The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

"The Case of the Bloody Iris" is a superior giallo which benefits from the mesmerising presence of one Edwige Fenech, who fared much better in gialli than she did in all those dreadful Italian sex comedies. The producers had enough sense to let her be the heroine, rather than the standard debonair older gent, who thankfully doesn't come between her and the camera.The movie also has the bonus of never being boring. There are choice moments such as Fenech's first appearance, topless with body paint as a policewoman or some such (had she started making those commedia sexy all'italiana movies yet?) There is also a strikingly beautiful woman of colour who has a great scene, stripping on stage and then challenging men in the audience to come and fight her.The killings, if that's what you're here for, aren't as memorable, except for one hilarious moment where a ditzy blond girl has just been knifed and staggers up to the debonair gent (who, remember, isn't the hero) and rather than helping her in any way, he gazes off into the distance as though posing for an advertisement for cologne while she bleeds all over him. People, unsurprisingly, assume him to be the killer: he is at least partially culpable for not doing anything to help her!This one loses points in the end for not really being suspenseful. When the killer is revealed, it's not that much of a revelation. At least the journey there is fun.

The Case of the Bloody Iris is a classic style giallo written by genre specialist Ernesto Gastaldi. It stars the first couple of the sub-genre George Hilton and Edwige Fenech. And it is adorned with a lush score by the prominent Bruno Nicolai. It features a plot about a killer who is murdering people with immoral backgrounds. Its heroines are models and exotic dancers. There are dumb cops, eccentric side characters and sexy Euro babes. Its story is ridiculous, yet stylish always. In other words, this is a textbook example of the giallo. But you know what? I like textbook examples of the giallo. It's somewhat pleasing when a flick simply provides the thrills you hope it will. And while this may not be amongst the best the genre has to offer, it has the good grace to deliver the goods.A series of murders occur in a new high-rise apartment building. A couple of models move in and enter the mayhem.This one utilises a fairly routine plot but gives it an agreeable slice of schlock. Fenech's character is a model who has a past that includes wild drug orgies. Her neighbours in the building include a lesbian violinist and a mutant comic-book lover. There's loads of nudity and the usual selection of violent murders. It's all very much a product of the days before political correctness and all the more enjoyable because of this. But you would need to be insane to take this movie seriously. It might be trashy but its superior nonsense full of colour and style. Not for the average viewer but fans of Euro cult flicks of the 70's should find this a lot of fun.

Jennifer(Edwige Fenech)is a model on her way up the ladder of success who moves into the apartment complex architecturally designed by Andrea Barto(George Hilton). He even has a blueprint of the whole building. Andrea is dashing, handsome & filthy rich..but he has a tendency of being involved in the lives of certain women who fall prey to a serial killer wearing a stocking mask, hat & brown leather gloves. The killer uses a very small knife that can be easily hidden when stabbing in the gut of the chosen female victim..even in a crowded street or public elevator. Jennifer is being stalked by an ex-"husband" who won't cease from following her around often leaving a flower as a reminder that he isn't too far away. She hears mysterious voices in the bathroom from the apartment next to hers housing an old woman who likes horror stories. There is also a professor and his lesbian daughter(who makes it quite known she's attracted to Jen)who live on Jennifer's floor. It seems the female victims chosen all lived in Andrea's apartment. When Jennifer's best friend, Marilyn(Paola Quattrini)is murdered on a crowded street, she is in constant fear for her well-being. Couple that with the killer almost attacking Jennifer in her own apartment and Andrea(who she has become sexually involved with) being the chief suspect, she doesn't know where to turn. Anyone and everyone is a suspect.Good mystery highlights some nasty stomach stabbings in this delicious giallo from Giuliano Carnimeo. The ending where someone falls down a flight of stairs as the camera follows him towards the climactic end is stunning. Fenech is a gorgeous creature, but she is pretty much caught in a state of peril most the way with fear the constant emotion on her face. Hilton is the prototypical leading male in the gialli sub-genre..a wealthy, attractive, but mysterious man the female heroine falls for. Hilton always creates doubt for the viewer because you just never know because anyone whose seen their share of gialli understand that he has been both hero and villain. The film finds ways for Fenech to show off her killer body. The above title regards how the film changes when the first chosen possibility as the killer is found dead with a flower in Jennifer's apartment covered in blood.

I have just watched this and I enjoyed it immensely. I normally hate dubbed films but, while I would like to see a subtitled version, the person who did the dubbing seems to have had such fun with it and "got" all the characters so well that it doesn't matter! Well shot, lots of sexy scenes and many breast shots, along with a surprise killer revelation. The acting is of a surprisingly high standard, although this may be down to the dubbing again (God love the person who wrote it!). I'd love to find out how much the dialogue changed in translation, but until I can track down an Italian version I'm stuck! It may not be scary, and it may lack the brilliant characterisation of giallos like Profondo Rosso, but nonetheless this Case is one that is well worth opening up!