By Todd Garbarini
Sergio Martino’s Torso (1973) was originally recommended to me on VHS at a Chiller
Theatre horror film convention in 1999. I caught up with it later when DVD supplanted the inferior videocassette
format as the primary method of home video viewing and while that transfer was
a considerable step up, it was nothing compared to the new Blu-ray from Blue
Underground, which is absolutely gorgeous. The image is pristine and bright. Derived from the original camera negative, Torso, succinctly and mercifully truncated from the jaw-breaking I Corpi Presentano Tracce di Violenza
Carnale (Italian for The Bodies Show
Signs of Carnal Violence), falls into the category of the Italian giallo thriller. The word giallo
(pronounced gee-AL-oh), like the term splatter
films which is used for the brutally violent American horror thrillers released
in the 1970’s and 1980’s in the wake of John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978), describe an Italian genre of film and literature
which possess elements of both mystery and crime fiction. Giallo
in Italian translates into the word “yellow†in English and refers to the series
of paperback novels, better known as “penny dreadfuls,†which had yellow
covers. Gialli (plural) generally refer to films directed by Mario Bava and
Dario Argento, and these two gentlemen are certainly responsible for some of
the genre’s best outings. However, there
are other Italian directors who have produced such work and based upon Torso, this is a genre that horror fans should
familiarize themselves with if they have not already done so.
Shot primarily in the Perugia section
of Italy in the spring of 1972, Torso
is a tale of sexual violence seen in unusually graphic detail. A spate of brutal murders occurs in this
university town and young women are the target. The only clue appears to be a red and black
scarf used by the killer to off his victims, and just about every man in town
is a potential suspect. A quartet of
young female friends, one of whom is played by Suzy Kendall who previously
appeared in Dario Argento’s stunning debut film The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1969), leave town and stay at a
mountaintop retreat until the killer is caught. Naturally, instead of fleeing from the killer, they unexpectedly lure
him right to their front door.
Torso is by no means original in terms of
plot or narrative structure, but it is head and shoulders above similar yarns from
a cinematic standpoint. The final reel
of the film is masterfully photographed and edited, literally with no dialog,
and really keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. As director Eli Roth quite correctly states
in his introduction to the film, this sequence is pure cinema. The films falters slightly during its denouement, as it contains a scene where
the killer reveals the reasons for killing, a device derided in many movies,
even Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho
(1960). However, don’t rob yourself of
the experience of viewing this nifty thriller due to this minor quibble.
The disc extras consist of:
- · Murders in Perugia – an interview with Sergio Martino
- · Poster
and Still Gallery
- · Viewer’s
Choice of Watching the Uncensored English Version or the Full-Length Italian
Director’s Cut
Hopefully, we will soon get to see a
Blu-ray of Giuliano Carnimeo’s Perché
Quelle Strane Gocce di Sangue sul Corpo di Jennifer? (What Are Those Strange Drops
of Blood Doing on Jennifer’s Body?), better known as The Case of the Bloody Iris, starring French actress Edwige
Fenech.
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