Customer Reviews

Fulci Frenzy

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Unfortunately, Lucio Fulci is remembered for some really low budget though insanely popular grade-C horror gore-fests like 'Zombie 2', 'The House by the Cemetery', and 'House of Clocks', among others possibly not worth mentioning. But in the late 60's and early 70's, he directed some well-crafted Italian giallo classics including 'Lizard in a Woman's Skin', 'Don't Torture a Duckling' and 'Perversion Story', though this one isn't a gaillo in the traditional sense. Marisa Mell of 'Danger: Diabolik', 'Seven Blood-Stained Orchids', 'Amorous Adventures Of Casanova' and 'Diary Of An Erotic Murderess', among others, plays an immoral stripper and was the initial reason this flick caught my eye after seeing and never forgetting her in 'Diabolik'.

In 'Perversion Story' (1969), Jean Sorel stars as Dr. George Dumurrier, the director of an ailing medical clinic in San Francisco. George's wife, Susan, died under mysterious circumstances, leaving him beneficiary of a million dollar life insurance policy that will salvage his business adequately. Naturally, the insurance company responsible for the pricey payout puts George under surveillance as a prime suspect, soon finding him in the company of Monica Weston (Marisa Mell), an exotic dancer/stripper who looks exactly like his late wife. (On another note, this plot is almost exactly the same in another gaillo from the same time period, 'Liz And Helen', starring Klaus Kinski, but is lesser known). Suspecting fraud, the insurance company calls in the police, who believe George murdered his wife with Monica Weston's aid. As the cops continue to stack up enough evidence to convict him, George and his mistress Jane (Elsa Martinelli) scramble to uncover the real relationship between Monica Weston and his late wife Susan.

Riz Ortolani's score, as always, is fabulous, with an infectious swinging title track and various incidental themes that linger in the mind long after viewing. Marisa Mell gives a sly performance both as the uptight Susan Dumurrier and the sexy, swinging Monica Weston. Elsa Martinelli as mistress Jane looks fantastic in those late 60's fashions, but is under-utilized, like most of her flicks. Why?

The other Fulci flick paired up here is 'The Psychic'(1977), starring Jennifer O'Neill, and is my least favorite of the two. Not because it's a bad flick, but Severin, who usually gives us a beautiful print and audio quality with all their releases, dropped the ball on us this time. The print has multiple blemishes that prove distracting, and the audio wasn't cleaned up at all. Bad Severin, bad!

The film itself is one of those movies where it's difficult to discern who's who. None of the characters have much depth or remain memorable after the movie is over. 'The Psychic' relies on story and characters, and while the story is almost there, the characters aren't. They're all as shallow as a puddle. If this was a later Fulci splatter flick it really wouldn't matter (probably `cause I wouldn't have watched it). But when a movie like this relies on story and characters to hold your interest and unveil its tale, it simply doesn't work.

The screenplay is mildly interesting - the psychic visions make it appear a jigsaw puzzle. The lead character Virginia Ducci, played by Jennifer O'Neil, has to piece them together and while it does make for an interesting premise, weak and undeveloped characters botch it. In general, horror movies don't often display the best developed characters and one can argue Fulci never wrote movies that featured well-developed characters. The first hour is quite slow and you're likely to find yourself looking at the clock at times, but the final half-hour redeems the tedium for the most part. This was Fulci's last formal flick before he degenerated into the gore and shock fests that appear to be made by another man altogether. It boggles my mind.

I'm giving this one 4 stars simply because I love his earlier 60's/70's output referenced above and the leading ladies in these films...