This unusual film is nominally a horror but, like many Italian films from the 60's, it is at heart an art film, with the accent much more on psychological drama than suspense and thrills. The story has a slightly arrogant man agree to work in the library of a strange older woman who he believes has been following him around for some time; enter a beautiful daughter and increasingly strange events soon follow. It does have to be said at this point, that the title of this one is kind of a spoiler!
This is a very elegant film visually, with attractive camerawork, an ornately dishevelled mansion where the bulk of the story takes place and great use of shadows and light. It has a fine cast too, with good acting throughout. Unfortunately, I did think it had pacing problems though, probably not helped by the small cast and limited locations. The minimalism does mean that this is very dialogue heavy, almost like a stage play adaption really. At the very least, you would have to be in the right frame of mind for the deliberately paced events depicted in this one. Still, it is overall a distinctive enough effort which does have a certain interesting ambiance, including some tantalising opening scenes, a seductive dance routine and a memorably macabre ending.
This is a very elegant film visually, with attractive camerawork, an ornately dishevelled mansion where the bulk of the story takes place and great use of shadows and light. It has a fine cast too, with good acting throughout. Unfortunately, I did think it had pacing problems though, probably not helped by the small cast and limited locations. The minimalism does mean that this is very dialogue heavy, almost like a stage play adaption really. At the very least, you would have to be in the right frame of mind for the deliberately paced events depicted in this one. Still, it is overall a distinctive enough effort which does have a certain interesting ambiance, including some tantalising opening scenes, a seductive dance routine and a memorably macabre ending.