He might be
in the shadow Dario Argento, a director who always aimed for very spectacular
thrillers (brilliant stuff by the way), but a giallo directed by Sergio Martino
is without a doubt among the finest in the genre you can see. Torso and The
Suspicious Death of a Minor is two of my favourites, but thankfully I've
actually skipped a few of his other films just to have something to watch in
the future - and today was one of those futuristic days when popped the cherry
of Mrs. Wardh, well... or at least The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (aka Next!
aka Blade of the Ripper)! Now this is one of the most twist-packed gialli I've
seen, on the boarder to be parody - but it's so well done it's very easy to
buy.
Edwige
Fenech is Julie Wardh, married to ambassador Wardh (Alberto De Mendoza). A
happy life in Italy Rome
I'm not
sure everyone would agree, but The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh is one of the
smartest and trickiest gialli ever made. I can't say why or who or when or what
the fuck, but it's built up in a genius way and with a script so packed with
red herrings and clues and wonderful, wonderful characters, it's easy to just
get drawn inside the intrigues and forget this boring real world. Martino has
sometimes been accused of just being a gun for hired, but that's very far from
the truth. A gun for hire would never put so much energy into telling a story,
with intelligent use of angles and camera movements and getting the best out of
his actors.
He has a stellar cast here, from the beautiful talent of Fenech,
the raw hunkiness of Hilton, the restrained unhappy husband of De Mendoza (and
I can never get it out of my mind that he plays the crazy priest in Horror
Express) and the edgy madness of Rassimov. It's one of the finest quartets ever
in an Italian thriller.
While not
as gory or graphic as the work of Argento or Fulci, in the same genre, Mrs
Wardh still gives us a couple of nasty set-pieces where the razor-killer slices
away the ladies with an uncanny frenzy. The sexiness of the film is also higher
than normal and there's enough nudity to please the dykes and straights, but
very little for the women and gays - even if George Hilton's butt is quite
okay. But it is a movie about sex, about romantic affairs and (something that's
mentioned very discreet) some kind of kinky sex that Julie likes.
The Strange
Vice of Mrs. Wardh is another masterpiece from the Martino-brothers and it will
go to history as one of the very best of Italian thrillers.
3 comments:
A Masterpiece, but I like Case of the Scorpions Tale more!
"Martino has sometimes been accused of just being a gun for hired, but that's very far from the truth. A gun for hire would never put so much energy into telling a story, with intelligent use of angles and camera movements and getting the best out of his actors."
I haven´t seen that much of his work but this film sounded very interesting.
"While not as gory or graphic as the work of Argento or Fulci, in the same genre, Mrs Wardh still gives us a couple of nasty set-pieces where the razor-killer slices away the ladies with an uncanny frenzy."
Thats what I like about giallos, the many ways people get killed in.
"The sexiness of the film is also higher than normal and there's enough nudity to please the dykes and straights"
GREAT!
"even if George Hilton's butt is quite okay."
Easy there ninja, think of your bf and stay calm.
"The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh is another masterpiece from the Martino-brothers and it will go to history as one of the very best of Italian thrillers"
Thanks ninja, good review, sounds like my type of gialli.
Megatron
I agree with you. This is one of the best gialli ever made. It is never exhausted to provide red-herrings and twists. I was surprise again and again until the end of the film which left me jaw-dropping.
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