Watch Me When I Kill

I am subdued by the realistic darkness of this film. Giallos as a whole may have scenes of disturbing violence, including rape or murder, or other forms of torture and exploitation - but often it's presented in such a manner that it's not realistic. Giallos are either too stunningly beautiful to be scary (my personal favorites), and when they aren't stylish and fashionable or lavishly atmospheric, there's so much sex and silliness that the sub-set of giallo films are obvious predecessors to American popcorn slashers.

Not so with Watch Me When I Kill, despite the absurd title, I avoided this giallo for months because I suspected that it was one of the slapstick exploitation proto-slashers that aren't really my preferred gialli, just because of the awful stupid English title. In fact, everything about English translation is why this film only gets a 7 and not an 8 or even a 9. The dialogue is too clunky and quaint, and I would really love to find an Italian-language version of this flick. The Cat with the Jade Eyes is the literal Italian title, and that's just the tip of the iceberg in how American marketing borderline destroys some of these old Italian sleeper hits.

Unlike most giallo directors, Antonio Bido loved middle aged women. Middle aged women make appearances as real solid characters in both Il gatto dagli occhi di giada and Solamente Nero, and except for one youthful main character every other woman in this film is over 50 except the opera singer who might be 35-40ish at youngest. Bido shows their faces, shows these "invisible women" as people watching and waiting and being worthy of being part of his film.

But that's not what makes Watch Me When I Kill so extraordinary. This movie is scary. The noises on the tape in the beginning of the film are truly disturbing, some scenes are mind-bendingly surreal but are more reminiscent of Bava or even Roman Polanski than Argento, and the end is so, so, so, so dark.

Directorial debut for Antonio Bido and it is quite good for being that. Here in this late 70s Italian Giallo we see a pharmacist is killed, but Mara (Paola Tedesco) witnesses the murderer leaving the scene. Soon she believes she is being stalked by the murderer. Good thing her chain-smoking, cigar chomping boyfriend (well played by Corrado Pani) is there to help investigate.

I found quite early in my viewing that this was influenced heavily by Dario Argento's work from the 70s. Right down to the music is heavily influenced by Goblin (most notably the DEEP RED soundtrack). Music is done by Trans Europa Express and it is quite good. One problem I found is that it is a somewhat talky film. When there should be action happening sometimes the actors start firing out dialogue. But, in the end you do get your delicious twist to cap the film off. There is one quite interesting murder I found being committed in a bath tub. Worth seeing if you can find and if you are into giallo films chances are you will enjoy.

After the murder of a pharmacist, a series of follow-up murders to those around her forces a woman to turn to her boyfriend to help get her out of the situation, and when he realizes that there's a far-reaching motivation for the crime spree races to stop it in order to protect her.

This one here was a generally enjoyable genre entry. Among the film's brighter aspects is the actual mystery at play that's pretty intricate and allows for great time uncovering its purpose. From the seemingly random attack on the pharmacist followed-up by the failed attack on the witness, there's a worthwhile lead in that makes it curious about the need to decipher the recorded message left on the phone filled with dogs barking and the threatening message. Likewise, the unraveling mystery about the criminal case all the main players are involved in makes this one interesting as the film generates the kind of grand connection that's fully revealing in a shocking finale. As well, the film also manages to ge a lot to like with the stalking scenes featured throughout here. The initial attack in the store is a fine shock, as is the aborted stalking attempt in the girls' house where the killer gets scared off before doing anything are rather fun scenes that give this some enjoyable thrills. The other attacks, ranging from the stellar sequence of the girl being attacked in the wardrobe department, the bathroom ambush in the hotel or the final confrontation in the house give this some rousing action along the way as well. These here give the film a lot to like overall. This one does have a few minor flaws. The main problem is the fact that this one really feels underwhelming with a lot of the stock genre tropes that are in play. The investigation manages to forsake a lot of rational thought from the leads as the fact that bodies have been piling up with no interaction from the authorities. The attacks that happen here should warrant police protection or more of a presence here, yet it's all dismissed due to a one-line writer-off thinking the police would rather throw the party in jail rather than protect them for what they know about the crimes, a fact brought up after several bodies have turned up and one attack on their lives which is completely ridiculous to believe it would play as such. That also ties in marginally with the other flaw in that there's a pretty sluggish pace here. The central investigation here tends to rely much more on sudden realizations about clues and sheer coincidences about the various events which are told in excruciatingly long conversations. The meeting with the pharmacists' widow or the tile salesman are filled with fine informational leads that just lead to some overlong scenes, much like the final half which consists mainly of him running around the small-town by himself collecting the final pieces to the puzzle alone while she's alone at the house with no protection. This should've been carried out together instead of setting her up for the killer to attack, another feature from the earlier segment and are what holds this one back.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.

A series of brutal and bizarre killings takes place.When Mara witnesses one of the murders the black-gloved killer starts terrorizing her-she turns to her boyfriend Lukas for assistance.But will he be able to uncover the culprit before his girlfriend becomes the next victim?Antonio Bido's "Watch Me When I Kill" is an enjoyable giallo,albeit heavily influenced by Dario Argento's works,especially "Deep Red".The film is an above-average effort filled with enough suspense and shocks to satisfy fans of Italian horror.Surprisingly effective murder scenes are another reason to check this film out-in particular,the muder of Fernando Cerulli in a bathtub,set to opera music,would make Dario Argento proud.The performances are pretty good and it's nice to see Fulci's veteran Paolo Malco in one of the main roles.8 out of 10.

Not the most shocking, nor the most bloody, nor the most stylish of giallo, but it's likable enough and is just that little bit different. Much helped by a very decent performance from Corrado Pani as the cigar chomping guy who seeks to unravel one of the most complicated of tales. Far too many characters and just a few too many red herrings and yet it does keep going and if Paola Tedesco as the female lead does not match the performance of Pani, this may be the fault of the dubbers. Not awash with killings, what there are, are very good. The first one is a bit pedestrian but the fantastic bath scene killing and the one backstage with all the costume are worth the admission price and if the ending is a bit abrupt, it is conclusive and brought a smile to my face. Effective score.