Color, 1977, 95 mins.|
Directed by Antonio Bido
Starring Corrado Pani, Paola Tedesco, Franco Citti, Fernando Cerulli
Synapse Films (Blu-ray) (US RA HD), 88 Films (Blu-ray) (UK RB HD), X-Rated Kult (DVD) (Germany R0 PAL) / WS (1.85:1) (16:9), VCI (DVD) (US R1 NTSC) / WS (1.85:1)

The U.S. poster art for this Italian thriller depicts a snarling punk whose sunglasses reflect a screaming woman's face, with the tagline, "When I go berserk... you're better off dead!" Well, despite the best efforts of the distributor, there's no hiding the fact that this isn't some cheapo knockoff of Billy Jack by way of Death Wish. It's actually the first giallo directed by Antonio Bido, who went on to The Bloodstained Shadow before turning his attention to Italian television. An efficient, slick, but ultimately unremarkable entry in the genre, this grisly mystery works mainly thanks to some memorable vicious moments and a great prog rock score by Trans Europa Express firmly in the Goblin tradition. (Bido's next film took this latter aspect even further, but that's another story.)

Driving at night with her director friend Carlo (Lucio Fulci regular Paolo Malco), flamenco dancer Mara (Paola Tedesco) stops for aspirin at a pharmacy and speaks to the raspy-voiced killer who has just slashed the druggist's throat. Her boyfriend Lucas (Corrado Pani) investigates and crosses paths with Giovanni (Fernando Cerulli), a shifty loan shark who seems to be connected with the murder, and his girlfriend Esmerelda, who winds up with her face baked in an oven. As the nasty killings begin to pile up, Lucas sorts through an oddball assortment of clues involving a recently released criminal, Nazi atrocities, and felines, due to the killer's weird cat-like eyes.

Originally released as Il gatto dagli occhi di giada (The Cat with Jade Eyes) and released on UK video as The Cat's Victims, this thriller strives to imitate Deep Red but often gets bogged down in aimless plotting and mindless chitchat. The mobile camerawork slavishly imitates the creepy tracking shots of Argento but conjures up only a small fraction of the style, while the actors seem to be sleepwalking through their roles without much genuine panic or humor on display. However, Bido certainly knows how to time a scare and pulls off a number of good jolts, some false and other definitely earned. Even when the story veers into sheer silliness at the end (you couldn't count the coincidences on one hand), the possibility of another stylish murder turning up is enough to keep the viewer interested. While the aforementioned oven murder is a half baked (oops) copy of the bathtub scene from Deep Red, Bido does come up with one brilliant flourish during a bathtub strangulation set to blaring opera music. Executed with real bravado, it's indisputably the film's highlight and earns it a place in the giallo pantheon.

The first DVD release of this film from VCI was a huge disappointment. Culled from a U.S. print bearing the hokey alternate title and featuring abrupt, doctored opening and closing titles, this otherwise appears to be complete but suffers from a muddy, grainy transfer. While Bido isn't the most visually stylish director around by any means, the film at least looked better than this on Redemption's British VHS. Contrary to the packaging, the letterboxed presentation is not 16:9 enhanced. The print itself is in passable condition compared to the old unwatchable U.S. tape, but there are enough scratches and smatterings of dirt to be a distraction. Extras include two marvelous radio spots (30 and 60 seconds) lifted from vinyl, accompanied by ad slicks, as well as trailers for The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Blood and Black Lace, and The Whip and the Body. At least it still wasn't as horrific as what the label did to some other gialli down the line, most notably their unwatchable Blu-ray of Puzzle. A 16x9 DVD later surfaced in Germany but didn't look a whole lot better.

The first Blu-ray out of the gate came from the U.K. courtesy of 88 Films, featuring an improved HD scan with good detail but an oppressive, icky-looking green hue over the entire film. Extras include two Bido short films (Danza Macabra and Mendelsson in Judischen Museum, Berlin), a restoration comparison, and a general discussion about the film's merits by Mikel Coven. The subsequent U.S. Blu-ray from Synapse Films looks exponentially better with nice color grading and good detail, plus you get the Italian and English tracks with optional English subtitles. A solo commentary by this writer is included and can't be assessed here; you also get the two Bido shorts along with a third, Marche Funebre D'une Marionette, plus the U.S. title sequence, the Koven featurette, the U.S. trailer, TV and radio spots, and a soundtrack CD.