The Case of the Bloody Iris might have everything a typical giallo should have: kitschy locations, murders, beautiful women, an awesome score and tons and tons of red herrings. But I’m afraid that’s not what this one needs, instead it’s one of the weaker murder mysteries of the time. Yeah, it might be blasphemy, but I just need a little bit more than a nice surface. The story is… well, it’s a story, but nothing more than that. Chicks in and around a high rise building is murdered one by one, and of course George Hilton, the hunky hero, is suspected to be the killer. He and several others. You know the deal with these films.
The problem is that it just scratches the surface of these characters. It never goes beyond incredibly boring dialogues and brightly lit sets, making it look cheap and unspired. Edwige Fenech and George Hilton are both good, charismatic actors, but even here they’re underused. There’s a few details I like, for example that the obviously gay fashion photographer always avoids getting kissed by his female models - something that’s never focused on. It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s an idea from the actor himself, trying to make something fun of the badly written part.
According to me, and I guess many others will agree, the giallo genre is about darkness and beauty, darkness in characters and in art, beauty in the people and the macabre. Bloody Iris feels a bit too automatic to work, to capture that special atmosphere. The sadistic killings doesn’t hurt because the characters are totally uninteresting and people we’re suppose to root for are too bland. That perverted Italian grand guignol… it’s not there.
Alright, I’m bashing it a lot here. Sorry. If you look beyond the flat cinematography, it looks quite decent. It’s not incompetent in any way, just uninspired. The directing feels a bit lazy from time to time also, and I’m talking lazy like in cool hand held camera and stylish wide shots. This is just lazy. Oh sorry, I’m bashing it AGAIN! Alright. Let’s see here… the SCORE, the score by Bruno Nicolai is fucking wonderful, probably one of the best scores in giallo history. Extremely catchy and fun, strong melodies, good hooks. This is THE best thing with The Case of the Bloody Iris.
Nah, a weak giallo. A weak thriller with an overly confusing and boring screenplay. This geeky gay guy isn’t impressed. At all.
"Chicks in and around a high rise building is murdered one by one, and of course George Hilton, the hunky hero, is suspected to be the killer. He and several others. You know the deal with these films."
Yeah, I think I know....seen a few giallos.
"The problem is that it just scratches the surface of these characters. It never goes beyond incredibly boring dialogues and brightly lit sets, making it look cheap and unspired."
That´s a shame.....with Fenech who looks so cute.
"Alright, I’m bashing it a lot here. Sorry. If you look beyond the flat cinematography, it looks quite decent. It’s not incompetent in any way, just uninspired."
Soooo....you found it flat and bland......?
Stuff like that happens....
"Oh sorry, I’m bashing it AGAIN! Alright. Let’s see here… the SCORE, the score by Bruno Nicolai is fucking wonderful, probably one of the best scores in giallo history. Extremely catchy and fun, strong melodies, good hooks. This is THE best thing with The Case of the Bloody Iris.2
So you are saying that just maybe, QT will use this score in one of his films?
"Nah, a weak giallo. A weak thriller with an overly confusing and boring screenplay. This geeky gay guy isn’t impressed. At all."
Ok, but I want to see it.....Fenech looks like a babe, always a plus in my book.
Good review and thanks.
Posted by: Megatron | May 04, 2014 at 02:18
Guess you should have gone with the blood stained shadow instead. Lol
Posted by: XxxXuserXxx | May 20, 2014 at 15:47