7/10
Stepping into the dark.
14 October 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Taking a look at a mountain of gialli DVDs,I spotted a title which appeared to take the unusually step for the genre of setting the movie in Greece instead of the "traditional" Italy surroundings ,which led to me getting ready to step into the dark.

The plot:

Getting set to step off the Istanbul to Athens train,a passenger's pearl necklace breaks.Using a pen-knife as a bookmark, (what a typical bookmark!) journalist Luciano Morelli puts the bookmark aside,and starts helping his fellow passengers to gather up the pearls.Suddenly,the train enters a dark tunnel which covers the carriage in darkness.

To their horror,the passengers find out that a mysterious stranger used the darkness to kill the women with Morelli's pen-knife.Seeing his face splashed across the papers as the lead suspect,Morelli decides that he must track down the murderer.As Morelli tries to clear his name, 2 fellow passengers keep a tight grip on a black glove that they found near the body,as they set their sights on blackmailing the killer.

View on the film:

Kicking off with a lava lamp title sequence backed by a tense jazzy score from Riz Ortolani,co-writer/(along with Arpad DeRiso)director Maurizio Pradeaux & cinematographer Aldo Ricci hit the movie with some groovy groves,as some surprisingly graphic sex scenes are overturned in favour for the killer to get revealed in a weird acid nightmare.Along with the Acid Jazz dashes,Pradeaux Pradeaux gives the outdoor on-location filming in Greece a rustic Film Noir appearance,which is given a rough edge by Pradeaux splashing the Giallo with vibrant blues & reds which gives the film a lively atmosphere that is lit up by each of Pradeaux's elegantly stylised set-piece killings.

Starting in an Agatha Christie-style train,the screenplay by Pradeaux & Arpad DeRiso brilliantly use Comedy to give the title a delightfully off-beat, playful edge,as Morelli (played by a very good Leonard Mann,who shows Morelli really out of his comfort zone) and his friends trip up every time they get close to locating the killer.Along with the comedic notes,the writers also give the film an excellent dark, cynical twist,as 2 of the passengers decide to use their knowledge of the murderers identity to their financial advantage,as Morelli steps into the dark.
3 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed