La Lama nel corpo (The Murder Clinic)

Set in England in the 1800's and featuring all the trappings of the period piece gialli (a doctor, a newcomer to the house and a horrible secret hidden in the attic). Elio Scardamaglia's La Lama nel corpo is utterly predictable and while it's safe to say I'm not a big fan of the gothic gialli, Murder Clinic remains one of the better entries of this small and not very appealing sub-genre. There are two different locandina avilable for this film but I've only managed to find one so far. Poster art by Enzo Nistri.

Camping del Terrore (Body Count)

Ruggero Deodato's Camping del Terrore has very little in common with what most readers of this blog would consider a giallo. Set in the states and featuring an American teen cast being picked off one by one by what may or may not be an "old Indian Shaman", the film has far more in common with any American bodycount film of the 80's than with any golden age gialli. Although the film is a very average slasher, it's still quite nice to see Mimsy Farmer, David Hess, John Steiner and Ivan Rassimov in action. Poster art by Armando Testo.

Terza ipotesi su un caso di perfetta strategia criminale (Who Killed The Prosecutor and Why?)

Terza ipotesi su un caso di perfetta strategia criminale is yet another giallo that's spent years in my "to-watch" pile and that I only recently got around to watching. Unfortunately it feels like a bit of a wasted opportunity. Mainly because the script is fairly decent and I would love to have seen what a director like for example Duccio Tessari would have been able to do with it. Giuseppe Varis direction is workmanlike, but the film lacks any visual flair and the films low-budget origins clearly shows. Worth checking out if you can get your hands on it, but not as good as I think it could have been. No info on the poster artist.

Le Tue mani sul mio corpo (Shocking)

The English title of Brunello Rondi's Le Tue mani sul mio corpo is Shocking, but as a description of the film that title is pretty far off the mark. It sounds pretty good when you look at credits, it features a script by Luciano Martino & Mino Loy, a soundtrack by Giorgio Gaslini, it stars Lino Capolicchio and even Sergio Martino pops up a "Organizzatore generale". With a line-up like that you'd be forgiven for thinking you're in good hands, but unfortunately the giallo links are tenuous at best and the film really is more of a character study than a thriller. There are a few interesting visuals on display here and there but on the whole it's a far too slow moving to be of interest to most genre fans. No info on the poster art.

Perversione (Diary of an Erotic Murderess)

Manuel Mur Oti's Perversione or La Encadenada from 1975 is a fairly uninspired affair. Marisa Mell plays Gina who is hired by Alexander (Richard Conte) to look after his mute and disturbed son Mark. Unsurprisingly both men fall for her. Add the Holy Grail (!) and Anthony Steffen as Gina's ex-husband to the mixand you just know it's gonna end in tears.
The English language version of the film that I've seen appears to be trimmed (mainly for nudity), but I doubt an uncut version of the film would alter my thoughts of it. You can easliy give it a miss if you're not a rabid Marisa Mell fan.
Poster art by Renato Casaro

Assassino senza volto (Killer Without a Face)

The only copy of Assassino Senza volto I've managed to find is a low quality avi without subs, so I can't really tell you too much about the plot of the film. What I can tell you is that it's set in the Balsorano Castle (Check out this interesting post about the castle on the euro fever if you want to find out more). Considering the gothic castle setting and the fact that it's shot in black and white makes it feel slightly dated. Especially when you consider that a visual tour de force like Blood and Black Lace was shot a four years prior to this. The poster art by Studio Paradiso has got a pulpy kind of feel to it, but the film itself certainly feels more like a gothic horror than a 1968 giallo.

7, Hyden Park: la casa maledetta (Formula for a Murder)

To me, Alberto De Martino 80's gialli (this and Blood Link) are far better than the ones he directed in the 70's (The Man with Icy Eyes & The Killer Is on the Phone). 7, Hyden Park: la casa maledetta suffers a bit from the very 80's look and one of the worst synth scores ever (composed by the normally reliable Francesco De Masi), but apart from that it's a decent thriller with some interesting plot twists. The airbrushed artwork by Symeoni is a dead give-away to its 80's origins.

Ciak, si muore

I've had an unsubbed Italian language copy of Ciak, si muore laying around for years, but it wasn't until recently when I managed to get my hands on an subbed copy that I decided to watch Mario Moroni 1974 thriller. Can't say it was worth the wait. Filled with scenes that seem to go on forever, poorly shot murders and no suspense adds up to a fairly flawed thriller.
The locandina is a bit unusual. It's slightly oversized compared to your standard locandina which explains why I'm not keeping it in a "foglie" like all the other posters. Poster art by G. Calma.