As Gialli goes, THE CASE OF THE BLOODY IRIS is fairly dated and dull. I just can't see anyone get excited over this movie. There is a list of elements that make a giallo successful and COTBI doesn't even come close to fulfilling all these requirements. The first thing is that the killer is dull and the identity is easy to figure out. The murders are equally unremarkable. The cinematography is pedestrian. Compared to the stunning camerawork in BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE made two years earlier, BLOODY IRIS looks truly uninspired. And there are several scenes that don't even fit the story-line, like the flashback scenes that tell us why the man is afraid of blood. Totally useless. But the worst part is that there's almost no tension going on, mainly because of the truly dated feel and look of the film and that annoying "upbeat" music, which seemingly makes up the entire soundtrack and is used incongruously during tense scenes. This film is totally forgettable.
Review of The Case of the Bloody Iris
