Torso
AKA I Corpi Presentano Tracce Di Violenza Carnale
Directed By Sergio Martino
Released: 1973
Starring Suzy Kendall, Tina Aumont, John Richardson, and Roberto Bisacco
Running Time: 92 minutes
DVD Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment

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After her friends Flo (Patrizia Adiutori) and Carol (Conchita Airoldi) are brutally murdered, Daniela (Tina Aumont) takes her three remaining friends (Jane, Ursula, and Katia) out to her uncle’s villa out in the country to hide out. What Daniela doesn’t know is that her stalker, Stefano (Roberto Bisacco) has followed them out to the villa. After twisting her ankle in a nasty fall, Jane (Suzy Kendall) is given painkillers by Dr. Roberto (Luc Merenda) to help her sleep. Just as she goes to bed, the masked killer shows up and ravages his way through the villa unaware of Jane’s presence. The next morning, Jane wakes up to find herself in terrible danger as the killer is still inside the house. Now, she must find out what happened to her friends as well as find a way out without being detected.

This nutty giallo is directed by the great Sergio Martino (Case Of The Scorpion’s Tail). Torso is sumptuously filmed by cinematographer Giancarlo Ferrando and loaded with sex and violence. The bountiful gore effects are decent but don’t stand out very much and the soundtrack isn’t particularly memorable. Oddly enough, the direction isn’t as tight as Martino’s other gialli but I think the blame lies on the weak plotting. The film makes up (well, it tries to anyway) for its shortcomings with an air of morbid perversion and sleaziness.

Torso sports a great cast mostly populated by beautiful ladies including Conchita Airoldi (The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh) whose death scene in the swamp is the most brutal in the film. The gorgeous and sorely underused actress, Carla Brait (The Case of the Bloody Iris), is in this one as Ursula and Angela Covello (So Sweet, So Dead) plays her girlfriend, Katia. And of course, Suzy Kendall (The Bird with the Crystal Plummage, Spasmo) plays Jane, the damsel in distress flawlessly yet again. And what giallo would be complete without a 3 second strangulation scene? Patrizia Adiutori plays Flo, a woman whose neck is impossibly fragile. Poor thing.

The first hour of the film, while stylish to an almost unbelievable degree, still meanders between its excellent kill scenes. More concerned with hookers in hot pants, the loose ways of hippies, exploitative lesbian sex, and the debate over the color of the killer’s scarf than a substantial plot, Torso will try some viewers’ patience. Of course, those looking for some irresponsible entertainment won’t even bat an eyelash. Luckily, the final third of Torso makes up for any missteps in the first hour. This vastly redeeming section explodes with unbearable tension, twisted horror, and wild violence where even the most frayed of loose threads comes together excellently.

Although I like it’s literally translated Italian title, "The Bodies Bear Traces of Carnal Violence", much better, I guess Torso works. Giallo fans may be annoyed by the total flippancy of the story but Slasher fans should be right at home with this one. I actually found myself cheering during the showdown between the hero (I won’t say who) and the killer (ditto). Their fight scene is one of the better choreographed scraps I’ve seen in a giallo. Plus, the scenes where Jane (Kendall) is trapped inside the house with the killer are perfectly executed. Brainless kicks for Eurohorror folks with tons of eye candy and sick thrills... Oh yeah.