Sergio Martino may not be *the* best director of gialli, but compared to most directors who work within the confines of the genre he is certainly at least *one* of the best.
This film is one of Martino's strongest efforts, featuring a rather clever and well-constructed plot, decent characterizations (which nearly all gialli lack), a solid musical score, and well-directed suspense sequences.
In reference to the plot, the film starts are conventionally, but the film takes a surprising turn when it changes its main focus onto an entirely different character (ala "Psycho"). At this point, the narrative begins to go in more interesting directions, with plot twists referring back to the film's opening reels, thus making it more focused and tight. There is also a rather clever red herring that proves quite effective (it threw me off for a second), but unfortunately it wasn't enough to keep the ending form being so obvious as it is (to me, at least).
The suspense sequences are genuinely suspenseful, especially the sequence in the apartment building (which features a slow motion sequence to heighten the suspense) and the climax (which I will refrain from commenting on to minimize spoilers).
The film is certainly a solid entry into the giallo canon, in fact I would as go as far as saying that it's one of the better examples of the genre.
However, like the genre itself, the film suffers from lack of almost no subtext to speak of. As a result, everything is fairly shallow and not emotional evolving, despite it's well produced surface.
Still, this is nearly essential viewing for fans of giallo. For fans of thrillers I would give a recommendation. For others with only a passing interest, I actually would suggest skipping it and watching an Argento film instead.
This film is one of Martino's strongest efforts, featuring a rather clever and well-constructed plot, decent characterizations (which nearly all gialli lack), a solid musical score, and well-directed suspense sequences.
In reference to the plot, the film starts are conventionally, but the film takes a surprising turn when it changes its main focus onto an entirely different character (ala "Psycho"). At this point, the narrative begins to go in more interesting directions, with plot twists referring back to the film's opening reels, thus making it more focused and tight. There is also a rather clever red herring that proves quite effective (it threw me off for a second), but unfortunately it wasn't enough to keep the ending form being so obvious as it is (to me, at least).
The suspense sequences are genuinely suspenseful, especially the sequence in the apartment building (which features a slow motion sequence to heighten the suspense) and the climax (which I will refrain from commenting on to minimize spoilers).
The film is certainly a solid entry into the giallo canon, in fact I would as go as far as saying that it's one of the better examples of the genre.
However, like the genre itself, the film suffers from lack of almost no subtext to speak of. As a result, everything is fairly shallow and not emotional evolving, despite it's well produced surface.
Still, this is nearly essential viewing for fans of giallo. For fans of thrillers I would give a recommendation. For others with only a passing interest, I actually would suggest skipping it and watching an Argento film instead.