Blade of the Ripper(1971) Movie Review

Trailer here.

Blade of the Ripper a.k.a. The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh is a 1971 Italian giallo directed by Sergio Martino and starring George Hilton and Edwige Fenech.

Julie Wardh(Fenech) is a married woman who is on her way home when she gets stopped by a police man who tells her that there is a killer on the loose. She arrives home and she is met by a present from her ex lover, Jean(Ivan Rassimov). This makes her uncomfortable as they had an abusive releationship. She married another man to get away from him. Her husband is Neil(Alberto de Mendoza) and he is not the most attentive husband. Julie is having dreams of Jean. The killer is at large and he claims another victim. Julie meets her friend, Carol at a party and is introduced to a man called George(Hilton). They like each other immediately. They meet once again and then he turns up at her place. They kiss and get it on. 

Julie gets a call from someone who saw them together. The person demands money to keep quiet. Julie thinks that it is probably Jean. Carol tells her that she will go to meet the blackmailer in her place. This is a huge mistake as the killer is there and he kills Carol. The police investigate. They ask Jean to come to the station. Julie is convinced that he is the murderer. Julie informs them that she was being blackmailed. Jean has an alibi, so they can't hold him. George wants to take her away. The killer taunts Julie. He tries to kill her, but she escapes. She tells Neil what happened. They go over to confront Jean, but find him dead.

Julie is upset by the whole thing. The murderer gets killed by one of his victims so this makes her feel better.

She ends up being kidnapped by Jean, who has faked his death. He turns on the gas and runs off. She is rescued by George and a doctor. They arrive just in time. The doctor tries to save her. Julie is taken to hospital. The doctor later tells George and Neil that Julie has died. Jean is revealed to be working for George. He was hired to kill Julie and make it look like suicide so that her husband could get her life insurance money. Carol was killed so that George could get an inheritance. Jean gets shot by George so that there are no witnesses. Neil and George are working together. They think that they have covered all bases by giving each other an alibi for the killings. They are going to escape when they see Julie. She is not dead after all. She leads the police to them and they end up dying as the police chase them. The doctor figured out that there was something fishy and realised that the murderer was not the original killer but someone else, trying to make Carol's murder look like she was just another victim. Julie survives.

This is a good film with a lot happening. There are a few suspects and two killers and I didn't figure out what was going on until the end. I did enjoy it, though and it was entertaining overall. I always enjoy a mystery and this is an above average one. I will give it a 6/10.

Bloody Pit of Horror(1965) Movie Review

Trailer here.

Bloody Pit of Horror is a 1965 horror movie directed by Massimo Pupillo and starring Mickey Hargitay, Walter Brandi and Luisa Baratto.

The film begins with a man called the Crimson Executioner. He is going to be executed and he swears revenge. He is put into a box with spikes and he dies. There is a seal placed on the box. His castle is where his evil deeds were performed. Years pass and the castle is abandoned. Some people come to see it. They look around. They are there because they are going to take photographs there. The owner is Travis Anderson(Hargitay) and he agrees to their taking pictures in his castle. The group are a writer called Rick(Brandi), the publisher, Mr. Parks, Edith(Baratto), who is his assistant, the photographer, Dermott and some models.

One of them gets killed in an accident. Others start to die when they see a man with a red hood. Travis talks to the group and he tells them about the Crimson Executioner and what happened. He tells them that he came to the castle for solitude. He sees Edith and he is drawn to her. The group find an iron maiden and they open it, only to find one of the models in it. She is dead. They realise the first death was no accident. Rick sends Dermott to get help. It turns out that Travis and Edith were engaged in the past. He was an actor. He disappeared from the public eye. Rick and Edith find one of the models caught in a web and a spider is coming for her. They can't save her. Rick tells Edith to escape. She and one of the others try to get out. Rick gets knocked out by a henchman.

Travis and Edith talk and he informs her that he is the Crimson Executioner reborn. He is evil. Dermott is dead. Rick is being tortured but he escapes. He fights the henchman. Edith tells Rick that Travis has the remaining group in the dungeon. More of them die. Travis takes Edith and ties her up. He is going to burn her. Rick appears and there is a scuffle. Travis gets impaled on his own poisoned trap. Rick frees Edith and they leave.

This is a fun film. There isn't too much in the way of scares of course. It has a decent cast and the story is okay. This is a cheaply made film but that doesn't really matter if you don't expect too much. I will give this a 4/10.