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Amuck!
AKA Alla Ricerca Del Piacere
Directed By Silvio Amadio
Released: 1972
Starring: Barbara Bouchet, Farley Granger, Rosalba Neri, and Petar
Martinovitch
Running Time: 98 minutes
DVD Released By Eurovista
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Greta Franklin (played by Barbara Bouchet) has just
begun her work as secretary for eccentric author, Richard Stuart (Farley
Granger). Richard and his wife, Eleanora (Rosalba Neri), are perverts and
druggies who try to include Greta in their decadence. What the couple don’t
realize is that Greta only took the job in order to find out what happened
to her friend Sally, the Stuarts' previous secretary who recently disappeared. The closer
Greta gets to the truth, the more she begins to sense that she may be in grave danger.
This lurid psychosexual Giallo is quite a little gem. Director Silvio Amadio
(So Young, So Lovely, So Vicious...)
takes a routine thriller and really cranks up the tension. The stunning
camera work and the moody lighting are both fine. The editing is also very
good with some excellent slow motion sequences. Composer Teo Usuelli creates
a slithery and sexy soundtrack for Amuck!
which I hope will turn up in someone’s mp3 blog. Heh heh heh. Anyway… The film’s
only drawback is its pacing. Though I wouldn't call it interminable,
Amuck!
hardly lives up to the exclamation mark in its title and viewers will have
to be patient with this one.
The cast of
Amuck! is an absolute dream. The luscious duo, Barbara Bouchet
and Rosalba Neri have also appeared together in the awful
French Sex Murders
but this film is where their unbelievably hot… um… chemistry is given a
chance to light up the screen. I’m intrigued by actress Patrizia Viotti who
plays Greta’s missing friend, Sally Reece. It is a shame that this actress
disappeared off the scene shortly after this film. Her character’s fate is
especially heartbreaking and grim and is well played by Viotti.
Farley Granger, is that even your real name? This guy has some serious
street cred with appearances in everything from
So Sweet, So Dead
to They Call Me Trinity
to What Have They Done To Your Daughters?
Granger plays Richard Stuart, the smuggest bastard on Earth. Stuart’s
relationship with the drugged up and ESP fit-having sex fiend, Eleanora, makes for some
pretty decadent viewing. And then there’s Nino Segurini (Beyond
The Door) stoically playing one of
Venice’s finest in clip-on sunglasses. And last but not least, there’s the
wildly prolific character actor, Umberto Raho (The
Bird With The Crystal Plumage), as the
scheming butler.
Although it is fairly low on the bloodshed, the ample female nudity and some
really twisted sex games (with often violent consequences) put this film in
a very trashy place. But as usual, it’s the delivery that counts. Amadio’s
Amuck!
is an erotic Giallo with some eerie scenes, cool twists, and is actually a pretty
melancholy viewing experience (despite its satisfying conclusion) which I always enjoy for some reason. One of the things
I love about this film is that the moment Greta sets foot in the Stuarts’
house, she is immediately in danger. And watching as she is seduced by Richard
and Eleanora’s evil is some dang wicked stuff.
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DVD Stuff:
Oh Lord, deliver us from this full frame print!
While still easily watchable, I can only hope that somebody somewhere has
a copy of this film in its proper aspect ratio. Well, until that print
magically appears, we have Eurovista’s disc to keep us company. The print
on this disc (obviously from an old VHS) is terribly scratched, damaged,
and faded. The good news is that the English audio is in pretty good
shape. More good news is that the film appears to be the uncut version so damn it, where
else are you going to find that? The extras include two excellent video
interviews with Rosalba Neri and Barbara Bouchet. 30 years later and these
women are still captivating!
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Links:
Get Amuck!
on DVD from
Xploited Cinema.
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Quotes:
Party Guest: “Ooh, I love fairies tale.”
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