by: Shaun Anderson
Posted on 01.03.10 in All Horror Films > Giallo
Release Date: 1972

This impressive and efficient giallo was directed by Tonino Valerii who spent much of the 1960’s working on Spaghetti westerns. As well as taking on the role of assistant director for Sergio Leone on A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1964), Valerii also directed three himself before taking a change of direction in the early 1970’s. This would be Valerii’s only crack at the giallo form and it would turn out to be a memorable and successful one. The film immediately benefits from the casting of that assured staple of gialli, George Hilton. If Valerii was unused to the giallo, Hilton was a veteran of such entries as Next! (1971) and Case of the Scorpions Tail (1971), and brought with him the requisite gravitas to the role of Inspector Luca Peretti.

This particular film differs in the emphasis it places on the police investigation. Unusually the police are not depicted here as loathsome bunglers, but instead as a very likeable and humorous bunch who are desperate to solve what turns out to be an incredibly complex and labyrinthine murder case. They are led by the determined but flawed Peretti, a gifted master of deduction, who is less than gifted with regard to his own personal relationships. The film opens with an audacious pre-title sequence, a death by decapitation – the murder weapon, an industrial earth digger! This outstanding and absurd set piece is quickly underscored by a credits sequence in which a beautiful nursery rhyme theme, composed by Ennio Morricone, hints at the centrality that themes of childhood and lost innocence will play in the film.

My Dear Killer ultimately fails to live up to this excellent opening and this can largely be attributed to the complexity of the plot. Although giallo narratives are normally convoluted this one raises the bar even further. The film abounds with red herrings, as an old case is re-opened, a plethora of suspects are trooped out in rapid fashion, and Peretti is continuously out-manoeuvred by the resourceful assailant. This resourcefulness includes the use of a buzz saw in one of the films keynote set pieces and the use of a marble statuette. Peretti soon finds himself drawn into a bourgeois world of schemers and crooks, and of blackmail and deceit, as he uncovers a sordid event that returns to haunt the lives of a wealthy family. The structure of the film becomes even more complex with a series of flashbacks and even more unpleasant with one red herring hinting at child abuse and paedophilia. The plot device of a children’s drawing as a major clue is one found in a number of gialli – a piece of artwork is often the conduit by which the investigator is able to make connections with the past events and so it is here. Any film dealing with the murder of children is bound to be harrowing, and in this regard the film does a leave a sour taste in the mouth. The final summing up at films end is perhaps a bit too like the conclusion to any number of Agatha Christie novels, and is one of the few moments of contrivance in an otherwise structurally sound film.

This is a very accomplished piece of genre film making.  It is stylishly shot and makes consistent and successful use of subjective point of view shots. This ‘killer cam’ is especially impressive during the buzz saw sequence, and affords a brief insight into the shattered sanity of a killer. On this evidence, it is a shame that Valerii didn’t go on to direct more films in the genre, and it is further proof, if any is needed, that many filmmakers were making solid, entertaining, and durable entries into this popular Italian filone.

• ★★★★★

  Acting:

• ★★★★★

  Blood:

• ★★★★★

  Violence:

• ★★★★★

  Partying:

• ★★★★★

  Language:

• ★★★★★

  Humor:

• ★★★★★

  Predictable:

• ★★★★★

  Girls:

• ★★★★★

  Gore:

• ★★★★★

  Sexuality:

• ★★★★★

  Torture:

• ★★★★★

  Overall:

Yeah, this is what I'd call a 'solid' giallo. It doesnt really reach the visual and stylistic heights of an Argento or Bava film, and only has infrequent moments of cinematic inspiration - but the ingredients are all present and correct and in the right place. It benefits tremendously from the Morricone score.

Seems like all the elements are there. There are a number of directors that have dipped into this genre, but never returned after a fairly successful first installment. I'm still running into rare ones that i've never even heard of before. Rare gems, indeed.