Director: Harald Reinl
Year: 1962
Country: West Germany/Spain/Italy
Alternate Titles: Der Teppich des Grauens
Genre: Krimi
Plot:
After being targeted by a criminal, a detective notices a special pattern with a secret chemical agent linking him to a killing spree against an organization that is targeted by the madman, forcing him to play up a series of red herrings to find the actual mastermind behind everything.
Review:
Overall, this turned out to be a fairly strong and enjoyable krimi entry. One of the finer aspects of this one is the generally solid storyline featuring some engaging mystery elements alongside the stalking scenes. The main mystery here involving the killer targeting people with a special chemical found in a series of tablets left on carpets or rugs found in the home of his targets as a means of revenge for a previous deal gone wrong, which is the series of clues that need to be unraveled throughout the film. It’s a fun enough means that allows for the series of investigations that go on here, from the chemical tablets that the killer uses to the targets bearing a connection to the shady hotel owner and the man trying to worm his way into her life to ensure her cooperation when he takes her inheritance for himself, serving a rather fun time here as the purpose of everything is revealed.
This is quite enjoyably handled with the inspector and his assistant working over the case while trying to avoid the killer’s wrath. Knowing what they’re capable of from the strong opening shots of the killer tablets working on the victims to take them out in agonizing fashion, this one has the gruesome method of execution in place, so that the later scenes of the various figures trying to get their hands on the clues that will point them in the direction of the killer. With the gradual revelation of the criminal mastermind behind the crimes looking to work his way through the agents chasing after him, and the different relationships that are explored while trying to protect the girl who’s at the forefront of things, this one comes off incredibly well in regards to keeping the mystery going throughout here. As the final revelation also manages to bring about the killers’ identity and the series of chases needed to bring them down, there’s enough to like within this one.
There are some issues here keeping it down. Among the biggest drawbacks to be had is the unnecessary and generally convoluted plot that works best with its criminal underworld storyline, but has too many secondary storyline beats to be of much interest. A wholly maddening subplot about the detective and the niece coming together in marriage as a means of convenience makes little sense logistically, as well as being of much importance in the film proper, so to find it introduced in the span of three days feels quite off-putting. The tension with the various assistants and partners in the area, trying to keep their secret alignments, revolves around bland, never-ending conversations that just don’t go anywhere with the main storyline of the investigation into the criminal ring. It all just makes for a wholly overwhelming time trying to make sense of the story with everything going on, and with some leaps of logic trying to make sense of the killers’ method of dispatching everyone gives this some drawbacks.
Overview: ***/5
A convoluted if still overall enjoyable krimi, this comes off well enough for what it is, as there’s quite a lot to like with only the main issue here holding it back in the end. Those with an interest in this particular genre, who enjoy this era of Eurohorror, or are fans of the creative crew, will have the most to like here, while most others out there should stick to higher-ranked titles in the series first before going for this one.
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