Nine Guests for a Crime

NINE GUESTS FOR A CRIME (1977, original title Nove ospiti per un delitto) is essentially the giallo version of Agatha Christie's AND THEN THERE WERE NONE. We begin with a mysterious and brutal beach murder before cutting forward 20 years when a yacht load of family members arrive on a beautiful island for some boozing, hunting and lots of extra-marital affairs. Before long, bodies start piling up... This is a film more mystery than giallo and it takes half the running time for things to really get going. However, there are a handful of brutal moments which really work, including a very nasty trap that had me wincing. The characters tend towards the unlikeable but the cast is pretty good, including Hammer's John Richardson (SHE), THE LIVING DEAD AT THE MANCHESTER MORGUE's Arthur Kennedy, LAST CANNIBAL WORLD's Massimo Foschi, and that teleporting priest guy from CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD. Overall, I'd say that this is never the best nor the worst of the genre.

Giallo directed by Ferdinando Baldi (taking a break from spaghetti westerns). Like Mario Bava's better-known Five Dolls for an August Moon from seven years earlier, this takes its premise from Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians/And Then There Were None. A wealthy family (patriarch, his sons and daughter, and all their respective spouses) take a boat to their villa on an otherwise deserted remote island. During the journey it becomes apparent that all these people pretty much hate each other - but all enjoy the family fortune and the trappings that come with it. These 'trappings', as we find out, include everybody sleeping with the spouse of somebody else - more out of boredom than anything. Once the family have disembarked a mysterious figure kills the crew of the boat and steals (or sinks - we never find out) the boat itself. The family, unaware of this, start to enjoy their holiday by indulging in adulterous sex every chance they get. But soon the same figure starts killing them off one-by-one, leading to paranoia and fear among the rapidly dwindling remaining members as they fight to stay alive...

As well as Five Dolls for an August Moon this put me in mind of another Bava film - the terrific A Bay of Blood, with family greed and betrayal also playing a big part here. Multi-Oscar nominated Arthur Kennedy (terrific as the thoroughly jaded cop in The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue) is the head of the family, whilst giallo/horror stalwarts John Richardson, Venantino Venantini, and Massimo Foschi round out the male cast. Euro-hotties Caroline Laurence, Loretta Perischetti, Flavia Fabiani, Dana Ghia, and Rita Silva supply the glamour. There's a fair amount of nudity (I'm assuming all Italian women in the 1970s kept their high heels on in the shower), a moderate amount of blood, and some nice kills (harpoon through the neck is probably my favourite).

With its obvious 'influences' this is far from groundbreaking; but if you want to watch a thoroughly dislikeable, amoral group of pampered rich get their just desserts in some entertaining ways, it's fun. 6/10.

I recently watched the Italian giallo Nine Guests for a Crime (1977) on Tubi. The storyline revolves around a family gathering on a Mediterranean island, where it becomes apparent that the family's skeletons may never truly be buried. When their boat to the mainland mysteriously disappears and a killing spree ensues, targeting various family members, it becomes clear that someone is ready to settle old scores, albeit not in the way the vacation was intended.

Directed by Ferdinando Baldi (War Bus), the film features a cast including Arthur Kennedy (Lawrence of Arabia), John Richardson (War of the Planets), Caroline Laurence (Emmanuel 3), Massimo Foschi (Otezla) and Sofia Dionisio (My Dear Killer).

Nine Guests for a Crime maintains a high level of intensity from start to finish. The backstory and opening shootout, while more entertaining than exceptional, effectively set the tone for the film. The acting is solid, and the characters generate a sense of intrigue regarding their fates. Unfortunately, the kills and corpses in the film are rather ordinary. The female characters are stunning, and there are random shower scenes that add an element of amusement, especially the shower sequence in high heels, which had me chuckling. The film also effectively depicts how the characters' psyches evolve as the body count rises. While the ending reveal is decent, it's not enough to elevate the movie significantly.

In conclusion, Nine Guests for a Crime is worth a watch for giallo enthusiasts but stands as an only average addition to the horror genre. I would give this a rating of 5/10 and recommend watching it once for its giallo elements.

Mixed bag of a giallo

Pros: The acting is well done - especially in the second half as the danger increases and the characters are under pressure.

It's a beautiful island location.

Even though the twist was predictable, it was well done. It's a pretty classic twist if you've seen a number of giallos.

Cons: The first half is very slow and filled with gratuitous melodrama and gratuitous nudity. Many of the cast members look similar and without establishing distinct visual clues to who is who - it's easy to confuse who is who. I wish the script and make-up/wardrobe spent more time making these characters more distinct.

I did not like the soundtrack.

'Nine Guests for a Crime' is a fun Giallo murder mystery thriller with an interesting narrative structure that takes full advantage of the whodunit aspect of the story. The movie is briskly paced with some genuinely tense moments. The island location is visually stunning with gorgeous scenery which gives this an eerie atmosphere and sets the tone perfectly for the murderous mayhem.

The plot - A group of family members sail a yacht to a deserted Mediterranean island for a holiday at the island's villa, only to be killed off one by one by a mysterious killer which may or may not be linked to a past murder that happened there many years ago.

The movie is a very standard 70's trashy thriller that boasts a strong cast with plenty of entertaining moments, but what lets this down is the poorly executed death scenes that needed better gore effect & therefore very lacking and while the film is nice to look at, the tense moments are poorly staged, despite a decent set-up with the opening flashback really setting the tone, but the direction largely feels like someone going through the motions instead of doing something that could have really elevated this flick.

Overall 'Nine Guests for a Crime' is entertaining enough Giallo fodder, but doesn't quite rise to the classic levels of the genre and could have done with a bit more energy.