This “Limited Edition” 4K Ultra HD release from Arrow Video will be available for purchase on September 17th.
I’ve seen a lot of Italian “giallo” films and genre pictures in my day, but my oh my it can be hard keeping up with them all. Of course, you have filmmaking icons Mario Bava, Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, not to mention noted contemporaries Lamberto Bava, Michele Soavi and even Umberto Lenzi. But there are dozens more. One figure who has been rising to prominence in recent years is Sergio Martino. He was right there in the middle of it all, making pictures in a variety of genres, but becoming most noted in other parts of the world for titles like The Case of the Scorpion’s Tail, All the Colors of the Dark, Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key and, ahem, Island of the Fishmen and 2019, After the Fall of New York (maybe not so much for the last two).
One of his titles that has been gaining more attention recently is Torso. It’s technically a “giallo,” but is now considered a “proto-slasher,” meaning that it contains many elements that would become staples of 1980s horror pictures. The feature is nicely shot and includes some gorgeous location photography, as well as a dark and twisted story about a particularly nasty killer who mutilates women.
Arrow Video is now presenting the film in 4K Ultra HD. The restoration was taken from the original camera negative, meaning that the image quality is now crisper and cleaner than ever before. It’s a great-looking disc that any fan of Italian genre cinema will appreciate.
As mentioned, a group of young university students (studying in Perugia) are being hunted by a masked murderer who strangles them before cutting up their bodies. He soon targets a wealthy student, Dani (Tina Aumont), who is a potential witness of his previous slaying. Dani isn’t really sure of what she saw though, and has invited friend Jane (Suzy Kendall) and other female students to stay with her at a fancy villa in the country. This means the maniac soon decides to break in and slaughter all of them. The killer also eliminates several creepy guys with pervy habits along the way, in the process taking care of the script’s several red herrings. The climax features one of the women trapped in the villa with the antagonist and fighting for survival.
This is definitely a nasty little movie. I should mention that there are two cuts on this release, with the Italian version being four minutes longer (and a little bloodier). The plot is fairly by-the-numbers and the story can be quite a cruel film at times. The villain is truly nasty and the way he goes about murdering is particularly brutal (it would have been extra-nasty in its day). No doubt this was typically done in order to be distinctive and compete with similar genre pictures. Among the expected gruesomeness, there’s also a particularly nasty bit in which one suspect is run down with a car and has his head crushed between the bumper and a brick wall.
Additionally, almost all of the male characters are horrible. The movie even features hippies who are presented as anything but mellow, calm and peace-loving. There are very few nice people in the picture (as well as a few stereotypes that wouldn’t fly today) and most meet violent fates.
Still, the film is well put together. The young cast of students are appealing. And the 30-minute finale does include some tense sequences (particularly when the villain is aware of where a survivor is hiding, but she is unaware of his presence). The murders are meant to be upsetting and they certainly make that impression. One set around a foggy bog is also memorably staged.
While there isn’t a lot of camera movement or elaborate set-ups, the movie is still visually distinctive. Or, at the very least, the locations are incredible. The Perugia university scenes are gorgeous in 4K and really stand out. It’s a stunning, castle-like campus with a beautiful town square and there’s a real uptick in picture quality when anyone is there. Some darker scenes have a natural graininess to them, but nothing distracting. The daylight material (and some night scenes that are well lit) are quite remarkable for a low-budget effort.
And, like other Arrow releases, there are some great extras. Most are archived from previous releases, but they’re still informative. This includes an interview with co-writer/director Martino, as well as chats with the co-writer, cast and crew members, who all share their memories of making the movie, as well as some of its distinctive elements. There’s another informative Q&A with Martino included that was recorded at a film festival in 2017, a discussion from a “giallo” film authority about the movie’s importance, alternate opening and closing credits from the US release, trailers, and plenty more.
Another big extra is a film historian commentary. It is good, but does suffer a bit from the fact that the speaker focuses on the overall career of Martino, the cast and the crew. She offers some interesting general points about the themes and ideas being addressed, but there is little commentary on what is actually occurring on the screen. The historian is a big fan of the director and thinks his work is generally stronger than some more famous names, so much of the running time includes her defending this idea. Personally, while I can certainly agree that in some respects his work may be underrated and that he has made a few notable titles, this picture simply isn’t as strong as the best in, say, Argento’s filmography.
There is also an illustrated booklet including with writing on the movie and a reversible sleeve containing original and newly commissioned artwork for the feature.
Torso is an interesting curiosity that is ahead of its time in a few respects. I don’t think it’s the best of its genre, but it is a reasonably compelling effort that in some respects foreshadows horror pictures in the 1980s. The 4K Ultra HD resolution is fantastic and, for those who appreciate “giallo” pictures or Italian cinema, it certainly is one that you want to own for a few memorably nasty slayings and its photography.