A rather predictable and light giallo yarn from genre specialist Umberto Lenzi, who creates a typical and unsurprising addition to the series which mixes an investigation with a series of elaborate murders. The film starts off well with the sleazy opening shots of a naked prostitute being lured to a bludgeoning and further nasty murders following. We then become involved in the investigation by one of the victims (who survived her attack but pretends to be dead) into the connection between all the slaughtered women, and it turns out that an event occurring in a hotel years previously links all the victims together. Together with her husband, she must try and prevent the living women from being slaughtered and try and find out the identity of the mysterious American with the silver half-moon key ring.
Unfortunately after the excellent first half-hour the film becomes less impressive and a little muddled in its exploration of potential suspects and hidden half-truths and mysteries. Thankfully Lenzi ties everything together for a rousing woman-in-peril finale which makes good use of a hand-to-hand fight scene in a swimming pool. The music is at times effective and the movie well photographed, but it's the Edgar Wallace-inspired plot which keeps it watchable throughout. The heroic leading man part is taken by the slightly wooden Antonio Sabato who fares passably but not brilliantly with the part, but as ever with these gialli he's supported by a pleasing cast of Italian females including Uschi Glas, Marisa Mell, and Rossella Falk. The set-piece murders are imaginative and not too gory, with one notable exception being the death-by-drill which is pretty nasty, splattery stuff. Not Lenzi's best giallo but a solid entry in the genre which at least looks good and passes the time amiably enough.
Unfortunately after the excellent first half-hour the film becomes less impressive and a little muddled in its exploration of potential suspects and hidden half-truths and mysteries. Thankfully Lenzi ties everything together for a rousing woman-in-peril finale which makes good use of a hand-to-hand fight scene in a swimming pool. The music is at times effective and the movie well photographed, but it's the Edgar Wallace-inspired plot which keeps it watchable throughout. The heroic leading man part is taken by the slightly wooden Antonio Sabato who fares passably but not brilliantly with the part, but as ever with these gialli he's supported by a pleasing cast of Italian females including Uschi Glas, Marisa Mell, and Rossella Falk. The set-piece murders are imaginative and not too gory, with one notable exception being the death-by-drill which is pretty nasty, splattery stuff. Not Lenzi's best giallo but a solid entry in the genre which at least looks good and passes the time amiably enough.