Nine Guests for a Crime

Apr 2021

Another fine giallo from 1977, so a late entry and unsurprisingly for the year it was made it features a bit more nudity than some.

This is a really good giallo, as the title suggests, it involves 9 people in a secluded place and its a whodunnit.

I love it, great location the island they used.

10 out of 10.

"Nove Ospiti per un Delitto" is a mediocre giallo in the tradition of Agatha Christie's "And Then They Were None". Nine members of the same family go to an island, where nobody lives - but the head of the family (Arthur Kennedy) owns a nice house there. Problem is that he and his three sons keep a dark secret, and this dark secret begins to haunt them as soon as they are on the island. One by one falls victim to a mysterious killer.

Arthur Kennedy leads a remarkable male cast in this rather low-budget-effort which fails to thrill the audience. John Richardson gives too a fine performance, just as do Massimo Foschi (protagonist in Ruggero Deodato's impressive "Ultimo Mondo Cannibale") and Venantino Venantini. Unfortunately, as mentioned before, the movie itself is nothing special. Director Baldi fails to deliver a thrilling atmosphere, even though he tries to do so. The most interesting thing is that none of the characters are sympathetic; they are all rather mean and selfish, so nobody really cares when somebody dies... Only interesting for fans of the giallo genre or fans of the surprisingly good male cast.

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.

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.

'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.