Plot of Fear

In a Milanese night, a masochistic man, Mattia Grandi, is strangled with the hands of a female prostitute in his house, and a middle-aged woman, Laura Falconieri, is killed with a spanner in the empty bus. In each case, the killer leaves a meaningful illustration of the children's book titled PIERINO-PORCOSPINO. And then the Naples-born Lieutenant Lomenzo, who is in charge of these cases, meets an informative model named Jeanne who tells him that there was an accidental sudden-death of a prostitute named Roza Catena at the meeting of a club named WILDLIFE'S FRIENDS in which the two victims participated... I think the whole story of this film is one of the most unique ones of the Gialli in the 1970s'. Indeed the concludingness of its serial murders seems to be too unique even for the serious Giallo lovers to gladly accept. But it is not unexpected one because most of the murders in this film are a little too large-scale to be conventionally concluded. And it should be add that the cool beautifulness of Corinne Clery, who superbly plays the enigmatic model, is highly appropriate for the very mystery this film has. Unfortunately, as a post-TORSO giallo, this film has something problematic; not only Daniele Patucchi's music but also Giovanni Capelli's special effects are definitely weak and almost minimalistic (except for the only one murder sequence which has unusually energetic music. Strangely enough, although most of the murder sequences of this film are disappointingly light, the same one is exceptionally gory, too.) Incidentally, this film has at least two prints. For instance, in the shorter print (and this not-Italian-but-English-speaking one seems to be so-called International Version), the murder sequence of Laura Falconieri is heavily cut, and therefore one can hardly understand what is precisely going on in the problematic bus. Indeed, in the problematic print, the victim is simply murdered without giving notice, and therefore it is no longer a murder sequence; it is rather a murder scene.

This is how you make a film stand out in a crowded market, as we get a giallo with all the usual ingredients (black-gloved killer, loads of suspects/red herrings, nakes ladies, beautiful photography) mixed with tons of quirkiness, seventies technology, irony, social commentary and even animation.

The film starts of memorably enough with a kimono clad man waiting in anticipation in his floral, purple themed room (purple an recurring colour in this film). A lady hooker friend arrives and it seems our fella likes to get slapped about and get his hair pulled, but isn't into being strangled and murdered for some reason. A page from a child story book is left by the prostitute, with a different card being left at a murder that happens on a bus shortly afterwards.

This is where Inspector Lomenzo steps in. He sees that there's a killer on the loose, but can't quite figure out the connection between the two people, much to the annoyance of his boss, Tom Skerrit. At the same time, he's caught the eye of the young lady that lives up the stairs from his apartment that he shares with his hippy girlfriend. Further complicating the plot is Eli Wallach as the private investigator who uses modern technology to spy on his clients, his staff, and just about everybody else he encounters. A businessman approaches Eli and say that the police don't have a clue that the two victims were part of some Wildlife Friends Club, and that the murders have something to do with a party that happened at the 'Hoffman House'. Eli gives Lomenzo these little clues, but does he have a sinister motive?

This film seems to head in many directions at once as Lomenzo tries to juggle his love life with the murders (and the two become entwined). The murderer works his way through the cast, including burning to death the prostitute that killed the kinky guy at the start of the film, shooting a guy on live TV, and running over another guy. This is all standard giallo stuff but then you have the businessman's house secured with a futuristic alarm system, his mother's nurse having a chug in the toilets for no reason, and the Wildlife Friends Club watching an completely off-the-wall cartoon porno before taking part in some sort of 'blowjob roulette'. This strangeness runs throughout the entire film and keeps you on your toes.

Although Tom Skerrit appears, he doesn't do much and Eli Wallach only comes in to play mainly in the final part of the film. Neither of them dub there own voice. It's Michele Placido as Inspector Lomenzo who is the main focus of the film, running around trying to figure out what's going while his girlfriend runs off with another man, not that he's bothered it gives him a chance to get to know the young lady from upstairs. Gets to know her all night long.

Plenty of twists in the plot too. John Steiner redeems himself for his diabolical performance in Deported Women of the SS Special Section by being more subdued here, but no less sleazy.

Finally, a so-called "giallo" that's working vs. the formula. Corinne Cléry makes it quite clear when the Commissario (Michele Placido) asks her for a dance: "Recite an Apollinaire poem for me." De facto, the shadow of the famous French proto-surrealist is lurking everywhere in Paolo Cavara's tongue-in-cheek, poptastic homage to Heinrich Hoffmann's gruesome cautionary tales, published as "Struwwelpeter" in 1845. At first sight the usual psycho killer rubbish, E Tanta Paura is brimming with bizarre surprises, as in the orgy flashback sequence in the Fauna Lovers Group Sex Club (including a porn cartoon by Italian animatore Gibba) or the acidly humorous slaughterhouse scene, and you won't get much better dialogue for your money ("She cheated on me with a white guy." "But you're white as well." "I'm Neapolitan, that's different"). The denouement might be a bit underwhelming, but Cavara's elegant direction, Franco di Giacomo's skillful cinematography, Daniele Patucchi's versatile soundtrack and the splendid cast – special jury prize for the sardonic John Steiner – add up to an intertextual fun(house) ride breaking it down light-handedly that "giallo" can be a whole lot more than those bland Argento bummers: in this case, a vitriolic grotesque bowing its serpent's head in reverence to the origins of the Grand Guignol.

I've seen a lot of giallos and have got pretty good at unraveling convoluted storylines, but I admit defeat with Plot of Fear, which left me more than a tad confused, primarily about the identity of the killer and their modus operandi. I got the gist of the plot - someone is killing off members of a hedonistic club, revenge for the death of a young prostitute during one of their wild parties - but who that person is and why they leave pages from creepy kids book Struwwelpeter (Italian title: Pierino Porcospino) on the victims is something I couldn't grasp.

However, despite being somewhat baffled by the plot (maybe a rewatch is in order when I am less tired), I still had a reasonably good time with the film, largely thanks to the frequent nudity and a couple of nasty deaths: several attractive ladies strip for the camera, with stunning Corinne Cléry (Hitch-hike) getting nekkid for the film's gratuitous sex scene, while the most brutal murders see a woman burnt alive and a guy hung from a meathook, the point emerging from his throat. Also adding to the fun is an amusing excerpt from a pornographic cartoon shown during one of the club's gatherings. Also look out for a pre-Alien Tom Skerritt as one of the cops investigating the case.

Likable, if not particularly stylish or violent despite the many and varied killings. Lots going on with all manner of activity including wild animals and wild women. Some interesting play with the emerging European cinematic interest in mixed race activity. The lovely Corinne Clery looks good all the time, both clothed and unclothed and everything moves along beautifully, if more than a little confusedly! Still, what's new with giallo, although this edges more towards cop-thriller without any of the giallo style present in the same director's Black Belly of the Tarantula. The music is as bit below par too but the complicated police investigations are carried out with some flair and the liberal peppering of naughtiness ensures there is never a dull moment.