My Dear Killer (1972)

the audience applauded

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

"My Dear Killer" is another fun and decent entry in the Italian Giallo thrillers genre and begins interestingly enough with a man standing at a eerie lake and then meets his end with a gloriously twisted tractor accident/murder, and straight away lets the viewer know what's in store for the rest of the movie.The plot is very interesting for starters as we get the main character a detective trying to solve this crime, which then leads him to a kidnapping case from before where the child and father were both murdered. Then along the way of course everybody who was involved meets some sort of sticky end, which was another aspect that excited and interested me, especially the girl who gets attacked with a buzzsaw, which was both terrifying and well done.Okay there are some bad points, like for starters the pacing was rather slow at times and some of the characters didn't quite stand out, I couldn't tell some of them apart and there weren't enough colourful characters to fully ingage in. But what saves things are the delightful twists and turns round every corner, and especially loved the scene at the end where the detective gathers round the last remaining suspects in a Agatha Christie kinda way, about the reveal the identity of the killer, which was delightful, especially when the lights go out and then someone screams.All in all a fairly entertaining addition to the Giallo genre, but not one of the best ones though, but still decent enough.

A man is decapitated by a dredger when trying to find an unspecified item from a swamp. The victim, Paradisi, worked as an insurance investigator on 'the Moroni Case' – an unsolved crime where a little girl was abducted and held to ransom. Her father delivered the ransom but he and the child were subsequently killed. The swamp murder sets off a series of killings as the killer feels the law getting too close. Inspector Luca Peretti is called in to get to the bottom of the mystery.My Dear Killer is a very good classic-style giallo. It has a very convoluted plot, even by the genre's standards. So it demands that the viewer pays close attention. Director Tonino Valerii has managed to put together a quite gripping mystery-thriller here, where the various twists and turns are incorporated into the narrative very effectively indeed. The film has the occasional giallo theme of child-killing. This ensures that there is an especially uncomfortable undercurrent to proceedings. Indeed, one of the suspects appears to be a paedophile and there does appear to be a very young naked girl in his apartment – this scene is extremely shocking to be honest. More typical of the genre is the usual array of violent murder scenes, the most famous of which involves a circular saw. The stalk and kill sequences are all well-handled and quite tense and scary; although, overall, the focus is far more on the police procedural mystery than the more gory violent aspects.George Hilton puts in a very good performance as Peretti and really holds things together well. His character is fairly rounded with a home life too, which adds to the overall depth. Adding to the atmosphere immeasurably too is Ennio Morricone. Il Maestro provides yet another nice score that fits the tone very well, especially good is the creepy lullaby theme that echoes the child-killing background to the story.As I said this is a giallo with a much more pronounced whodunit angle, with the mystery always given precedence. Sometimes this can make a film a little tedious but not in this case. The Agatha Christie side of the story lends itself well to a central police figure and the final scene with all the characters gathered is in particular from the Christie mould. In any case it seems like the best way to present this particular story. In fairness, this isn't one of the more visually striking gialli out there - it was director Valerii's only entry in the genre and maybe because he was more used to making westerns this reflects the grittier look and feel. But, this aside, My Dear Killer is certainly a consummate giallo that does not disappoint at all.

An insurance investigator is decapitated by someone operating a dredger near a polluted quarry. Inspector Luca Peretti(George Hilton, in fine form)and partner Chief Marò(Salvo Randone)are on the case and soon discover that his death, that of Vincenzo Paradisi(Francesco Di Federico), is tied to the kidnapping of a little girl(..the Moroni case), and the horrifying double murder that resulted shortly afterward. Peretti must exhaust every lead, even the most minute detail, trying to uncover Vincenzo's past(..his investigation of the Moroni family)if he wishes to discover the killer.Director Tonino Valerii crafts a very difficult, complex story that wields some very unsettling, unnerving truths about the Moroni family and the sadistic lengths a killer will go to remove key evidence linking him/her to the murder of Paradisi. Particularly disturbing is the discovery of a sculptor/artist who spent "abnormal" amounts of time with the deceased girl, Stefania, and it's subtly implied that he's an obvious pedophile. Clues develop that might shed light on just who was responsible for the murder of Stefania and her father..an artistic rendering of a specific house, drawn by Stefania, and a mirror of such great importance that someone is willing to kill viciously for it. Other potential victims, such as Vincenzo's girlfriend(Helga Liné), a school teacher(Patty Shepard), and a belligerent penniless brute, Mattia(Dante Maggio) who lives in a shack located near the quarry where Paradisi was murdered(..also involved, is Mattia's live-in girlfriend, Adele, portrayed by Lola Gaos). Mattia collects various items left in garbage cans or nearby the quarry and he attains a key piece of evidence that makes him a target. The school teacher is involved because Stefania was in her class and the art book in her possession contains a left-over piece of a drawing ripped from it(..the larger piece of the drawing was in possession of Vincenzo's female companion, who was strangled shortly after removing it from a safe deposit box). The film shows that the killer stays one step ahead of Peretti almost every step of the way..as soon as the Inspector figures out a potential detail(..or character) detrimental to solving the case, almost always the killer gets to it or them first. There were several people involved with this film's complicated, exceptionally convoluted story-line and it unfolds with one hell of a revelation(..the girl, Stefania, was bright enough to implicate her killer while her hands and feet were bound by wire, using a mirror she rolled down a hill for another to discover). The finale has Peretti confronting all suspects, using a mirror to reflect each person's face..it's a nifty indictment of each person who perhaps were responsible, in one way or another, in the result of Stefania's left to starve next to her dead beloved father's body! Tullio Valli is the one-armed brother of the murdered Moroni, Oliviero and his estranged wife, Carla, is portrayed by Mónica Randall. William Berger is Giorgio Canavese, under suspicion for perhaps assisting in the kidnapping operation, who runs a shipping business, and is involved with trafficking drugs.While not particularly gory, the violence is still potent and shocking enough(..one's head is cracked over the head with a statuette, another is attacked with a Black and Decker saw, with the opening decapitation quite stunning way of opening this giallo)and there is some nudity(..both Shepard and Marilù Tolo as Peretti's girl, remove their shirts displaying their breasts)to keep giallo fans satisfied. It was neat watching Hilton is a rare detective role, sporting a mustache, but his life away from the investigation(..his strained relationship with Marilù Tolo ) serves as nothing more than filler, an attempt at giving his character a backstory regarding how his work interferes with his love-life. Eerie, spine-tingling score by composer Ennio Morricone. Fans of Helga Liné will be severely disappointed because her role is of no real depth..basically a victim role, whose character is bumped off due to a drawing, clinched tight in her dead hand. Alfred Maya is especially creepy as the pedophile whose studio is used as a place where he brings naked girls(..one such scene is shown as Peretti is questioning him, with a nude girl interrupting their conversation).

Director Tonino Valerii is best known in the USA for the spaghetti western "My Name is Nobody," but "My Dear Killer" is no less an excellent example of the giallo genre than "Nobody" was to its own. The plot revolves around a series of murders committed by an unknown assailant intent on keeping the deaths of a small child and her father unsolved. As is the case with most gialli, there's a detective one step behind the murderer, a lush and creepy music score (this time by Morricone), a houseful of suspects, creative and illogical murders, and a downbeat and melancholy plot. What elevates this one above all the others made in that banner year for the genre (1971), though, is the detail given to the script and production. The characters are all fully formed and functional to the story, which itself is well thought-out and clever. The resolution is well-handled, and even if the killer's identity is impossible to guess beforehand, the means in which he (or she) is finally discovered will make you smile. Add to this one of the saddest musical-score main themes in movie history, featuring a woman's voice singing a haunting child's melody, and you have a giallo that fans of the genre should definitely not miss.