La lama nel corpo (1966)

Directed by Elio Scardamaglia [Other horror films: N/A] & Lionello De Felice [Other horror films: N/A]

This early giallo (originally titled La lama nel corpo, and seems best to be known as The Murder Clinic) lacks the flair of many others that come later, yet ends up having a pretty fun and ominous vibe all the same.

While the film lacks the style of earlier entries such as Blood and Black Lace (part of this may be due to the fact that this is Elio Scardamaglia’s, the director, one and only film), the film does have a decent amount of suspense, mystery, and, of course, potential suspects, to offer. It was a bit sluggish at the beginning, but picks up nicely around the twenty minute mark.

Unfortunately, there’s not that much in the way of gore, another thing that slightly sets it apart from its peers. The kills themselves are good, at least when we see them on screen, but it’s not at all a gory film, which was a bit of a shame.

William Berger did exceptionally well as a doctor with more than a few problems. He had a solid screen presence, and I rather liked his complex character. Some of the film’s charm too has to go to Mary Young and Barbara Wilson, especially considering that this is Wilson’s sole film, and just the second of only two films Young was in. Given the lack of experience with the both of them, they really brought something to this movie.

The atmosphere could have been a bit thicker than what it ended up being, admittedly. And like I said, the gore wasn’t really strong at all. But still, you have a fun mystery, a lot of suspects, a few twists, a few surprising deaths, so even though this film lacked the class of many giallos that followed suit, I thought that it was well worth watching.

7.5/10