Starring: Carroll Baker, Alan Scott and Ida Galli
From Umberto Lenzi, the director behind sleazy gialli So Sweet... So Perverse (1969) and A Quiet Place to Kill (1970), as well as the gruesome cannibal horror film Cannibal Ferox (1981), comes this surprisingly docile yet fascinating murder mystery.
Stricken mute after a traumatizing incident involving a train wreck that took the lives of her parents years ago, Martha Caldwell is living happily with her uncle in Spain until, that is, her cousin Jenny meets the grisly end of a knife, seemingly at the hands of a skulking Satanist who appears to be assaulting and murdering women for the dark lord. Now Martha finds herself targeted and stalked by this villain, but little does she knows that the serial stalker is the least of her problems...
While the overall kill count is not exactly big or splashy, which might disappoint some who are looking for a sizable slay-fest, the film showcased a rather classy and artistic look in turn, boasting cinematography that flourishes on effectively striking and inventive visuals. It even has a nice gothic tone during its night scenes, which plays nicely whenever the story tackles its devil worship sub-plot, adding a welcome supernatural taste that not a lot of early giallo titles have. Quite frankly, Knife of Ice (1972) is simply a gorgeous film to look at.
Perhaps not the most well known giallo, nor is it the most exploitative, Knife of Ice (1972) is an immediate favorite for me still, a wild card choice outside the usual Argento and Bava titles that pretty much shows that you don't always need gallons of blood or shlocky sleaze for a piece of Italian horror cinema to work. This tame yet engaging a piece of Italian whodunit, as flawed as it may be, is still worth a watch and I welcome any curious cats to try this one out!
Intriguing and moderately twisted, Knife of Ice (1972) takes a rather high emphasis on building a mystery and the unforeseen surprises that come along with it, trading away exploitative elements of grandeur murder set-pieces and titillating sleaze for a more grueling, intimidating and focused plot with good execution and a generous amount of collusions as each character is suspected for possibly heinous ulterior motives. The focal point of the mystery may have started with a local hippy who practices Satanism, it eventually unravels into a web of false leads, baseless accusations and even more murders, boiling down to a clever twist in the end that ties all loose ends and reveal a shocking truth about the killings.
While the overall kill count is not exactly big or splashy, which might disappoint some who are looking for a sizable slay-fest, the film showcased a rather classy and artistic look in turn, boasting cinematography that flourishes on effectively striking and inventive visuals. It even has a nice gothic tone during its night scenes, which plays nicely whenever the story tackles its devil worship sub-plot, adding a welcome supernatural taste that not a lot of early giallo titles have. Quite frankly, Knife of Ice (1972) is simply a gorgeous film to look at.
The actors also put up a fine performance, too, particularly Carroll Baker who plays our mute lead with a wide range of expression and body language, though her best acting chops shine during the many scenes her character is in fear or is frustrated as the crimes begin to circulate her life, evoking much empathy as she is greatly portrayed here to be sweet and likeable. Have all of this running on a decent pace that evens out the plot pretty well and you have a movie that goes through its twists and turns, as well as its brooding conundrum quite smoothly.
Perhaps not the most well known giallo, nor is it the most exploitative, Knife of Ice (1972) is an immediate favorite for me still, a wild card choice outside the usual Argento and Bava titles that pretty much shows that you don't always need gallons of blood or shlocky sleaze for a piece of Italian horror cinema to work. This tame yet engaging a piece of Italian whodunit, as flawed as it may be, is still worth a watch and I welcome any curious cats to try this one out!
Bodycount:
1 female knifed
1 female had her throat slashed with knife
1 girl strangled
Total: 3
Sounds interesting - I've not even heard of it before though.
ReplyDeleteit's pretty rare. there's barely anyone talking about it. shame, though, it's really good!
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