Man on a Ledge (Leth, 2012) – Impressive cast, gimmicky story (“we'll make a film with a man committing a robbery while standing on a ledge” - except most of the story is everywhere but on that ledge - think
Phone Booth, but even flatter), sexy girl. Nothing much more to say, it had the premise to make an original film, but it's contrived and hacky.
3/10
Dolls (Stuart, 1986) – I know it's a Stuart Gordon film produced by Brian Yuzna, but it just doesn't feel like it. I guess that Ed Naha completing the trio brings the whole thing closer to their
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids than to their better horror films – he
must be the problem here. The whole thing is pretty bad, but the comic relief character that keeps on reminding me of (a light, almost bearable version of) Sean Astin is the worst. I still love Gordon, met him once, he was a super nice guy.
3/10
Also watched two very different gialli:
Short Night of Glass Dolls (
La corta notte delle bambole di vetro, Lado, 1971) – The giallo is a very vague subgenre – and some of the films that are considered part of it bear little similarities to its more common tropes and themes. This one clearly wouldn't be considered close to the genre if it wasn't an Italian film from the early 70s, but there's still a few elements you can link to it. Appearing somewhere between
Rosemary's Baby and
Eyes Wide Shut, this one does have a very
giallesque investigative journalist, but it trades the gloved women killer for a cult with political undertones. In fact, the film is told after-the-fact, by a dead man at the morgue going through his memories of the events (another very giallesque thing to do). The film is renown for its shocking finale, but don't go in wishing
Spoorloos. It's gimmicky and not very well executed (the voice-over suddenly switch to his colleague for a quick – and useless – thought during the ending). Could have been a lot better, but still an interesting curiosity. Subpar Morricone score and one or two beautifully lit scenes.
4.5/10
What Have You Done to Solange? (
Cosa avete fatto a Solange? Dallamano, 1972) – At the opposite end of the spectrum, this is a classic giallo, with tropes and themes well in place. It distinguishes itself from the lot by restraint only: not much gore or over-the-top effects, no theatrical aesthetics, and an overall more realistic approach, with moral themes that go beyond the series of murders. If you ever – for some reason – want to see a giallo, this is not a bad one. You've got the gloves, the subjective camera, the women victims, the reminiscence, all without doing too much (maybe the sleaze is a little much, and the murderer's fascination for his victims' genitals don't help). Morricone's score is also much better here (very good at times). The only thing that really doesn't work is the spatial construction of the first murder – and well, they go back to it a lot.
Short Night of Glass Dolls is a much more original film, but this one is a more conventional giallo, and better executed too.
4.5/10
