Amuck (1972)
Greta Franklin (Barbara Bouchet) gets a job with a famous but eccentric novelist (Farley Granger) as his personal secretary. Unbeknown to Granger and his equally eccentric wife (Rosalba Neri) Greta is actually investigating the disappearance of her sister who she believes died at the hands of the couple.
As far as giallo cinema goes Amuck isn't at the top end, however it is a reasonably entertaining mystery which improves following a fairly tepid first half. The film sports one or two decent set pieces such as Bouchet being pursued whilst duck hunting across the marshy waters surrounding Venice but it's the eroticism that mainly stands out. Amuck is an absolute delight for lovers of female flesh. Both Bouchet and Neri are involved in several nude scenes including a slo-mo lesbian encounter. There's even a feel of the Gothic about it as Bouchet wafts around the big old house in nightwear even more flimsy and transparent than the last. The film unlike most gialli isn't murder centric. Most of the nefarious deeds involve drugged out sex and rape so fans of the sexier side of Italian cinema should find much to enjoy.
It's a while since i saw a nice and sleazy giallo that's new to me (The awful Play Motel doesn't count) so Amuck was a refreshing change.
|