"The Case of the Bloody Iris" (1971) stars giallo's "Golden Couple," Edwige Fenech and George Hilton, who had recently appeared together in the Sergio Martino masterpiece "The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh" (1970) and would soon costar in Martino's giallo/Black Mass hybrid "All the Colors of the Dark" (1972). The two make a handsome couple, to put it mildly; indeed, they almost make Grace Kelly and Cary Grant in 1955's "To Catch a Thief" look dowdy! The story here concerns a whacko who's been killing the female residents of the luxury high-rise building where fashion models Edwige and her roommate have just moved. This giallo nutzo shows some imagination, however, and doesn't just depend on a straight-edged blade to do his work; he also drowns his victims in a bathtub and scalds them with hot steam! Many suspects are offered to the viewer: an old lady who loves horror stories, her burnt-faced son, the lesbian next door, her violin-playing dad, Hilton himself (the architect of the high-rise), Edwige's stalker ex-hubby, et al. I amazed myself this time by nailing the culprit halfway through, and I usually stink at these guessing games. Anyway, director Giuliano Carnimeo has shot his film in a fairly straightforward manner, with little of Martino's flashy "stylistics," and composer Bruno Nicolai's theme music is as hummable as can be. All in all, a fun giallo, if nothing great, that is hindered here by some pretty poor dubbing (subtitles would've been so much more preferable!). But Edwige...OMG! I've seen her in five films lately, and still can't quite believe how extraordinarily beautiful she is. My fellow men, you owe it to yourselves to see this spectacular Eurobabe at least once in your lifetime. Then you'll understand why I laughed out loud when one of the characters in this film tells her that she's not his type!
Review of The Case of the Bloody Iris
