Naked Girl Murdered in the Park

Well, my relationship with Giallo thus far has been so good that I wouldn't hesitate to name this sort of film as my favourite - but I was bound to come up against a completely redundant one before long, and that's exactly what we have here. Naked Girl Killed in the Park is as uninspiring as its title, which is unfortunate as the plot itself is ripe for springing a good Giallo from. We follow the murder of a rich man whose body was found on an amusement park ride. The most intriguing thing about this murder is that the man has just completed a one million dollar life insurance deal! Naturally, the insurance company isn't too keen on paying out after such a short period of time, so they send out their best agent; who starts his investigation by infiltrating the family and seducing the youngest daughter. Director Alfonso Brescia continually fails to generate any suspense and/or intrigue - and this means that the resulting film is really rather boring. The music rarely fits what's on screen - and the film also seems bathed in the score, rather than having the two exist in harmony.

The murders are far too tame, and while some blood wouldn't have saved the movie; it would have garnered it slightly more praise at least. The acting is mostly terrible, with Robert Hoffman (A Black Veil for Lisa, Spasmo) not doing brilliantly in leading a cast of unknowns with his under-wrought performance. The title of the film does come true as a naked dead girl does turn up in a park; but it's over half way through before that happens, and since the murder that kicks the plot off involves a rich man and a carnival, it makes you wonder why this title was chosen - probably to drag in more viewers. The plot is not very well handled at all, and I spent most of the film wondering what exactly was going on. It's not long before the movie starts to get boring, and it's that reason that is responsible for not even the rather good ending making any sort of impression on this Giallo fan. Overall, Naked Girl Killed in the Park is the worst Giallo I've seen so far - and while I don't doubt that there are worse films lurking in the wilderness of the Italian thriller, this one certainly isn't worth tracking down.

An elderly gentleman with a life insurance for a million dollars is found shot dead in the amusement park - on the same day he signed the document. The insurance company doesn't think this is a coincidence and puts their best man, Chris Bayer, on the case, competing with the police inspector as to who'll solve the case first. The smart insurance agent seduces both (!) daughters of the deceased, but despite his, um, "efforts", soon there are more deaths in the family...

Suspenseful, even if unnecessarily confused thriller by frequent filmmaker Alfonso Brescia, who had an excellent cast at his disposal, including Bond villain Adolfo Celi, Robert Hoffmann, Irena Demick ("The Sicilian Clan"), character actor Philippe Leroy and the stunning Pilar Velasquez. The versatile Leroy is rather wasted here, though.

Lurid (and inaccurate - it's an old man fully dressed who is killed in a park; a naked woman IS killed much later, but nowhere near a park) title for a tepid thriller, though it does have three exceptionally good-looking women (including a "mother" who is about the same age as her daughters!), a couple of original / outrageous twists, and some dizzying camerawork at the end. **1/2 out of 4.

This early '70s giallo from director Alfonso Brescia does indeed feature a naked girl killed in a park. Prior to her untimely demise, the woman in question, rich bitch Barbara Wallenberger (Patrizia Adiutori), also sheds her clothes for a romp in the hay with her stable boy Günther (Howard Ross) and gets jiggy with insurance investigator Chris Buyer (Robert Hoffmann), who is on the scene to probe into the mysterious death of her businessman father Johan. Ladies' man Chris also gets to romp in the sack with Barbara's beautiful brunette sister Catherine (Pilar Velázquez), meaning that those looking for some T&A to go with their murder/mystery are more than catered for.

But while Brescia delivers in the boobs and bums department, he doesn't do so well when it comes to the intrigue, the brutality, or the sense of style that is synonymous with the genre. His film is visually bland, the plot is mediocre at best, and the death scenes lack imagination (and gore), making this far from essential viewing for giallo fans. As is usually the case with such films, some fun can be gleaned from trying to figure out who the killer is, although the motive is so abstruse that correctly predicting the murderer's identity is unlikely (it's even harder to guess if watching the atrocious VHS-quality pan and scan version I originally found, which was not just missing most of the nudity, but also the all-important wartime prologue).

A man is murdered on a carnival ride, and his daughter (Pilar Velazquez) starts getting terrifying telephone calls. She's soon stalked by a mysterious man in black.

Meanwhile, Insurance investigator Chris Buyer (Robert Hoffmann) attempts to get to the truth about the death by infiltrating the victim's family. Buyer finds that many dark secrets are hidden in the Wallenberger mansion. He also encounters the beautiful trio of Wallenberger women.

Of course, someone is watching, resulting in death.

NAKED GIRL MURDERED IN THE PARK is a giallo boasting a cast of odd, intriguing characters. It's filled with mystery and suspense, culminating in a twist finale.

Yes, nudity / carnality abounds, befitting of the film's era. Co-stars the stunningly beautiful Irina Demick and Patrizia Adiutori...