or coming across a victim disguised as a stone statue, this has some enjoyable setpieces that prepare this one for a strong overall presentation.
There are a few minor drawbacks on display that hold it back. The main issue here is the ease with which the killer can be guessed, which makes the mystery part less interesting than it should be. The whole killer plot is handled well, regarding the multitude of red herrings present, but the fact that this features a specific scene involving the killer spying on a victim through secret peepholes is held up when a clear focus on the eye color can determine the culprit quite easily. That makes much of the questioning and different scenes with the family trying to worm out the killer for themselves feel quite underwhelming when the real person is quite easy to guess, being a major letdown given the genre's biggest factors. The other issue here is that the structure and storyline are pretty familiar and handles itself comfortably due to a multitude of other features copying this structure afterward, so it all comes with plenty of familiar elements that different films have utilized afterward. It's not a major issue, but it does hold this one back.
Overview: ****/5
One of the better efforts in the style, this is a wholly enjoyable and effective Krimi with a lot to hold it up over a few minor issues present throughout here. Those with an appreciation for this kind of genre fare, who are fans of Eurohorror in general, or who are curious about it, will have the most to like here, while most others should heed slight caution.
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