Most established directors must look back on their earlier work and say "what was I thinking?" Horror maestro Dario Argento must think that when he looks at this rather odd early film. The premise is an intriguing one: a drummer accidently kills a man in self defense; a masked stranger who photographed the act blackmails the drummer, and then decides to go on a murder spree of his own. Unfortunately, Argento doesn't do much with it. He turns what could have been a fairly good movie into a boring and confusing mess. It's nearly impossible to figure out what's going on from one moment to the next, characters who have no bearing on the story are introduced and long overstay their welcome, and it never really is made clear exactly what the killer wants. Speaking of which, wait til you see who the killer is; it's an absolute impossibility for the killer to be this person. But, being as it is Argento, there are some nice visual touches: the laser that can photograph the last image an eye sees, a woman's head bouncing down the stairs (while still attached to her body), and the slow, slow motion death of the killer. Overall, a disappointment.
Review of Four Flies on Grey Velvet
