The Etruscans seem to have existed in Italy before the Romans, or at the same time - I can't be bothered checking. In this overlong but entertaining Giallo, alcoholic archaeologist Alex Cord finds a buried tomb and starts taking pictures of it using a probe. One sudden rainstorm later, the probe has gone missing and two teenagers have their faces graphically smashed in with that very probe!
As usual, the suspects are numerous. Alex is in Italy for this dig, but he's also hanging around with his ex-partner Myra, who is now married to John Marley, a jerk composer who is prone to having tantrums and taking out his rage on his assistant Irene. John lives in a huge mansion (do I even have to mention that bit?) with his son Igor, his girlfriend and others. Also, Horst Frank puts in a hilarious over the top performance as the 'faggot' choreographer, who even performs a little pirouette when Alex starts chasing him!
Someone keeps stealing shows from this show they're all putting on and leaving them with the corpses, but blame naturally falls on Alex, as due to the boozing, he keeps having blackouts. It doesn't help that the security guard on site loves killing insects, is selling the artefacts, and is now blackmailing Alex.
At first we're led to believe that an Etruscan demon has risen from the dead and is killing folk, but then would a demon announce its presence by playing a Dictaphone of classical music? Someone is a serial killer, but there's a lot of digging to do before Alex can clear his name.
This is a solid giallo but just a wee bit too long, what with Alex and Myra and John Marley's love triangle thing, and a few of the characters are a bit bland. The blunt trauma killings are a bit shocking, and Horst Frank, with his orange afro(!), helps proceedings.
The Etruscans would return in more genuinely undead form in Andrea Biachni's Burial Ground!
As usual, the suspects are numerous. Alex is in Italy for this dig, but he's also hanging around with his ex-partner Myra, who is now married to John Marley, a jerk composer who is prone to having tantrums and taking out his rage on his assistant Irene. John lives in a huge mansion (do I even have to mention that bit?) with his son Igor, his girlfriend and others. Also, Horst Frank puts in a hilarious over the top performance as the 'faggot' choreographer, who even performs a little pirouette when Alex starts chasing him!
Someone keeps stealing shows from this show they're all putting on and leaving them with the corpses, but blame naturally falls on Alex, as due to the boozing, he keeps having blackouts. It doesn't help that the security guard on site loves killing insects, is selling the artefacts, and is now blackmailing Alex.
At first we're led to believe that an Etruscan demon has risen from the dead and is killing folk, but then would a demon announce its presence by playing a Dictaphone of classical music? Someone is a serial killer, but there's a lot of digging to do before Alex can clear his name.
This is a solid giallo but just a wee bit too long, what with Alex and Myra and John Marley's love triangle thing, and a few of the characters are a bit bland. The blunt trauma killings are a bit shocking, and Horst Frank, with his orange afro(!), helps proceedings.
The Etruscans would return in more genuinely undead form in Andrea Biachni's Burial Ground!