Murder-Rock: Dancing Death

Lucio Fulci's foray into the world of competitive dance represents both a curious departure from his signature gore-soaked horror films and a surprisingly effective entry into the giallo tradition. Set against the backdrop of New York's cutthroat dance scene, this 1984 thriller combines the director's visual flair with Keith Emerson's pulsating synthesizer score to create an atmosphere that oscillates between sleazy exploitation and genuine suspense. While the film occasionally stumbles under the weight of its own ambitious concept, it delivers enough memorable sequences and stylistic flourishes to satisfy both Fulci devotees and giallo enthusiasts seeking something slightly different from the usual formula.

The Arts for Living Center provides the perfect setting for Fulci's exploration of artistic ambition turned deadly, where the pursuit of perfection becomes literally fatal. The director demonstrates his understanding of the dance world's inherent drama, using the rehearsal studio as a pressure cooker where jealousy and competition simmer beneath the surface of artistic collaboration. The cinematography captures the graceful movements of the dancers while maintaining an underlying sense of menace, particularly during the elaborate dance sequences that serve as both showcase and potential hunting ground for the mysterious killer.

Olga Karlatos delivers a commanding performance as Candice Norman, the academy's demanding director whose determination to solve the murders drives the narrative forward. Her portrayal balances authority with vulnerability, creating a character who feels genuinely invested in protecting her students while grappling with her own secrets. Ray Lovelock brings his characteristic intensity to the role of George, the enigmatic male model whose involvement in the investigation raises as many questions as it answers. Their chemistry provides the film with its emotional center, though their relationship development feels somewhat rushed given the constraints of the murder mystery format.

The film's most distinctive element lies in its unique fusion of dance choreography with traditional giallo elements. The killer's method of piercing victims' hearts with a hatpin creates a disturbing parallel between artistic precision and murderous intent. Fulci stages these murder sequences with his trademark attention to visceral detail, though he exercises more restraint than in his supernatural horror films. The dance sequences themselves are impressively choreographed and photographed, capturing the athleticism and artistry of professional dance without ever feeling like mere padding.

The investigation unfolds through familiar giallo conventions, yet the dance academy setting provides fresh opportunities for red herrings and misdirection. The competitive atmosphere naturally breeds suspicion among the performers, making virtually every character a potential suspect. Fulci wisely allows the mystery to develop organically through character interactions rather than relying solely on exposition, though some plot developments feel contrived when examined closely. The revelation of the killer's identity and motivation provides adequate closure, even if it doesn't achieve the psychological complexity of the genre's finest entries.

Keith Emerson's electronic score deserves particular praise for its ability to enhance both the dance sequences and the suspenseful moments without overwhelming either. The music captures the era's fascination with synthesizer-driven soundtracks while serving the story's dramatic needs. The production design effectively transforms New York locations into a believable world of artistic ambition and hidden dangers, though some interior scenes feel slightly cramped by budgetary limitations.

Loved it. Great suspense, disturbing murder scenes. Not too gory, but the suspense makes up for it. Very tense, the closeups, the pre-murder lighting and screams, the sound of the heart stopping. The victims' desperation is well played. Music is great to set you in the era, but you'll find it cheesy if you don't like 80s stuff. Some of the nudity was perhaps unnecessary but still stylishly done. The movie is weird but well executed. It isn't as gruesome as a gore flick, but I think it was more disturbing as it provides greater immersion. The slow killings are a shocker as you can feel them as real. I found myself trembling several times watching this, both by the murder scenes themselves and the suspense going through all the movie. Great camera shots, great scene composition, awesome lighting. The plot is simple but it works. It's interesting to watch the students accusing each other of the murders. There's an unexpected plot twist that I found rather interesting. Don't watch it if '80s cheesiness puts you off. In my case it was a plus. My first venture into giallo cinema and it satisfied me beyond my expectations. If I can find similar movies will definitely watch them. Last recommendation: do yourselves a favor and don't watch it dubbed, watch it in Italian as it's intended to be watched. Dubs for low budget movies aren't precisely good and will make the movie look fake. Get Italian audio with captions for maximum enjoyment.

Murder Rock is one of Lucio Fulci's lesser known films. It was released in the wake of a series of exceptionally violent movies directed by the great man. This one is considerably tamer and not one of his better received critically. It may very well be because it's less intense that it isn't amongst his most popular, I think it's only fair to say that is part of the reason. It's possibly the most blatant attempt by Fulci at making a mainstream movie. He decided to combine the popular horror sub-genre of the time – the slasher – with the 80's fad for fitness. This was the era of Flashdance and Fame, and lycra clad people seemed to be everywhere. I guess it was only a matter of time before a slasher variant on this theme emerged. In keeping with trying to appeal to a wider demographic this one is a relatively bloodless affair as well. It's possible that by trying to appeal to too many people, Murder Rock ended up pleasing fewer.

The story is about a series of murders committed around a dance school in New York. It's one of many early 80's efforts that Fulci set in America. In keeping with its Italian giallo roots though, there is a strong emphasis on the whodunit aspect. This ensures that the story retains a bit of interest and the audience is engaged throughout. There are some moments of giallo weirdness too which always helps such as the recurring dream that the female protagonist has about a sinister stranger trying to kill her. While Keith Emerson is on hand too with an appropriately cheesy soundtrack. It isn't exactly of the standard of the score he did for Dario Argento's Inferno but it does the job. Overall, this is an entertaining movie. A little light-weight perhaps but fun all the same.

Nothing very special about this giallo. A bunch of dancers are trying out for parts, and some get murdered by a hatpin stuck into their left breast (where it looks like it would actually pierce a lung and not the heart as intended). Some of the dancing scenes are pretty sexual.

The studio where they do their dancing has a rather odd system at the end of the day whereby a voice comes over an intercom, and the lights flash on and off repeatedly. I guess this is to make for more suspense or to make the killing scenes more exciting? It's more on the annoying side.

One of the women has a dream in which she is pursued by a killer with a pin (it changes sizes throughout the dream, sometimes appearing giant). She later sees the man from her dream on a billboard. She tracks him down, finding him to be a bit of a washed up, alcoholic actor, and starts a relationship with him.

Much more than that I don't remember.

Lucio Fulci's Murder Rock is often lambasted by both Fulci and Giallo fans; and although I can certainly see why, I've got to say that this film satisfied me personally and I won't hesitate to label it a successful attempt at blending the tacky eighties styling's of dance phenomenon's the likes of 'Flashdance' with the familiar styling's of the popular Italian Giallo. I'm sure Fulci thought he was on to a definite winner back in 1984 with all these popular elements in one film; and even though I'm not sure how they would have been received at the time, nowadays it stands up as an amusing slice of kitsch nostalgia. I think the director cared more about making a quick buck on this film than providing the mass with a piece of art, and this shines through in the convoluted, but not well put together plot line. As you might expect, the film centres on a dance academy. After one of the girls is found dead, the cops place everyone at the academy under suspicion and when the murders continue; the police are given more leads to eventually track down the perpetrator.

The main reason why this film isn't liked by many of my fellow Fulci fanatics is due to the fact that it's relatively bloodless in comparison to his other works. The likes of The New York Ripper and The Beyond show the director at his gritty, blood-dripping best...whereas the kill scenes in this movie hardly feature any of the red stuff. That being said, they are still rather sadistic, as the killer knocks his victim out with chloroform before puncturing their heart with, of all things, a hat pin. Still, it has nothing on the eyeball violence of Zombie Flesh-Eaters. The musical numbers are atrocious in true eighties pop style, while the dance scenes are rather boring and not what I tuned in for. Fulci does find time to implement some gorgeous visuals, and the blue tint that accompanies most scenes gives the film a certain sense of art. Even though many of the film's elements are not brilliant, I still rate this film as an overall success as it's entertaining and fun to watch, and even though there are too many filler scenes; the plot plays out nicely. It's not a major highlight either for the genre or for the director, but Murder Rock is still worth seeing.