A Dragonfly for Each Corpse

A Dragonfly for Each Corpse is quite unusual in that it is a Spanish movie filmed in Italy. More specifically, it tries to pass itself off as an Italian giallo. By the time this had been released this particular sub-genre had already past its peak years but its characteristics were so well established by that point that they could be mimicked quite easily. This film doesn't just copy the conventions of the genre; it also goes to the trouble of setting its action in Milan to make it seem even more like a true Italian product.

Its director was León Klimovsky who made quite a lot of genre pictures, including the impressive Vampire's Night Orgy (1974). In this one, he directs the top Iberian horror actor of the day, Paul Naschy. This chunky leading man appeared in many genre pics and in this instance he plays a cynical, violent cop who investigates a serial murder case. The killer's calling card is a wax dragonfly left on the corpses of the victims, all of whom are considered 'degenerates'. Interestingly, Naschy's detective actually seems to sympathise with the killer's objectives for the most part! Anyway, what follows is a violent and sleazy whodunit, where the mystery killer batters their way through the cast via a variety of slaughter methods.

The mystery here is, as is typical for the genre, somewhat convoluted with quite a large selection of suspects/victims. It's not a bad mystery though, even if it might be a bit heavy on the police procedural side of things. Admittedly it does end with a particularly biscuit-taking lack of explanation for the mayhem that we have just spent the last 90 minutes witnessing and the unmasking of the killer is somewhat underwhelming too. But this is not really a deal-breaker given that gialli in general often put very little effort into this side of things. On the other hand, there is a pleasing selection of salacious content sprinkled throughout to keep things interesting such as violent murders, completely gratuitous nudity, a seedy plot-line and a stupendously silly set-piece where one character tries to make a getaway on a roller-coaster car! So all-in-all, a pretty enjoyable movie with the requisite lack of political correction and an abundance of of-its-time fashions that make these films so much fun.

A Dragonfly for Each Corpse is a Spanish take on the popular Italian thriller known as the Giallo, and stars prolific Spanish horror star Paul Naschy. The Giallo was well established by 1974, and it's clear that director León Klimovsky knew this; as his film continually attempts to imitate the Italian films...but this isn't really a problem, as many of the actual Italian productions imitate each other, and it has to be said that the director hasn't done a bad job of making a non-Italian Giallo. The central plot theme has been seen in cinema many times before this film was released, and many times after; in films like Dario Argento's Tenebrae, and popular American thriller 'Seven'. We follow a killer who has taken it upon himself to clean up the streets, by picking off everyone that offends his eye. His trademark is a dragonfly, which is left at the scene of each crime, thus earning the killer the name 'The Dragonfly Killer'. We focus on the police investigation into the killings, which is lead by hard-bitten copper Inspector Scaporella.

By keeping the focus away from the murders and more on the investigation, director León Klimovsky has passed up on the opportunity of making a really interesting movie. The way that the investigation is handled isn't bad, and there's enough intrigue generated to see it through; but the way that the film is handled takes the attention away from the murders...which is never good in a film like this. There is a fair amount of blood in this film, however, but it never reaches the highs that you'd expect it to given the splatter at the beginning. Paul Naschy manages to put in a good performance as the cop at the centre of the story, but some of the rest of the cast bring it down; and the film suffers from far too many nuisances with the script, which gets a little too ridiculous too many times. By far the biggest problem with the film comes at the conclusion. Giallo's are infamous for not making a lot of sense and leaving things wide open...but there's barely an explanation at all here, and it's a shame because it could have been the highlight. But even so, this is entertaining enough; and the hilarious roller-coaster getaway ensures that I won't be forgetting it soon.

During the 60's and 70's there were any number of Italian productions filmed in Spain. Well, this is a Spanish production filmed in Italy. It is basically Paul Naschy and his collaborator's (the Argentinean Leon Klimovsky this time)third attempt to ape the then-popular Italian gialli, and like the previous two attempts--"Seven Murders for Scotland Yard" and "Blue Eyes of a Broken Doll"--it is only semi-successful. The story is a little plodding, the cinematography a little leaden, and it comes off rather dark and gritty compared to the garish and colorful Italian gialli (although it is, if anything, even more violent). It's also pretty derivative, borrowing the famous coffin scene from Luis Bunuel's "Belle de Jour" and the dead-body-in-the-funhouse scene from the not-exactly-seminal giallo "Naked Girl Killed in Park."

It was clearly also influenced by American "Dirty Harry" movies and perhaps the cynical Italian police thrillers that were emerging at the time. Naschy, this time,plays a hard-boiled cop who slaps around elderly exhibitionists and makes a wounded biker with a broken leg crawl to the hospital. He is up against "the Dragonfly Killer", a vigilante who is offing pimps, prostitutes, and junkies--"cleaning up the city" much like the villains in the Dirty Harry sequel "Magnum Force" (although his motive for doing so would have made Harry Callahan crap his pants in utter disbelief). Erica Blanc plays Naschy's fashion designer wife who, after one of her gay friends is killed, decides to try to solve the case herself using her "woman's intuition". This leads to comical scenes of her sitting naked in bed pouring over grisly crime photos with a magnifying glass, or acting hysterically (albeit much more believably)when the killer sends the severed head of a Turkish pimp to their house.Of course, she stumbles across the identity of the killer before her husband does, leaving Naschy to rush to her rescue.

Obviously, if you have a low tolerance for graphic violence, completely gratuitous nudity, and Spanish-flavored, 70's-style sexism, you should probably avoid this movie. But if you can get past all this, it's a whole lot of fun.

A Dragonfly for Each Corpse (1975)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Inspector Scaporella (Paul Naschy) begins to investigate some strange murders where the victims have dragonflies attached to them. Before long it becomes clear that the victims are all morally questionable people and it appears that the killer is taken them out because he (or she) considers them bad.

A DRAGONFLY FOR EACH CORPSE is a somewhat entertaining Spanish giallo that tries to mix some stylish murders with a detective story. When most people think of a giallo they think about the films from Italy but there were several other places that tried to cash in on the genre and that includes Spain. There's certainly nothing ground-breaking about this movie but if you're a fan of Naschy and the genre then you'll want to check it out.

When viewing the film today, the one thing that really stands out is the fact that films like SEVEN and SAW somewhat had familiar stories so you have to give this film credit for taking the idea of having someone kill off "bad" people. The first couple death scenes are quite creative and bloody but those expecting non-stop gore will be disappointed because after the first two they become rather tame. I'm not sure why the film started off so violent and then took a few steps back. The rest of the death scenes happen off screen or at least with less violence.

I thought the performance by Naschy was quite good and it's always fun watching Erika Blanc. The screenplay isn't the greatest thing out there as there are times towards the end where the viewer really quits caring about who the killer is. A tad bit more style or some more energy would have helped things as the 87-minute running time begins to drag in the final quarter.

With that said, A DRAGONFLY FOR EACH CORPSE isn't a masterpiece or even a good picture but there are enough good moments to make it worth watching.

Paul Naschy once again knows what the people want by writing and starring in this over the top giallo full of murder, twists, sleaze, and transvestite roller coast shoot outs.

Paul is a burly cigar chewing cop who likes to slap perps about, and is given a new case: that of tracking down a killer who is wasting the city's undesirables types, including junkies and hookers. Every time a corpse is discovered, a glass dragonfly is also found at the scene. I thought it was cool that Paul was allowed to keep these on the wall of his living room for some reason, but then his wife Erika Blanc ended up doing most of the work anyway, so maybe it was best she kept an eye on the stuff.

Of course, polite society gets involved and it turns out they have just as many vices as those unclean types. Paul's friends turn out to be just as bad, what with the professor who is a necrophile who likes to have strippers lie in coffins, then there's the confusing love dodecahedron involving everyone else Paul knows, except the gay guy, because being gay is enough to have you killed in a film like this. Needless to say someone Paul knows is the killer, but as the body's pile up, can he unveil the killer before the killings get closer to home?

The killer is dressed in the usual gialli uniform - black gloves, comfortable shoes, comfy socks, and has quite the collection of weapons at his (or her!) disposal. People are attacked with axes, umbrellas with spring loaded blades, knives and such like, but the blood is kept subtle. Nudity isn't however, which will keep you awake between the murder scenes.

My absolute favourite bit was when Paul somehow uncovered a drug ring and the gang leader, fresh from doing a transvestite show, realises the cops are arriving on the scene, takes the time to dress back up in drag again before getting on a roller coaster and firing a gun blindly while on the ride. Simply delightful. This is also a film that isn't too concerned about how life like the dummies are, which makes things funnier.

If a bad Paul Naschy film exists, I haven't seen it yet. Another daft winner!