Friday, October 13, 2023

70's Italian Horror Part Thirty-Two

THE DESIGNATED VICTIM
(1971)
Dir - Maurizio Lucidi
Overall: MEH
 
For his first film of the 1970s, director Maurizio Lucidi reworked Alfred Hitchcock's seminal Strangers on a Train with The Designated Victim, (La vittima designata, Slam Out); an adequate giallo variation to one of the most seminal works from the Master of Suspense.  Though visually stylish with some loud, dated set design and wonderful location shooting, Lucidi is no Hitchcock or even a non-union Italian equivalent thereof.  The entire film is thoroughly lacking in thrilling set pieces, save for the final couple of minutes where Tomas Milian's duped protagonist finally cracks under the pressure of Pierre Clémenti's disturbed, befriending manipulation.  Some of the details inherent in Fulvio Gicca Palli, Fabio Carpi, and Luigi Malerba's script are well-thought out, but the story lacks the proper momentum to keep the viewer from losing interest.  It is mostly an overly-talky affair where Milian has variations of the same conversation with everyone that he encounters, from his ill-tempered wife, to his doting mistress, to the suspicious police inspector, to Clémenti's charming sociopath.  Far from a failure, but still an unmemorable offering.

DEATH WILL HAVE YOUR EYES
(1974)
Dir - Giovanni d’Eramo
Overall: MEH

The only existing directorial effort from screenwriter Giovanni d'Eramo, Death Will Have Your Eyes, (La moglie giovane), has an unorthodox structure and some recognizable faces, but its dour story gives way to stagnant pacing issues.  Marisa Mell plays the doomed heroine; a down on her luck woman who theoretically hits it big by marrying Farley Granger's much older, wealthy doctor who for whatever reason is unable to perform sexually, leading Mell to fall in love with an attractive, far less wealthy man that is closer to her age.  Things get far more complicated in the second half though when Francisco Rabal decides to blackmail her, at which point the movie becomes monotonous in their bitter dialog with each other, which of course results in rape and murder because this is an Italian exploitation film after all.  Genre regular Helga Liné shows up in a supporting role as well, (naked of course in the very first scene), plus character actor Luciano Pigozzi makes a blink and you'll miss it appearance early on.  Very little happens throughout the running time and the more dramatic moments spring up out of nowhere, making for a confused effort, what with the non-linear storytelling in tow.
 
DR. JEKYLL LIKES THEM HOT
(1979)
Dir - Steno
Overall: MEH

On the one hand, Italian filmmaker Steno's, (Stefano Vanzina), comedic take on the Jekyll/Hyde formula is a refreshingly clever one, yet the humor itself is largely on the embarrassingly juvenile side.  The title of Dr. Jekyll Likes Them Hot, (Dottor Jekyll e gentile signora), may allude to it being a straight-ahead boner comedy and while such lighthearted horndog elements are still present, it serves better as an on-the-nose satire of corrupt capitalism.  Here, Paolo Villaggio's title character is a cartoon-villain bad guy who comes up with an elaborate scheme to maximize the profits of a drug conglomerate that he advises.  The world that everyone inhabits has become so cynical and cruel that his over-the-top vileness is not only seen as perfectly normal, but actually applaudable.  The role reversal between his two psyche manifestations occurs where his grandfather's formula turns him into a native, bumbling pacifist, at which point he sets about undoing every diabolical plot that his evil half has set in motion.  His docile demeanor is of course considered "queer" by all parties involved, which is not helped by the fact that Villaggio portrays him as an effeminate sissy who would rather read Bible verses than get in the eagerly-willing pants of sexpot scream queen Edwige Fenech.  The jokes are consistently annoying and of the "man falls down" and/or crude, terribly-aged sex gag variety, but one can at least give it props for tweaking the mythos and having a sardonic edge.

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