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Giallo A Venezia
Directed By Mario Landi
Released: 1979
Starring: Leonora Fani, Gianni Dei, Jeff Blynn, and Mariangela Giordano
Running Time: 91 minutes
DVD-R from
TRUEGORE Vintage Video
A couple, Flavia (Leonora Fani) and Fabio (Gianni Dei), are found murdered
by the shore. Strangely enough, Fabio was stabbed to death with a pair of
scissors while Flavia was drowned nearby and then her body dragged out of
the water. Police inspector DePaul (played by Jeff Blynn) begins to slowly
piece the case together with the few suspects and clues that he can find.
He uncovers that in life Fabio was a voracious sex addict whose tastes
were becoming more and more extreme with Flavia being little more than a
toy in his games. Suddenly, the killer goes on a violent and bloody
rampage against people connected to the murdered couple and it’s up to
DePaul and the Venice police to apprehend him before any more lives are
taken.
From writer Aldo Serio (Watch Me When I Kill) and director
Mario Landi (Patrick Still Lives) comes, Giallo A
Venezia, a sleazy, slimy, and truly trashy late 70s Giallo. Heavy
on sex but light on plot and logic, this is one dirty flick. Some decent
twists help the lame plot limp along until it finally sprints full speed
to the end. The gore effects are cheap but nasty enough to keep me from
complaining too much. More depressing than scary, Giallo A Venezia
is a mean-spirited and sordid little film if there ever was one. The
bipolar soundtrack ranges between utterly inappropriate disco circus music
over sex scenes to pitch perfect chilling horror string arrangements in
the stalking scenes.
The gorgeous Leonora Fani (The House by the Edge of the Lake)
plays one of the most heart-wrenching characters I’ve ever seen in a
Giallo. Flavia’s short life is quite tragic and it really shows just how
effective Fani’s performance is when I felt twinges of grief once her
story reached its conclusion. The sinister looking Gianni Dei (The
Last Round, Patrick Still Lives) who plays her
“man”, Fabio, is an equally good actor, able to portray the terrifying
aspects of sexual addiction. These two actors’ scenes together are
especially hard to watch as Fabio’s addiction becomes ever more sadistic
which leads them both down a path which will lead to their eventual
destruction. The wildly sexy Mariangela Giordano (Burial Ground)
is on hand to make things even steamier. Who or what is Jeff Blynn? Aside
from being the worst detective in Venice, Inspector DePaul also eats eggs
and sports a non-hetero disco mustache.
Giallo A Venezia? More like Porno A Venezia!
So yeah, I guess that the sex scenes are meant to show Fabio and Flavia’s
destructive relationship but under the leering eye of cinematographer
Franco Villa (Malabimba), things get pretty ridiculous after
a while. The brutality of the murders makes up for their somewhat sketchy
effects and their close proximity with the lengthy softcore scenes also
gives them a creepy edge. Giallo A Venezia is a halfway
decent Giallo that is saved by its gory violence, good acting (not from
Jeff Blynn), beautiful actresses, a bizarre musical score, and a thick
coating of Euro-sleaze. Prepare to feel dirty afterwards, I know I do.
Links:
Get this fine flick from
TRUEGORE Vintage
Video.
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