L'assassino è costretto ad uccidere ancora

I loved this movie. First and foremost, in my opinion, this is NOT a giallo. I'd classify it more as a crime/thriller...or even a drama or a black comedy.

You know who the killer is from the beginning, so there isn't much mystery to it...but unlike many other 'similar movies' there is a double dose of tension and suspense which genuinely gets under your skin.

Masterfully directed by Luigi Cozzi ("Contamination"). I was impressed with the guy who plays the killer, I thought he was superb and creepy, and even though we get up close and personal with him, he remains creepy until the end.

Necessary viewing for lovers of Italian horror.

8 out of 10, kids.

This is a very well-done thriller. A bit bloodier and nastier than Hitchcock's work, but very close in tone and production value. In fact, the editing was very precise, apparently tightly storyboarded, which was Hitchcock's method.

The locations are few but perfect. The "ugly yellow house" described in another review was actually very cool; the yellow walls appear to be painted with expensive Dutch enamel. Typical bold and imaginative Italian design.

The costumes are subtle, simple, but equally effective. Cristina Galdo in her soft jeans and innocent blouse is an incredibly alluring and convincing virgin. Michel Antoine, the killer, is tall and angular, with a James Woodsian countenance, cool and sinister in chic black pants and turtleneck.

The DVD is nicely done. Great sound and picture, and extras worth checking out.

If you like thrillers, definitely go for this one. Even if you have a hard time with foreign films, you will find this one palatable, with very smooth dubbing, an attractive and capable cast, and a solid, unpredictable storyline, delivered by a master director.

Luigi Cozzi's "L'Assassino è costretto ad uccidere ancora" aka. "The Killer Must Kill Again" of 1975 is a Giallo that is highly unconventional, but nonetheless great. The film is unconventional, as it basically turns the entire premise of the Giallo sub-genre upside down. The main idea behind the conventional Gialli is that a phantom killer, often wearing black gloves, murders his victims, often beautiful ladies, without the viewer knowing his identity. While guessing who the murderer might be is one of the main points of a typical Giallo, however, the killer's identity is clear from the very beginning of "The Killer Must Kill Again" - And the film therefore has an entirely different structure than most conventional Gialli.

The adulterous businessman Giorgio Mainardi (George Hilton) catches a serial killer (Antoine Saint-John, credited here as Michel Antoine) red-handed, depositing of a girl's body. The ripper and the adulterer then make a deal for the killer to get rid of Mainardi's rich wife for him. In exchange Mainardi will keep silent, and furthermore pay the killer a fair amount of money for his efforts... Regular Giallo leading-man George Hilton once again delivers a solid performance, but the true star of this film is Michel Antoine. Antoine looks incredibly creepy, and it immediately becomes clear why the killer's identity is not kept a secret in this unusual Giallo-gem - Had the killer's face been hidden, the film couldn't have profited from Antoines's weird looks. Antoine plays the role of the killer with a unique laid-back sadism, and the film furthermore has many other qualities to offer. Beautiful Christine Galbo (who is best known for Massimo Dallamano's Giallo-masterpiece "Cosa Avete Fatto A Solange", as well as the Zombie extravaganza "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie") is also part of the film, and she once again delivers a good performance. The film is certainly violent, but not quite as gory as some other contemporary Gialli (such as Dario Argento's masterpiece "Profondo Rosso" from the same year). That does not mean, however, that the film hasn't got a genuine nastiness. What makes this especially nasty is the vileness and unscrupulousness of the characters. The camera work is also great, and the film has several nice stylistic elements. Furthermore, the film has a cool score, which, once again, isn't typically Giallo-ish, but often seems more like one of the Hitchcockian scores. Overall, "The Killer Must Kill Again" is a Giallo that is definitely highly unusual for this great sub-genre, but it is also a very good one. This is one out of only two films directed by Luigi Cozzi I have seen so far (the other being the dreadful "Paganini Horror"), but after this highly original Horror experience it certainly won't be the last. Highly recommended to all my fellow Italian Horror Buffs!

The Killer must Kill again sounds like a title suited for your typical giallo.And it does start out as one. Soon it becomes clear that even cold blooded killers can have bad days. There are numerous moments that play out like you would see in comedies.The straight faced kind, which makes it even hilarious at times.I personally was not expecting this and found it refreshing.But the director made sure not to sympathize with the culprit too much since he continually shows evil when he feels when it is needed. This provides an unique way in building suspense since you never really know when the killer shows that nasty side and when he remains professional.Antoine Saint-John (as the killer) looks like Death personified.Easily the best character in the movie next to Alessio Orano's character named Luca who has to be the most laid back and patient of guys in movie history. He is trying to have sex with his girl and she keeps putting him off and delaying it to the point that she convinces him to fetch food.Luca doesn't mind and goes on his way. How laid back the guy is we get to witness in the scenes after with a sexy blonde in some sleazy scenes (full frontal nudity).The contrast between those scenes and the ones with Laura (Luca's girl) which I won't describe was quite disturbing and shocking even. It's this mix of moments that keeps you glued to the screen. Very different from most giallo's but in a good way.

Mr. Mainardi (Euro fave, George Hilton) accidentally witnesses a man (Michel Antoine) dumping a body. Rather than report the crime to the police, Mainardi blackmails him into murdering his wealthy wife, Norma. Things go smoothly, but before the killer can dispose of Norma's body, a delinquent couple steals the car which has the corpse stashed in the trunk. The maniac begins tracking them down as the two are completely oblivious to what they've gotten themselves into.

Before I bought and watched "The Killer Must Kill Again", Luigi Cozzi wasn't a director I had been particularly fond of. Being the sucker for gialli that I am, I decided to take a chance on this one when the DVD hit. While this isn't in the upper tier of Italian horror, it did prove to me that Cozzi is quite capable of doing something above substandard sleaze and cheese.

This is actually a quality film, though I fail to see how it has found itself classified as a giallo. We know who the killer if from the get-go, though he is never named. There is no mystery here unless you wonder what led to his initial murder which Mainardi stumbles upon. I have to say that it reminded me of Hitchcock's classic suspense pictures more than it did any giallo. "Dial M for Murder" definitely came to mind at first, but then it went off in it's own direction. On the other hand, as is usually the case in the giallo sub-genre, virtually none of the characters are totally innocent. The protagonists steal a car and $150, plus they lie constantly. I also thought it was amusing how Luca is romancing this girl, only to help another girl on the side of a road and then do her in the stolen car. Sometimes you just have to get any wherever you can! My main issue with the film is that after the car is stolen, it gets bogged down and doesn't really pick up again until the killer finds the couple. This portion could have been spiced up a bit.

The killer himself is actually a pretty intimidating fellow, what with Michel Antoine's reptilian facial features and large build, but he definitely has a lot of hell in this movie. Things just never seem to go right for him. As the greedy blackmailer, George Hilton is convincingly suave, even with the weird sideburns. These two make for a fine pair of villains.

Cozzi's direction is solid, and there are only a few small doses of the cheese that would dominate many of his later films. He employs some nifty camera tricks that he surely picked up from Argento. I also liked how he had the two very different sex scenes playing out seamlessly at the same time. In fact, that mean-spirited rape is the only real bit of nastiness on display here. Again, not the norm for a giallo, but the lack of it certainly doesn't hurt the film any.

Overall, this is a fine piece of work from a man who I originally had pegged as another Bruno Mattei. Any fan of the gialli sub-genre should be pleased, even if it isn't a giallo in the truest sense of the word. While the pacing goes off the rails at one point and the climax feels a tad anti-climatic, it's not enough to ruin things.