The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh

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!

Sergio Martino's "The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh" is one of the better giallo offerings, basically because it is entertaining from beginning to end. There aren't too many memorable moments, however: after all this time all I could remember about it was the one scene where the women at the party are wearing paper dresses and begin to tear them off each other.

Also, I couldn't forget the fantastic title, made weird by the extraneous "h" at the end of the last name. If I remember correctly, a real life Mrs Ward heard about the movie's production and complained, thinking it might sully her reputation, so instead of choosing another name for the character, they merely added a letter that wouldn't change the pronunciation.

Aside from that, it's all pretty standard. There's a killer on the loose, and the ending packs in some double crosses that are kind of hard to swallow. There's no real suspense, and although the movie has the usual nudity and sex, no real eroticism.

It's also not that violent. "The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh" may feature the single most unrealistic throat slashing I've seen in a movie. There's no attempt to simulate a wound, and there isn't even that much blood.

The movie is about the always captivating Edwige Fenech as the stupidly named Mrs Wardh-with an "H", who had a weird sadomasochistic relationship with a guy who looks like Buffalo Bill from "Silence of the Lambs", but ditched him for safety and monotony from an older, much more boring man. She starts getting anonymous letters about her "strange vice", and there's a killer on the loose.

As I said the typical giallo twists in the tail are a little hard to bear, the movie has little in the way of suspense, but it's always entertaining and Edwige Fenech is almost always worth watching in gialli.

A black gloved sex killer is on the loose,slaughtering women in Vienna.The American ambassador's wife(Edwige Fenech)begins to believe that he's targeting her when she receives a blackmail call and two of her friends get slashed."Lo Strano Vizio della Signora Wardh" aka "Blade of the Ripper" is an interesting Italian giallo with plenty of suspense and some gruesome killings.The score by Nora Orlandi is truly beautiful and there are some interesting visuals.There is also plenty of sleaze and nudity to satisfy fans of Italian cult cinema.Check it out.My rating:8 out of 10.

Sergio Martino's "Lo Strano vizio della Signora Wardh" (1970) is a welcome addition to the list of giallos that had remained long unseen for me. Martino has done some of the most interesting of the 70's exploitation cinema (like "Torso" and "Mountain of the Cannibal God") and also an interesting spaghetti western "Mannaja." The giallo hasn't as hard-to-follow and confusing plot as it could have, there are not too many characters which makes their efforts and plot turns easy to follow. The story is simple and involves strange murders closely related to beautiful Wardh lady. There are some masterfully constructed mystery / giallo segments that look no less ambitious than those of Dario Argento. I mean mostly the garage scene and the "gas" scene near the end. These build the suspense well and involve the audience much better than some of the more gore-oriented works of the genre. Martino's film has also some stylish and violent murders but fortunately he didn't concentrate only on them. The locations are simply stunning, and the end twist is surprising and certainly original in my opinion. I think this is among the best of the giallo genre, on the same level with Mario Bava's "Blood and Black Lace", the films by Argento and Tonino Valerii's "My Dear Killer", for example, to name just a few.

The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh has just about everything a Giallo fan could ask for. All of the necessary ingredients are here: brutal murders, bizarre sex scenes, plot twists, interesting camera work, a nice score, and Edwige Fenech. - Brutal Murders: The killer uses a razor to slash his victims' throats to ribbons resulting in plenty of blood flow. - Bizarre Sex: I don't' know about you but beating the crap out of your partner prior to engaging in sex seems pretty bizarre to me. - Plot Twists: Just when you're sure you finally gotten a handle on the plot and solved the mystery, The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh gives you yet another twist to wrap your mind around. - Interesting Camera Work: The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh is a great looking film with unusual camera angle and lens choices. Visually, it's very pleasing. - A Nice Score: Even though composer Nora Orlandi's main theme is repeated throughout the film, I never get tired of hearing it. It's a hauntingly beautiful piece that helps set the mood of the film very well. - Edwige Fenech: The Queen of the Giallo.

The plot involves a crazed killer with an eye for women is on the loose. Julie Wardh (Edwige Fenech) is very much afraid because of the direct threats she has received from the killer. She's also convinced the killer is an ex-boyfriend. When the real killer is himself killed, that should put an end to Julie's fears. But it doesn't. The threats against Julie's life continue. I readily admit that there are plot holes big enough to drive a truck through and lapses in logic the size of the Grand Canyon, but that hardly matters when you're having this much fun with a movie. Blemishes and all, The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh is a great example of the genre and one of the reasons I keep seeking out these hard to find Italian gems.