I‘ve got another one that Serena suggested to me today and it is probably one of my favorites so far of the past 22 posts. Sergio Martino’s 1973 Torso is an Italian “giallo” horror. Before diving into this one I think it would be interesting to mention a bit of trivia about the film. During production, none of the cast was told who the killer was. And because of the high amount of red herrings in the film, many of the actresses were convinced it was someone else doing all the murders. (Source: IMDB).
In many ways Torso does play like a “who done it” as much as plays out as a horror movie. The movie follows several young beautiful women in college. One by one they are are murdered by a killer who uses a black and red scarf to strangle them. After two of the women have been killed the remaining for decide to travel to a regional villa in order to relax and to not worry about the murders that are happening back on campus. Unfortunately the killer has other plans as he follows them to the villa.
There are really three main suspects and I’m not going to say who they are or even if the killer is one of them. Enough clues are given throughout the movie that that you can figure it out before the end. If Torso did not have the sex, and violence it would play out like a very strong mystery thriller when you add in the those you end up with a horror movie that influenced many of the slasher flicks to come.
The reason I have included Torso here on the 31 Days of Horror is not so much just to include a “giallo” but because of how strong of movie it is and also because of what happens when the killer attacks. I am going to get into a bit of spoiler territory here so you might want to jump over the hidden spoiler text.
There is enough sex and violence in Torso to keep any horror fan entertained and when you add the good mystery you get a very strong entry into the genre. This one is definitely worth tracking down. It may not be the easiest DVD to find but it is worth your while if you do so.
Just for fun here is a second youtube clip. This one is a teaser that really reminds me of Don’t.
Intrigued, will look for this in the video store. I am having some people over for Halloween and I want to watch a horror film buty my sister-in-law is a bit of a chicken so it cannot be all that scary.
I have not seen the Donald Sutherland version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but decided it may be a safe bet. Bought it as part of a three dvds in one, with Alien and Life Force (no idea what Life Force is). I think Kurt and Andrew talked about Body Snatchers on a cinecast, I’m hoping I picked the right one.
I remember my ex actually owned this movie. I watched 15 minutes of it and HATED it. But that was like 5 years ago – i.e. before I knew anything about genre horror, so…
As for Body Snatchers… yes! The 1979 Sutherland version is far and away the best one. Scary as blazes without any gore. And Spock is in it! Some guy inteviewed me over the weekend for something or other and he asked me my first horror film I could remember seeing. I told him Invasion of the Body Snatchers circa ’79. Enjoy.
Awesome! Thanks so much for having these up there….I’m glad you liked this movie too and your description of it is great! (Totally agree with the hidden text paragraph!) The crreepiest part for me was when the killer opened the door at the end….creepy!
Love a good scary movie and Torso was a scary surprise seeing those girls getting strangled with a scarf takes your breath away,when I wear a scarf and a boy teases me by pulling on it ,even though it scares me it gives me such a rush that some times I let the ends of my scarf hang down my back just so some one will playfully pull me back ward and choke me,cant resist a soft scarf around pretty little neck like mine