The Police Are Blundering in the Dark (1975)

December 16, 2022 7:13 AM

During an outbreak of violent murders in the area targeting young women, a journalist searching for a female friend gone missing ends up in a villa owned by an eccentric photographer.

Starring Joseph Arkim, Francisco Cortéz, Richard Fielding, Danny P. Gerzog, Gabriella Giorgelli, Halina Zalewska.

Written & directed by Helia Colombo.

I'm gonna be real honest here and tell you that I have not watched this yet. It's a semi-obscure giallo with a bit of sci-fi from 1975. There aren't even any reviews on Rotten tomatoes. But this popped up on Shudder today and I love this title so much. It's also on Tubi. JustWatch listing.

posted by DirtyOldTown (1 comment total)

Yeah, I watched it. It's terrible. It wasn't scary; I wasn't invested in the mystery; I didn't believe the science fiction; it didn't even interest me as a character study. In terms of story, I'd say it's a failure on every level. In terms of cultural artifacts, I'd say "exhibit A" in "Male gaze." There wasn't much reason for anything in the story to have happened beyond the director's desire to get women naked (which, I mean, there's a genre for that). But apparently he wanted respectability too, so he attempted to graft all this story onto it too, and none of it worked.
posted by johnofjack at 3:37 PM on October 8