This is one of those movies that I have seen around for years but I never got around to checking out. I didn't know much about it other than the fact that it seemed to be in a lot of public domain budget DVD piles and the cover art that I have seen in the past was always cheesy and unappealing. When Glenn Danzig picked up the title for release on his short-lived Sinema Diablo label, my interest was piqued but rumours of a terrible transfer and the unconfirmed possibility that the version was cut kept me away. Earlier this year, NoShame re-released the movie in a fully uncut form in some beautiful packaging coupled with The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (from the same director) that I simply couldn't pass up.

The movie opens with a quick chase scene at a mental hospital after which we meet our main character Alan (Anthony Steffen) and a prostitute named Polly (Maria Teresa Tofano) who are en route to Alan's castle in the country. After a few minutes of Polly traipsing around topless, Alan begins to whip her and then proceeds to kill her. This opening sequence serves the purpose of titillating the audience and establishing that Alan has some mental issues. These stem from the fact that his late wife Evelyn betrayed him in some way which led to something terrible happening in the garden on their estate. Alan now has a bad habit of picking up redhead prostitutes (including the luscious Erica Blanc who performs a striptease out of a coffin) that remind him of Evelyn and murdering them. After a while, Alan hooks up with a woman at a party (Marina Malfatti) who appears to have cured him but this is short-lived as he is soon plagued by visions of Evelyn who appears to have returned from the grave to haunt him for eternity.

While at first glance, this seems like a horror movie that combines the slasher and supernatural genres, I began to realize that it was more like a giallo as the film progressed. All the elements of a good giallo are present including red herrings, nudity, gore, and a few creative deaths (including a nasty sequence where a character is torn apart and consumed by a pack of foxes). I find that what can often make or break a film like this is the pacing and the cohesiveness of the plot. Director Emilio Miraglia keeps things moving along and it doesn't feel like there is ever a period of five minutes without a naked or scantily clad actress prancing around on the screen. While this certainly kept me interested, the story is quite intriguing as we are never quite sure what was going on in Alan's head as he clearly had issues. This is not to say that the film leaves us hanging as we end up with a satisfying conclusion that, while not entirely original, was a fitting ending to the tale of a tortured killer and his penchant for redheads. Although there are a few plot points that I thought were left in the dust, I found that these abandoned subplots did not have me waking in the middle of the night wondering why they weren't resolved.

The art direction courtesy of Lorenzo Baraldi is another aspect that sets this film apart as many of the scenes take place in huge rooms in the castle filled with large pieces of artwork on the walls as well as statues and medieval paraphernalia. This style is combined with a more contemporary look in other scenes where we are treated to some kitchy 70's furniture and interior design particularly in one of the first scenes in the movie and one of the last. Baraldi also designed the costumes which are very complimentary to the women in the film with a white nightgown on Malfatti standing out as an especially sexy piece of clothing. The cinematography from Gastone Di Giovanni adds to the style of the film with some creative shots and compositions.

Overall, this is a decent giallo that was nothing like what I was expecting and the cover art I remember as being so silly in the past is now kind of cool after I have checked out the film. If you like creepy castles, graveyards, psychedelic music, scantily clad babes, and the genre in general, you will dig this film.

Steffen was in a ton of spaghetti westerns including a few Django knockoffs. Malfatti was in some other gialli including Umberto Lenzi's Seven Blood-Stained Orchids and Sergio Martino's All The Colors of the Dark. Erica Blanc was also in a number of spaghetti westerns but giallo fans will recognize her from Mario Bava's Kill, Baby... Kill! (along with co-star Giacomo Rossi Stuart). (Josh Pasnak, 5/3/07)

Directed By: Emilio Miraglia.
Written By: Massimo Felisatti, Fabio Pittorru, Emilio Miraglia.

Starring: Anthony Steffen, Marina Malfatti, Giacomo Rossi Stuart, Erica Blanc.