The Case of the Bloody Iris

There is a mysterious gloved and masked killer stalking and murdering beautiful young Italian women. Sound familiar? But of course, this is a Giallo from the early 70's!

The Case of the Bloody Iris is part of Anchor Bay's four dvd set The Giallo Collection. Three of the movies can be purchased separately, but The Case of the Bloody Iris can only be purchased as part of the set.

The Case of the Bloody Iris starts out with a pretty young blonde woman being murdered in an elevator in an urban apartment building . The killer is wearing rubber gloves and stabs her with a knife that looks like a scalpel. A day later in the same apartment building, another woman is drowned in her bathtub by a killer wearing the same rubber gloves. This murder is pretty brutal to watch as far as movie murders go.

There is an architect by the name of Andrea (George Hilton), who dated the second murdered woman and starts seeing another woman, Jennifer (ably portrayed by the beautiful Edwige Fenech) who recently left a small religious group lead by a crazed guy who keeps harassing her and trying to get her back to the group. Through a flashback scene we discover that they were into group sex and and he seems to be, and is, seriously deranged. There is also a woman living with her father in an apartment in the building and she hits on every woman she encounters, which in this film are beautiful models and dancers.

A couple more murders into the film and Andrea is suspected by the police of performing the murders, especially after a woman is murdered on the street and witnesses see only him covered in blood and running away from the scene. The police have been following him using a detective who serves as a minor bit of comic relief (fortunately he doesn't try to be too funny). Jennifer also starts suspecting Andrea of committing the murders and after they arrange a secret meeting trying to elude the police, he seems more guilty then ever.

This is a well made movie with a decent script and is well acted by the entire cast. I recommend it for anyone who like a well made Giallo and also as a decent who dunnit.

This movie is released in a beautiful 2.35:1 widescreen display. The sound quality, while dated, sounded great out of my speakers. Extra features on the disk include an alternate stabbing scene and theatrical trailer. The alternate stabbing scene is just an abbreviated version of one of the stabbings late in the movie. Personally I liked the longer version in the film better. The Giallo Collection goes for around $40-50 which means each movie is around $10-13 each. This is a great price for movies that may have never seen the light of day in U.S. except for the Anchor Bay's decision to bring well made Italian Giallo's to the American market.

Light on the gore and heavy on the nudity, The Case of the Bloody Iris is a passable giallo from director Giuliano Carnimeo (under the pseudonym Anthony Ascott). Made in 1972, this shocker has nearly all of the elements one would expect from the genre: a gloved killer, POV shots, bloody murders, and a convoluted plot in which everyone is both a suspect and a possible victim.

The story revolves around a spate of vicious killings which happen in a posh high-rise block of apartments; gorgeous Edwige Fenech plays Jennifer, a model who has moved into the building and soon becomes a target for the deranged, rubber-glove wearing maniac.

Logic takes a backseat during the storytelling and there are moments which had me laughing in disbelief. In one scene, our hapless heroine wanders through a junkyard at night; for cheap 'shocks', car doors swing open, boots slam shut and a whole vehicle even topples off a stack — no explanation for these spooky happenings is given.

Another moment has Jennifer attempting to enter a suspect's apartment. Finding it locked, she tries the keys on her own keyring, and — hey, presto — the last key opens the door!! What great security they have in this building.

As always, the killer's identity is only revealed in the final minutes, and the reason given for his violence stretches well beyond the realms of credibility.

Despite the flaws in the plot, the film moves along at a reasonable pace and when there is any danger of the momentum flagging, Carnimeo throws in some gratuitous T&A (and a lesbian) to keep us amused — how very thoughtful of him! Nearly every actress gives us an eyeful before her untimely demise.

As giallos go, this is a consistently entertaining example and should definitely be seen by fans of the genre.

The Case of the Bloody Iris is one of the most entertaining giallo's of them all.

I do realize that it's far from perfect. It's got wooden performances, childish dialogue, illogical moments (more than a few), plot holes etc..., but it's entertaining as hell. These pure giallo's are guilty pleasures to be sure, featuring a number of knockout damsels in distress, gory murders, black gloved killers, a murder mystery with endless red herrings, law officials without an IQ and almost universally badly dubbed actors.

Here we have it all in abundance and it all works. The women here are quite simply stunning, the murder scenes inventive and well done, the appropriate amount of sleaze, impressive visuals and nice location scenery, a terrific musical score (catchy as hell), decent acting and a fair amount of shocks and suspense. It's also quite funny at times, I've never before or after seen a detective obsessing with stamps.

Highly recommended if you're a fan of giallo films.

Usual gialli with intrigue , thrills , chills , tension, slashing , nudism , amount of sleaze and anything else . Having fleed from the claws a sex cult , our starring called Jennifer Lansbury : Scream queen Edwige Fenech, is being stalked and pursued by a series killer . There are various suspicious people : a mysterious owner : Luciano Pigozzi of a rare spectacle , an old woman and her deformed son , a veteran neighbour and her friend's father : George Rigaud , furthermore a good-looking architect : George Hilton who falls for Jennifer . One by one her known people and best friends have been killing, and most victims belong to occupants of the new apartment she's moved . Along the way an obstinate police commissioner : Giampiero Albertini and his underling cop investigate the grisly killings . Who's the killer ? The killer slices without mercy ! Shocklingly True ?..

Giuliano Carmineo's Gialli compellingly filmed , including well-staged crimes with plenty of startling visual content and winning a certain success with box office enough . Customary Giallo in which thrilling events , intriguing happenings , twists , turns and stabbing show up lurking and threatening across corridors , flats , parking, basements and grim interiors . The picture blends atmospheric sets , apartments , beautiful naked girls and a suspenseful final in which we figure out the unexpected murderer . Stars the Gialli queen , the always gorgeous Edwige Fenech playing in his habitual style and showing off her ravishing attributes . Co-stars the Uruguay-born and recently deceased George Hilton , he was a real Spaghetti Western star , though he also played some Giallos . Along with a nice secondary cast , including some familiar faces , such as : Giampiero Albertini , George Rigaud , Annabella Incontrera , Daniela Giordano and the prolific secondary Luciano Pigozzi , who often used pseudonym Allan Collins , nicknamed the Italian Peter Lorre .

It packs an atmospheric musical score in the Seventies style by Bruno Nicolai who was usual colllaborator to Ennio Morricone. As well as evocative cinematography by Stelvio Massi , shot on location in Genoa, Liguria and Elios studios , Rome, Lazio, Italy. The motion picture was professionally directed by Giuliano Carmineo or Anthony Ascott . Giuliano was a craftsman who directed a lot of B films and stories of all kinds of regular Italian genres . Being his especiality Spaghetti Western genre, such as : The moment to Kill , Find a place to die , Two sons of Ringo , They call him Cemetery , They call me Hallaluya , Have a good funeral my friend Sartana will pay , Sartana the gravedigger , Light the fuse Sartana is coming . Although Carmineo also made other genres as Giallo : The case of the Bloody Iris , Ana particular Pleasure , Fantasy/Scifi : Computron , The Exterminators of the Year 3000 , Sex comedy : The teacher dances with the entire class, Pepito the doctor and Terror : The Rat Man , among others . Rating : 6/10 , acceptable and passable .

Out of all the gialli I own, the Case of the Bloody Iris is the most fun to watch. It has a healthy dose of humour, great atmosphere, beautiful euro-babes, and a tight plot. It's also extremely funky and stylish. A winner all the way.

Edwige Fenech, one of the most jaw-droppingly gorgeous women ever to grace the screen, plays Jennifer, a model who moves into an apartment with her crazy model buddy. The problem is, someone in the building has a habit of killing models, and Jennifer and her pal are next up for a stabbing.

You've got the classic giallo list of suspects, most of which spend their time drooling over Edwige's body: the lesbian neighbour and her father, the old lady and her dark secret, the landlord and his fear of blood, Edwige's ex-husband the cult leader. Plenty of inappropriate sexual advances follow, sometimes under the craziest of circumstances.

Throw in a couple of bumbling cops, some topless wrestling involving the also-gorgeous Carla Berle (Torso, Bronx Warriors), and the dizziest sidekick ever to appear in a giallo, and you've got a great movie right there. Edwige, Carla and some other girls ain't too shy about showing off their assets either, if you know what I'm saying.

Top marks go to Edwige's roommate, who has the best dialogue throughout the entire movie. She's possible my favourite Giallo character ever, what with her non-chalant attitude to everything. At one point she recreates on of the murders with ditsy glee - jumping out of a bath in the scud and shouting "I'm a ghost!", which earns her a seventies slap in the gub.

Get it now - Academic, over serious, chin-strokers with no sense of irony need not apply.