Film star Michael takes a much needed break from filming, he and a group of friends/associates go and stay at his mother's large house in the countryside but one by one they become victims of an unknown killer. His sexy mother (the beautiful Anita Strindberg) tells Mike that "A strange bond exists between the two of us". Indeed it does, she doesn't look old enough to be his mother for one thing and when they hug one another her boobs are spilling out. The house is very Gothic, it comes with dodgy electrics, a creepy butler and every night a thunderstorm rages outside. Micheal's girlfriend has a bizarre nightmare, she is running topless around the property and encounters an hilariously fake giant spider, bats on wires and a couple of hideously disfigured Devil worshippers. She is played by the gorgeous Martine Brochard but that doesn't stop Michael cheating on her with what must be the most exotic Beryl (exploitation legend Laura Gemser) in movie history. No sexual equality here, she is stark naked whilst he only takes his top off! There are two very gory kills, a man is axed in his fake head and a woman gets a chainsaw to the neck. This was an early film for special effects maestro Sergio Stivaletti, not his best work for sure but he did go on to great things. I watched this on a recent Blu-ray release, some of the picture and sound quality is very poor but I assume that they had to use what was available and hopefully it is the complete cut. As a fan of Euro horror and Giallo I found plenty to enjoy but ultimately it is too messy to be considered a good movie.
Review of Murder Syndrome
