While traveling through Italy, a vacationing couple gets in trouble with the law and tries to escape only to break down by a remote house in the countryside where an enigmatic woman takes them in and lets them stay, but after the fun and games are over they begin to realize they've stumbled onto something more dangerous.
This proved to be a solid and worthwhile giallo effort. One of the better elements here is the rather fun starting point that presents itself as a worthwhile starting point for what's going on. The initial half here works rather nicely as a brief introduction to the couple on their journey through the country, having the kind of hippie lifestyle of causing trouble for the fun of it and engaging in unrestrained sexual freedom that comes from being who they are. That leads into how the main couple comes together at the house where their conflicting lifestyles mesh together somewhat messily where they need a place to hide out and take over the house while she tries to initially get them to leave but then later grows comfortable enough to let them stay which is a fine enough storyline here to get to know everyone and create an uneasy air. This early setup allows the film to move quite comfortably into the thriller genre the longer the three stay together. Figuring the couple to be more about sexually liberating games with everyone being open and liberal with how they all sleep around with each other, this first half serves as a great building block for the later scenes where the distrust between each other grows into burgeoning violence. As there's a nice bit of intrigue here regarding what the actual truth about everyone's intentions when things finally spiral out of control going headlong into the murder revelation that occurred just before the couple arrived, this incredibly solid back and forth suspense-filled series of encounters looking to gain the upper hand in the situation which is logically built and intriguing to play out for a lot to really like about it. There are some minor issues here holding the film down. One of the main factors here is the somewhat underwhelming finish here where this one ends on quite a whimper compared to the work that came before it. The whole idea of the couple having the upper hand at that point where they downgrade the abduction technique after knowing she's gotten away from worse before, so they seem even stupider and the whole final encounter away from the house is entirely satisfying in nearly every regard. The other flaw to be had here is the useless and random subplot about them being harassed by a biker gang while in the city which gets dropped really quickly since the couple never stays in the city nor do they pursue the couple and the whole thing is unnecessary on many levels. These are what hold this one back.
Rated R: Nudity, Violence, Language, and sex scenes.
This proved to be a solid and worthwhile giallo effort. One of the better elements here is the rather fun starting point that presents itself as a worthwhile starting point for what's going on. The initial half here works rather nicely as a brief introduction to the couple on their journey through the country, having the kind of hippie lifestyle of causing trouble for the fun of it and engaging in unrestrained sexual freedom that comes from being who they are. That leads into how the main couple comes together at the house where their conflicting lifestyles mesh together somewhat messily where they need a place to hide out and take over the house while she tries to initially get them to leave but then later grows comfortable enough to let them stay which is a fine enough storyline here to get to know everyone and create an uneasy air. This early setup allows the film to move quite comfortably into the thriller genre the longer the three stay together. Figuring the couple to be more about sexually liberating games with everyone being open and liberal with how they all sleep around with each other, this first half serves as a great building block for the later scenes where the distrust between each other grows into burgeoning violence. As there's a nice bit of intrigue here regarding what the actual truth about everyone's intentions when things finally spiral out of control going headlong into the murder revelation that occurred just before the couple arrived, this incredibly solid back and forth suspense-filled series of encounters looking to gain the upper hand in the situation which is logically built and intriguing to play out for a lot to really like about it. There are some minor issues here holding the film down. One of the main factors here is the somewhat underwhelming finish here where this one ends on quite a whimper compared to the work that came before it. The whole idea of the couple having the upper hand at that point where they downgrade the abduction technique after knowing she's gotten away from worse before, so they seem even stupider and the whole final encounter away from the house is entirely satisfying in nearly every regard. The other flaw to be had here is the useless and random subplot about them being harassed by a biker gang while in the city which gets dropped really quickly since the couple never stays in the city nor do they pursue the couple and the whole thing is unnecessary on many levels. These are what hold this one back.
Rated R: Nudity, Violence, Language, and sex scenes.