Three eyes? Bad acne? Halitosis?
Oh, she’s the one with the halitosis!
Blood And Black Lace (1964) reminded me that different nations have different acting styles. I’ve commented a few times about the Japanese style, and this movie reminds me that the Italians have – or had – their own style as well.
Perhaps I’m biased, or impatient, or something, but I don’t like their style, either. I shan’t go much into it, except the emotions seem exaggerated, as if we must be bottlefed the reactions of the characters.
But beyond that, this is a very early slasher film, or giallo, in which there are many female victims of some mad killer. In this one, the victims work at a fashion salon, putting on shows, until one is beaten to death. We’re not sure why, but her secret diary is found, and that leads to another death. And then another. A few more. The police, who thought they had the killer wrapped up, are forced to admit they’ve been fooled.
Eventually, the mysterious killer is revealed, but now the killer is in some serious straits, as the killer’s lover is not entirely happy. However, a fall from a height would seem to take care of the situation, and now the lover makes plans to enjoy the wealth of the killer.
It’s not quite noir, as most of the victims are more or less innocent of any serious crimes; they merely have unhappy luck. Indeed, it’s hard for me to see a real theme in this, and so my interest is mostly kept in discovering who will be the crazed murderer – and whether or not any of the victims, who try to be combative, will actually inflict real damage on their attacker. I hate it when the bad guy is invulnerable. (I also liked Daredevil (2003) because the hero was quite a mess just from his common-criminal suppression activities.)
Do they succeed? I’ll leave you in suspense.
