Decadence

There's a fragrance of the XIXth century decadent literature floating in the atmosphere of ll tuo vizio e una stanza chiusa e solo io ne ho la chiave (Your vice is a locked room and only I have the key, 1972 - Sergio Martino/Ernesto Gastaldi).

First this title, outrageously long, twisted and complex, which was actually taken from a dialogue between Rassimov & Fenech in Martino's first Giallo: The strange vice of Mrs. Wardh. A reflections of the twisted mind games at work in the film.

Then, the figure of the decadent writer, uninspired and bitter, who despises the others as well as himself, living in the memory of the past, in adoration with the incestuous souvenir of his mother - who from the start is described both as a Lady and a whore -, driving a somptuous 1930s black and deep blue BMW 327 and dedicated to making his wife miserable.

Also, the decaying manor, which precious furniture the writer is forced to sell as he's progressively running out of money, his mother's ancient dress secretly worn by a young black beauty tragically murdered a moment after, the masochistic wife whose life seems to be an endless tunnel of pain, and the beautiful cousin Floriana whose bisexual tendencies serve her materialistic purposes.

Not to forget Bruno Nicolai's great score, chamber music with a typical 70s erotic flavour, which distills a distinguished yet sleazy feeling to it all.

The inner violence and ambiguity of the character's relationships, and the colours, the style, the costumes, the sounds it's wrapped in make the atmosphere of this huis-clos completely suffocating.
Like a world about to collapse.


Despite being underrated, "Your vice is a locked room and only I have the key" is an original take on Giallo by Sergio Martino & Ernesto Gastaldi. Find it here.
And for the soundtrack, it's there.

La musica dello scorpione

In the shadow of Morricone, Bruno Nicolai.
A discreet person, Nicolai (1926 - 1991) is essentially known for being Ennio Morricone's conductor, even though he was also a talented composer who demonstrated his skills throughout a number of film scores, among which quite a few gialli.

"La Coda dello Scorpione" (the case of the scorpion's tail - Sergio Martino - 1971) is one of Bruno Nicolai's very interesting soundtracks, as it's a musical journey into a very diversified mix of styles, from typical italian easy listening to more experimental and intricate tunes.

The main theme in particular is a fantastic musical support for the film's opening scene, where we follow a woman wearing a large red hat in the streets of London, as if we were litterally about to knock on her shoulder. The tune, which I feel was very much ahead of its time, sounds like a crossover between Morricone, Goblin and John Carpenter.
Morricone for the use of what sounds like a harpsichord as the main instrument, the backbone of the music.
Goblin for the scary synthetic sound which blossoms in a sinister way across the score.
And Carpenter for the simplicity, the economy of superfluous effects which gives the melody incredible power and sets up the strong tension within seconds.

Rarely has a soundtrack managed to convey such a strong threatening feeling in such a classy style. Well before Goblin or Carpenter themselves.


To hear more and buy this great soundtrack, just click here.

Playing "Clue" on ecstasy

Listen to this.
It is the very morriconesque theme composed by Bruno Nicolai for Perché quelle strane gocce di sangue sul corpo di Jennifer? (Such a great title, AKA The Case of the Bloody Iris).
This picturesque soundtrack is one of the good aspects of this giallo I did not like that much.

But above all, what I found interesting about this movie is its construction around the same unique place, a modern and luxury condominium which happens to be hosting a gallery of freaks: the predatory lesbian neighbour and her strange violin-teacher father, the austere old lady hiding her hideous son in her flat, Jennifer's maniac sect-guru ex-husband, Jennifer's hysterical blonde flatmate and the typical ambiguous 911-Porsche-driver-playboy architect.

The unity in location (everything in the scenario always leads back to the building), the "overstylish" photography and these baroque characters turn this film into a rather amusing, high-on-drugs game of "Clue", where everybody can be successively suspected of being the murderer.

So watch this film as if you were playing the game and use your talents of deduction: this is a psychedelic whodunnit more than a giallo.

Some reviews acknowledge the good and bad aspects of this movie: DVD Maniacs' and Monsters at Play's, which stresses the pictural dimension of the film through its 70's imagery.
Bruno Nicolai's soundtrack is obviously worth a check.