SOL'S SCREENERS #6

MURDER IN A BLUE WORLD aka "Clockwork Terror"

Original title: "Una Gota De Sangre Para Morir Amando"

1973

Director: Eloy de la Iglesia

Writers: Eloy de la Iglesia, José Luis Garci, Antonio Fos

Stars: Sue Lyon, Christopher Mitchum, Jean Sorel

Rated: R

1h 28m

Not So Much A Kubrick Ripoff

Full confession: At the time I started this review [of 'Clockwork Terror'], I was under the impression the film was trying to resemble Kubrick more directly, when in fact it's more like a distant echo. Honestly, M"urder In A Blue World" (aka 'Clockwork Terror') comes off more like the result of a game of 'telephone', wherein somebody tells the filmmaker a version of what they thought happened in "A Clockwork Orange", but didn't really grasp the subtleties, then the filmmaker mostly misinterprets what he has heard, and goes off to make...this.

"Murder In a Blue World" is a story that follows a vaguely similar scenario: a misguided bully of a tough kid, full of mischief, gets up to some bad-kids fun with his little gang of friends, before getting jail time and electroconvulsive therapy, sort of. There is a massive twist you probably won't suspect, and I'm not sure they entirely pull it off, but there it is.

One watching without consideration of the supposed source would still think this is an oddity, and the 'goof factor' can make for enjoyable viewing. My friends and I definitely goofed on it. If that's your kind of thing, then by all means - step right up! I'm not here to sleaze-shame ya!

CRAZY DESIRES OF A MURDERER

Original title: I Vizi Morbosi Di Una Governante

1977

Director: Filippo Walter Ratti

Writer: Ambrogio Molteni

Stars: Corrado Gaipa, Roberto Zattini, Isabelle Marchall

Not Rated - but loads of perverse violence

1h 29m

Gratuitously Beautiful Yet Somewhat Ugly Film

Folks, I gotta tell ya - if you like giallo films [or gialli, as they say en Italia], this is exactly the kind of thriller you're looking for: sexy stuff and gory murder set-pieces - the first of which will knock your socks off [the rest are cool too].

Let me just get this out of the way, though; the title sequence is the ugliest I've ever seen, awash in an unpleasant black/green puke color, with crude, almost nonexistent animation. The score, itself, fits the film perfectly, but over the funky-assed titles it feels uncanny. Honestly, I almost backed out completely from this because it bugged me so much, but glad I just skipped ahead instead, which I never usually do. If they went for an unsettling mood with all that, I guess they stuck the landing.

Of course, not all beautiful things are good, and not all ugly things are bad, as soon we shall see...

The English title ["Crazy Desires Of A Murderer"] translates much differently when directly from the Italian title: "The Morbid Vices of a Governess [Housekeeper]".

'Morbid Vices', people!

Like, "Crazy Desires" are something one may get for White Castle burgers, or vodka - but when there's *morbid vices*, we know we're in for some lurid stuff - and, oh yeah, this stuff is Lurid with a capital 'L': full-on eye violence, taxidermy, unnecessary sedation, and gorgeous gals in sexy lingerie [the latter only lurid in juxtaposition with other horrible, plot-adjacent developments]. One striking difference from this and most earlier gialli: the gore effects, while not overly-plentiful, are quite realistic because basic makeup effects had progressed so much by the time of this later-period giallo film - no pink/orange tempera-paint-looking blood here. No sir.

To merely recount the plot is to give it a disservice, so believe me when I say - it's nuts! Highly recommended to fellow sickos. Would make a smashing double-feature with 1969's "The Doll Of Satan" / "La bambola di Satana" [elsewhere on this page].

THE DOLL OF SATAN

Original title: La Bambola Di Satana

1969

Director: Ferruccio Casapinta

Writers: Ferruccio Casapinta, Giorgio Cristallini, Carlo M. Lori

Stars: Erna Schürer, Roland Carey, Aurora Battista

1h 30m

Gothic Web Entraps Ingenue In Lurid Horror

If you enjoy complex, multi-layered plot devices, twisted drama, and gruesome proceedings in a decently gory Bava-esque body count grinder, then read on...

"La Bambola Di Satana" is one of those tales where there's a newly married couple and one spouse is gonna learn some horrible things in a creepy old castle, right? Right. It's very much that - with a twist, which I won't give away, but you'll learn before the end of the first act. Lucia Bomez gives a tour de force performance as one of the wickedest villains in 60s/70s Eurotrash-film memory. I mean, if you like that kind of thing [I do], this film really scratches that particular itch.

"The Doll of Satan" is both a twisted psychological thriller and a giallo, which - full confession - is really right in the wheelhouse of things I enjoy from cinema. With a story that moves like a tight Agatha Christie body-count whodunit on steroids; layers of normalcy are torn away to reveal enough malice and deceit to leave one breathless...all the way until the double-shock conclusion.

Though one won't be able to predict the ending, neither will one feel hoodwinked by a nonsensical resolution either, or non-resolution. Once the puzzle-pieces fall together, it's quite satisfying. This is a twisted little Euro-thriller, only a little worn around the edges [a restoration would do wonders for the look of this one, as some of the cinematography is quite nice].

As stated in its own review here elsewhere, "Crazy Desires Of A Murderer / I Vizi Morbosi Di Una Governante" would make a great double-feature with "The Doll Of Satan / La Bambola Di Satana".

NA CHA THE GREAT

Original title: Na Zha

1974

Director: Cheh Chang

Writers: Cheh Chang, Kuang Ni

Stars: Sheng Fu, Man-Tzu Yuan, Hark-On Fung

1h 30m

Flying Wheels Of Fire Against Evil Dragons

Highly enjoyable Kung-Fu potboiler, loads of goof factor bundled in with that mannered, old-school Chinese cinema quality.

The word 'potboiler' must be emphasized here, because there is a ton of dialog and character development, which I found no big deal, but a few folks at least as smart as I am may comment online the film drags. Personally, my impression is the cinematography and set design alone are probably more fun than following the plot, but the story is rewarding if you can hang in there - and it's not like there's no Kung Fu; still plenty of crazy stunts and fight coordination breaking up the static scenes, just not wall-to-wall crazy.

So the story is, roughly: three millennia past there was born a mighty savior who fought back the evil dragons and saved the day. That is to say, despite the one-sentence summary, the first act of "Na Cha" begins the epic tale of a basic trickster entity in human form as a boy, who learns it is more important to use his enchanted powers for the good and safety of his people, rather than for playing senseless tricks on grandmas and apple vendors. It's all about vanquishing villains from there on.

Plus, there are those dragons - and flying wheels of fire Na Cha uses like air-skis. The aforementioned dragons feature some artfully stylized puppetry, and the flying sequences are sufficiently dream-like. I mean, what else can you ask from matinee cinema? Would look very cool on a cinema screen. Great stuff for movie night get-togethers with friends and libations.