Witchfinder General 666 The great Umberto Lenzi is undeniably one of the most versatile and multi-talented Italian genre directors, having contributed to almost all (sub-)genres of Italian cult-cinema. While he is probably best-known for his notoriously brutal Cannibal movies MANGIATI VIVI (EATEN ALIVE BY THE CANNIBALS, 1980) and CANNIBAL FEROX (MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY, 1981), his greatest films (in my opinion) are those from the 70s. For my money, Lenzi's greatest films are his Poliziotteschi, above all the gritty and brutal masterpiece MILANO ODIA - LA POLIZIA NON PUÒ SPARARE (ALMOST HUMAN, 1974), followed by his Gialli, most notably the great and incredibly elegant SETTE ORCHIDEE MACCHIATE DI ROSSO (SEVEN BLOOD-STAINED ORCHIDS, 1972). While Lenzi's films have the just reputation of being among the grittiest and most uncompromisingly violent ones in Italian cult-cinema, this is not necessarily true for his Gialli. The great Giallo-genre is generally a violent, sleazy and often sexist one, and while Lenzi's genre-contributions do employ sleaze and violence, they are comparatively tame withing the Giallo genre. Especially this IL COLTELLO DI GIACCHIO aka. KNIFE OF ICE (1972) is a convoluted and plot-based Giallo which is practically sleaze-less and rather low on brutality.Caroll Baker, the star of Lenzi's early Gialli ORGASMO (1969) and PARANOIA (1970) plays Martha, a woman who was traumatized and left mute after witnessing the death of her parents at age thirteen. She lives with her uncle in a mansion in the Spanish countryside when her cousin is stabbed to death by a maniacal killer. What first appears to be the deed of a sex-maniac turns out to become a series of attacks with everybody involved being a possible suspect/victim...1972 was probably THE golden year for the Giallo-genre with several of the greatest genre-masterpieces being released (e.g. Sergio Martino's IL TUO VIZIO È UNA STANZA CHIUSA E SOLO IO NÈ HO LA CHIAVE, Lucio Fulci's NON SI SEVIZIA UN PAPERINO, Massimo Dallamano's COSA AVETE FATTO A SOLANGE?, Emilio Miraglia's LA DAMA ROSSA UCCIDE SETTE VOLTE, etc). While KNIFE OF ICE is not one of the absolute highlights of this great year of the Giallo, it is a good and very suspenseful one. As usual for the genre, the film is elegantly filmed and supported by a good (though not exceptional) score. The film has a gloomy atmosphere, and many the protagonists are likable, which makes the easy to root for. The fact that most of the murders are off-screen is one of the major letdown, especially for fans of the Giallo-typical elegantly gory murders. This is one of several Gialli that touch the subject of Satanism, even though it isn't as important as in some others (such as Sergio Martino's TUTTI I COLORI DEL BUIO). Caroll Baker is good in her role, as are most of the other actors. Overall, this isn't one of my favorite films from Lenzi, but it is a more than decent Giallo that my fellow fans of the Genre shouldn't miss.

Scarecrow-88 Soloist Jenny (Ida Galli) returns home to her sister, mute Martha (Carroll Baker), falling victim to a knife-murderer who could be a Devil worshiper with "crazy eyes". Martha's trauma derives from being thrown from a train by her father before it crashes; Martha watched as the train, carrying her parents, crashed killing them. The number of suspects emerge in Umberto Lenzi's intricately plotted giallo (convoluted as giallo fans come to expect) where a small Italian village is overtaken with fear as not only was Jenny killed but another "fair-haired girl" found not far from the château where Martha and her Uncle Ralph (George Rigaud) reside. Martha has a psycho-therapist, Dr. Laurent (Alan Scott), an eligible bachelor well known in the village nearby the Caldwell château. Eduardo Fajardo has another one of his customary creepy roles as the Caldwells' (in particular, Martha's) strange driver who seems to be hiding something. Fajardo's Marcos gives off a malevolent presence, which typical of the giallo standards, means he's a red herring. Silvia Monelli is the Caldwells' maid-servant, Annie Britton, who becomes another of the knife-maniac's many selected victims for execution. Franco Fantasia is Inspector Duran, becoming burdened by the inability to catch the psychopath. Uncle Ralph, with an interest in all things occult, is ill (his heart) and could die any day, which means that Martha could soon be alone, with only Marcos left to aid her. Lenzi's gialli have a tendency, more often than not, to bare more emphasis on the procedural, the plot details, than violence. There's even one scene where Inspector Durant has those present when a little girl—a Catholic school girl—was killed recreate their movements during the time of crime. Of course with a lot of Lenzi's giallo thrillers, there's a psychological angle at work: this movie concerns Baker's Martha who often experiences memories which trouble her. Whether it be of her sister or a matador killing a bull or the wicked eyes of a local Devil worshiper, Martha seems awestruck by each memory when it emerges. These memories could contribute somehow to the murders—that's obviously Lenzi's intention or they wouldn't be of such consequence to the overall character and story. Oh, and no true giallo would be complete without the wacky twist which feels like it was tacked on at the last minute, the reasons behind the murders explained extensively. Carroll Baker has practically no dialogue, until the very end that is, and when she does it's unfortunately a corny rhyme describing her future fate. Baker is still lovely, although the movie doesn't exploit her usual willingness to get naked—Baker's period in Italy was coming to a close, KNIFE OF ICE another collaboration between her and Lenzi. KNIFE OF ICE isn't overly violent or sleazy, more dependent on the plot, not exactly what a majority of the die-hard fanbase looks for, to tell you the truth. I'm not sure KNIFE OF ICE will be among any giallo enthusiast's top favorites, but we are a curious breed who seek to find even the most obscure, lesser known of the genre, so maybe this film is worth the pursuit if you can find it (unlike other Lenzi gialli in his oeuvre, KNIFE OF ICE has become accessible).

EVOL666 Despite the fact that KNIFE OF ICE was very tame in the sex and sleaze departments (virtually no bloodshed and no nudity whatsoever...) I found this one to be a decent enough entry in the genre. Martha is a mute who became that way after a train accident killed her parents 15 years earlier. Her cousin comes to stay with her and her father, and ends up murdered. This of course leads to all the typical giallo-style investigations and 'red herrings' that most fans crave...I will say that I was disappointed in the lack of gore and nudity in this entry (especially coming from Lenzi who helmed such sleaze 'classics' as CANNIBAL FEROX and EATEN ALIVE) -but of the several giallo-films that I've seen lately-I was thankful that the pace was relatively quick, and the storyline pretty straight-forward. I tend to like gialli overall, but I find that many get caught up in such convoluted plots that they tend to weigh the film down. I will say that for me at least, I guessed the killer pretty much right off the bat- but that's not to say that the film is exactly 'predictable'. Overall a decent entry that I'd recommend to fans of the genre. 7/10

MARIO GAUCI The third Lenzi giallo I've watched after having attended screenings of ORGASMO (1969; incidentally another of his collaborations with star Carroll Baker) and SPASMO (1974) during the Italian B-movie retrospective at the 2004 Venice Film Festival; they're not the best examples of the genre by far, but neither are they among the worst.I recall ORGASMO being pretty complex, while SPASMO was weird without being especially compelling (though I did watch it as part of an all-night marathon that ended at 8:00 and where the screening of Lenzi's film was interrupted a couple of times because of trouble with the print!). As for the film in question, it's basically a retread of Robert Siodmak's noir-ish masterpiece THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE (1946) - which Lenzi himself had singled out as his favorite film during one of the many Press Conferences he gave (along with colleagues Sergio Martino and Enzo G. Castellari) during the Festival: Baker plays a mute, the main setting is an upper-class household in a small rural town, the climax occurs during a thunderstorm and, of course, there's a serial killer on the loose! The narrative also takes in drug addiction and devil worship, but these emerge as mere red herrings.Still, for a giallo, it's pretty bloodless and, to be honest, its attempt at psychology - demonstrated by frequent abrupt cutting in which Baker has flashes from her past, as well as the various victims at their moment of death, and the possible perpetrator - is not only unconvincing but becomes a repetitive device with little purpose (given the final revelation)! As a matter of fact, this particular twist was re-used in SPASMO; still, the obligatory explanation offered here is a little weak but, then, this form of coda seldom worked within the confines of the giallo subgenre! Besides, the score is undistinguished and the casting merely okay: Georges Rigaud (as Baker's ageing uncle, who has a heart condition which he ultimately uses to his own advantage!), Eduardo Fajardo (as a sinister-looking chauffeur), Evelyn Stewart, etc.