La perversa señora Ward

My old buddy Rob, who knows more about "psychotronic" movies than anybody I know, recently e-mailed me to rave about a film he'd just seen, "The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh" (1970). He urged me to put this Italian thriller, of the kind nowadays called "giallo," on my list of films to rent. Well, I'd never heard of this movie before, and my list of films to rent right now is pretty darn long, but, believing that there's always room for giallo (ouch!), I put it right at the top of my rental list, and boy, am I ever glad I did! "Mrs. Wardh" turns out to be a very suspenseful, stylish, sexy and violent thriller that really does keep you guessing. In it, Edwige Fenech plays the wife of a stockbroker, living in Austria, who becomes the target of a serial slasher (as has been pointed out elsewhere, those giallo killers really do seem to gravitate toward the ol' straight-edge razor, for some reason). I hadn't seen Ms. Fenech in anything before, but can understand now why she is such a beloved cult actress in Europe. She is remarkably attractive in this film, at 22 years of age, and a modern-day interview with the actress, included on this DVD from the fine folks at No Shame, reveals that she is, astonishingly, still quite beautiful today, 35 years later. Anyway, besides Fenech's exquisite presence, this film boasts gorgeous location shooting in Vienna and Sitges (near Barcelona), Spain, as well as trippy background music that will haunt your memory for days. The film is atmospheric as can be and has been directed with style to spare by Sergio Martino. I guarantee you won't foresee any of the twists and turns that this ingeniously plotted film dishes out. It's a real winner. Thanks, Rob!