Largely cited as the inspiration behind Carpenter's Halloween (1978), Cunningham's Friday the 13th (1980) and the hundreds of countless other gory slasher movies, this is an entertaining horror film from Mario Bava, who is probably the greatest of the Italian genre directors. He is also an incredibly talented cinematographer, as you can tell with many clever, artistic touches and how his camera looms for some time over the tranquil lake-front setting in between the very graphic murder sequences. This is an art concept; coupling savagery and the ills of man (greed, lust) with the beauty and serenity of nature, with loud shrieks occasionally piercing through the calm. It's a shame that the later copycats failed to realize the potential found here.
There's a high enough body count and creative kills to entertain most fans of these type of movies. If you try to deeply analyze the plot, you will be somewhat disappointed. But if you can appreciate this as a colorful piece of the macabre, you will love it. There are several jump-out-of-your-seat moments (the best being a surprise awaiting a man who opens his front door) and a truly nasty neck slashing. There's also some brief nudity. The ending is a huge surprise, but definitely more than a little hard to swallow. Then again, this sense of playful parody helps to diffuse some of the gore. If you love horror films, I recommend this one!
There's a high enough body count and creative kills to entertain most fans of these type of movies. If you try to deeply analyze the plot, you will be somewhat disappointed. But if you can appreciate this as a colorful piece of the macabre, you will love it. There are several jump-out-of-your-seat moments (the best being a surprise awaiting a man who opens his front door) and a truly nasty neck slashing. There's also some brief nudity. The ending is a huge surprise, but definitely more than a little hard to swallow. Then again, this sense of playful parody helps to diffuse some of the gore. If you love horror films, I recommend this one!