tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3369610344911858466.post581169065347572317..comments2024-01-09T04:01:00.672+00:00Comments on Breakfast In The Ruins: Exploito All’Italiana: Spasmo (Umberto Lenzi, 1974)Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14951955227326548340noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3369610344911858466.post-47449436765865378272016-11-29T01:36:40.968+00:002016-11-29T01:36:40.968+00:00Ercoli made several solid gialli with his wife Sus...Ercoli made several solid gialli with his wife Susan Scott / Nieves Navarro. I actually bought the DVD set instead of renting. One giallo I just can't get into is The Red Queen Kills Seven Times. I can never get through it. I lost it with Dario after The Mother of Tears. His Dracula was awful. He should stay away from the CGI.Elliot Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17964519903027517480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3369610344911858466.post-1324158907722285822016-11-28T15:34:36.306+00:002016-11-28T15:34:36.306+00:00Thanks for sharing your thoughts Elliot - that'...Thanks for sharing your thoughts Elliot - that's a really interesting take on thing.<br /><br />Up to the late '70s, I'd probably take Martino over Argento too actually (although after that, Dario wins me over big time with 'Suspira', 'Inferno' etc), and I'm looking forward to getting around to less-celebrated efforts such as Ercoli's films, Lenzi's other gialli etc soon...Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14951955227326548340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3369610344911858466.post-27495085010264434372016-11-28T01:56:18.956+00:002016-11-28T01:56:18.956+00:00Sexual perversity, abnormal psychology and misogyn...Sexual perversity, abnormal psychology and misogyny formed the core of the giallos and Spasmo is an entry that's overloaded with those themes yet subdued visually. Suzy Kendall added some giallo cache due to her roles in Bird With The Crystal Plumage, Torso and even a British "gialli," In The Devil's Garden. I didn't predict that penultimate scene with her and Hoffman when I first saw the film. Lenzi's script made this less formulaic than other gialli (no black gloved murderer) but the cinematography is straightforward; only at the end do we see some flashbacks that clear up the story. The use of mannequins as sexual fetishes and surrogates leads back to Mario Bava and, of all directors, John Huston, in the hard-to-find Freud. Hoffman is as good as any giallo leading man and Rassimov as his brother is excellent physical casting. I actually prefer these lesser gialli (What Are Those Strange Drops of Blood on Jennifer's Body, the Luciano Ercoli series and Sergio Martinos' films) to Dario Argento's better made films with his bravura technical flourishes and use of advanced photographic technology.Elliot Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17964519903027517480noreply@blogger.com