User reviews

It's hard to review gialli that deviate from the normal formula, because if you compare that film to a similar film, you're revealing some of the surprises of the plot. It's okay to compare, say, Strip Nude For Your Killer with Blood and Black Lace, because most people go into these film expecting a gloved or masked mysterious killer and plenty of suspects, but when that's all thrown out of the window, things become difficult. I avoided reading anything about The House With The Laughing Windows for years, and was glad I did so when I finally watched it. I'd recommend doing the same with this film.

The Perfume of the Lady In Black is a strong contender for best looking Giallo ever, as the characters inhabit a world not only of strong primary colours (blue being a prominent colour in everyone's apartments), but also a world where various hues and shades of purple and pink are in abundance. There's also a strong floral theme to both the decoration of apartments and people clothes, with at least one of the characters also having a floral name. Stuffed animals and taxidermy also feature everywhere, and a lot of the time the shots are invaded by outside light sources, like lightening, or a flashing sign. It very much looks like a Peter Greenaway film, only without the OCD.

Silvia, seemingly, has had a pretty rough childhood, with her Naval father often away for months at a time, and her mother having an affair with a nasty looking man who also tries to it on with her. We learn this not so much as flashbacks, but as real physical things happening right in front of Silvia's eyes. Something strange is happening to Silvia, but what could it be?

What doesn't help is when her neighbours talk her into having her palm read by a blind medium in a scene that uses mirrors to great effect. Silvia's troubled childhood comes to light and things start to spiral out of control when she's apparently visited by herself as a child! Things get stranger and stranger, and reality becomes questionable, and I'm only skirting around a lot of the stuff that goes on here to avoid ruining it for the three or so people who'll read this on the IMDB over the next sixty years.

One thing I will say is that not every question is answered by the end of the film, but I think that might have been deliberate. The end of this one makes you question everything that's gone before it, and even question reality in itself. That's not to say it's not without scares either. Or gore. So stick around for that too.

The Perfume of the Lady in Black aka Il Profumo della signora in nero.

Admittedly a very hard to find forgotten Italian film, this may very well rank among the weirdest movies Europe has produced. I went into this one expecting a giallo, but instead of black gloved killers and endless red herrings I got psychological horror in the vein of Roman Polanski's Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby. Although it does have affinities with the giallo genre. A psychologically scarred heroine with a tormented childhood, very good photography with bright colours, smooth camera-work and subtle frames that most of the time work on two levels.

The story revolves around Silvia (played by non other than Mimsi Farmer), an industrial scientist, with a troubled childhood who gradually loses her grip and starts having visions of a little girl, relives traumatizing events of the past in broad daylight, and soon begins to off those close to her. The gore factor is downplayed, the murders are few and far between but they are effective. The movie kind of drags at first, and there are several sequences that seem uneventful and do nothing to push the plot forward, while those other sequences that do help the plot evolve are most of the time baffling. It's like pieces of a puzzle that don't fit together. All the end does is show you, they belong to the same puzzle (if that makes any sense). The borders between reality and fantasy blur in a David Lynch-esquire way. It wouldn't surprise me if Lynch drew inspiration from this forgotten piece of Italian celluloid for his Mullholand Dr. All in all, I'd say that if you can keep your attention focused for the duration and pick up on the little hints and details that appear frequently, you'll find this a rewarding experience.

Up until the ending this was a 5/10 for me, but the ending alone kicked it up another notch. Satisfying but not a handed down solution to the puzzle, again in a Lynch-esquire way. It's open for interpretation instead of spelling everything out for the viewer. That's a quality I love in films.

Like Barbara Bach, Mimsy Farmer went to Italy and fell in love. She did, however, have a long career in the US, starting with Gidget Goes Hawaiian to a few biker movies. She remained in Italy making films until her divorce, and then moved to France where she continued acting.

This is more a psychological horror film that a true giallo. It was a tale of a woman going mad over unresolved traumas from her childhood. Or, maybe it was a tale of a woman being driven mad for nefarious purposes. It was not totally clear, but there were little clues throughout.

Whatever the case, the ending was a total surprise and nothing led you to expect it.

I'll be the last person on this earth to deny that "The Perfume of the Lady in Black" isn't a breathtakingly beautiful and stylish viewing experience. Quite the contrary, I agree that Francesco Barilli's film is a masterwork of subtly built up suspense and it's also one of the best films ever forcing you to empathize with the leading character. This film contains numerous astonishing camera shots, genuinely creepy musical tunes and hugely impressive decors, but this material greatness makes it all the more difficult to forgive that there's not a lot of coherence or plausibility in the story and that Barelli leaves far too many questions unanswered at the end of the movie. "Perfume etc.." is similar to and clearly inspired by the earliest work of Roman Polanski; most notably "Repulsion" and "Rosemary's Baby". Exactly like in those two cinematic milestones, the plot introduces a seemingly weak and vulnerable female protagonist that suffers from nightmarish hallucinations and haunting memories of her childhood. She, Silvia Hachermann – played by Mimsy Farmer, soon isolates herself from the outside world and notices how her social surrounding, including her boyfriend and friendly neighbors, turn against her. Does these events relate to the voodoo-talk she had with some friends? Or the mysterious circumstances regarding her mother's premature death? Or maybe it's all happening in Silvia's mind alone. Perhaps I was expecting too much of an old-fashioned Italian giallo whereas this film is clearly an occult/psychological thriller, but the slow development of the plot and the absence of a perceptible kind of malice honestly bothered me just a tad bit. After a full hour into the movie, still nothing grueling has occurred and Silvia's inevitably disastrous fate can't be guessed until the very last seconds. The climax comes as a total shock, for sure, but not exactly a satisfying one since absolutely nothing in the development of the plot hinted at such a macabre switch in tones. Nonetheless, "The Perfume of the Lady in Black" is a curious gem of Italian horror cinema, with an overload of talent in front as well as behind the cameras' lenses. It's a demanding film that requires the full attention of all your senses and even then it's likely to confuse you several times. Recommended to well-trained fans of Italian cinema.

"Beautiful" and "stylish" are naturally two words that automatically come to mind when describing this odd, dreamy, haunting movie. It's definitely not the typical "giallo", as it's not so much about being a murder mystery as it is being a character profile and a "Repulsion" style story of one young woman's mental decline. Lovely Mimsy Farmer is the woman in question, Silvia Hacherman, a chemist with an unhappy past who begins to see things that she can't make sense of. She doesn't know if she can even trust the people who are part of her life, from her would-be boyfriend Roberto (Maurizio Bonuglia) to another friend, Andy (Jho Jhenkins) to her subtly creepy neighbour Mr. Rossetti (Mario Scaccia). Just who is the strange Woman in Black that Silvia sees in her mirror? Or the equally off putting little girl (Lara Wendel) who insists on being part of her life? Right from the start, "The Perfume of the Lady in Black" promises to be an interesting trip, accompanied by a wonderful music score composed by Nicola Piovani. The look of the movie always helps, also, in insuring that one wants to keep watching even though there are parts of the story that drag. Those viewers expecting more traditional thrills will have to wait until the very end for some juicy bits of gore (that actually seem out of place amidst the low key nature of the rest of the movie). Co- writer / director Francesco Barilli (who wrote the movie with Massimo D'Avak, whose credits include "Who Saw Her Die?" and "The Man from the Deep River") keeps us, along with his main character, off balance with his deft balancing of real and fantastical elements. By the time that his movie is over, it may well have provoked more questions than provided answers, but I agree with others that by this very nature this becomes a highly intriguing if not entirely successful psychological thriller, made at a time when that phrase hadn't yet been introduced into the lexicon. It certainly leaves the viewer to think about what they've seen afterwards. It's good material that is worth a look for adventurous fans of Italian cinema. Seven out of 10.

The Perfume of the Lady in Black (Francesco Barilli 1974) is a beautiful and fascinating film. Like a previous reviewer, it took me 2 projections before I could fully grasp what Barilli had wanted to do and mostly accomplished with this film.

The problem comes from the fact that this if often advertised as a Dario Argento-like Giallo, and it's anything but that. While it's easy to see the visual and atmospheric influence this film had on Argento, The Perfume is much closer to an Antonioni film than it is to other Italian scare flicks. Watch it with this approach in mind and you will be literally hypnotized.

Kudos to the main actress who delivers a great performance in a role that had no precise definition on paper!

This odd piece is often touted as a giallo movie but there's no police investigation, no unknown black glove wearing killer. Instead it's a tale of a beautiful young paranoid woman (played well by Mimsy Farmer) who starts to hallucinate & people around her start to die. Rosemary's Baby and Repulsion spring to mind. As is typical of Italian movies of this time it's brutal, looks beautiful and comes with a great soundtrack. This film is notorious for having an ending that is as bizarre as it is gruesome. I'm not going to give anything away, other than perhaps it's one of those films where it's left to the viewer to make up his/her own mind what it's all about. I'll certainly be watching this again.

Upon first viewing, I did not know what to make of this movie. It is certainly interesting, but non-linear and difficult to understand. "What is going on?" I thought. A second viewing made it clear to me: this really is a near-masterpiece of giallo/thriller-cinema! From the haunting melody during the titles until the totally surprising and shocking ending, you will be mesmerized, confounded and thrilled. Mimsy Farmer walks around in semi-interested fashion for most of the time, but that is very much in tune with the whole story. A highly effective performance. The other castmembers are adequate, nothing more. Beautifully and imaginatively directed by Barilli who holds you attention even during scenes that could easily have been boring in their complete uneventfulness. And most scenes are accompanied by one of the most effective scores in a giallo ever heard. Properly marketed and aimed at the right audience, this film could be a future cultfavorite. A must-see for the adventurous moviegoer!

Sylvia (Mimsy Farmer), an industrial scientist, is troubled by strange hallucinations related to the tragic suicide of her mother.

After the success of "Rosemary's Baby" (1968), the Italian horror world began to embrace Satanic and occult stories. This is one of them. Director Francesco Barilli took a cue from early Argento and made a giallo with some dark undertones. He previously wrote a script for Umberto Lenzi, but had not directed a feature himself.

The cast may not be well-known outside of Italy, but have appeared in Lenzi, Argento and D'Amato films. One even appeared in the notorious "Salo", and a few starred alongside Daria Nicolodi in a picture. So there is plenty of connection here.

This film is beautifully shot with excellent color and better than average acting. It deserves more recognition than it gets. Wikipedia and IMDb are relatively silent on the film's creation, and even Italian horror historian Luca Palmerini has little more than a sentence to say about it in his book...

"Il profumo della signora in nero", a.k.a. "The Perfume of the Lady in Black", is a weird and confused Italian horror cult-movie with the gorgeous Mimsy Farmer in the lead role and great performance. The plot is visibly inspired in Roman Polanski's "Repulsion" (1965) and "Rosemary's Baby" (1968), with a bizarre and gruesome conclusion. The production has quality above the average films made in Italy in the 70's. However, it is recommended only for very specific audiences. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "O Perfume da Senhora de Negro" ("The Perfume of the Lady in Black")

"Il Profumo Della Signora In Nero" aka. "The Perfume Of The Lady In Black" (1974) is a film that enjoys a certain cult-status among my fellow fans of Italian Horror, and I was therefore curious to see it for quite some time. When I finally saw it recently, the film was not quite what I expected, but not in a negative sense, as it certainly didn't disappoint me. Having deliberately read no reviews before watching it, I was probably most surprised by the film since I had been mislead to believe that "The Perfume Of The Lady In Black" is a typical Giallo, whereas it is much rather an occult psychological Horror film. The fact that this beautifully filmed cult-gem is often named a Giallo is probably the stunning visual style, which reminds of many early 70s Gialli, such as some of the films by Sergio Martino, or Dario Argento's earlier work. The early films of Roman Polanski (especially "Repulsion" clearly served as an influence to this film. If there is one Giallo that "The Perfume Of The Lady In Black" is comparable to, it is probably Sergio Martino's "Tutti I Colori Del Buio" ("All The Colors Of The Dark", 1972), but the similarity also lies in the nightmarish atmosphere of upcoming insanity rather than in the Giallo-esquire elements (such as the typical depiction of murders, the mystery about the killer's identity etc.). One will not find a black-gloved killer butchering dozens of beauty-queens in "The Perfume Of The Lady In Black".

What one will find, however, is cinematic beauty, genuine creepiness, a nightmarish atmosphere and utter insanity in equal doses in this bizarre, sometimes confusing, sometimes spine-chilling gem. The beautiful Mimsy Farmer stars as Silvya Hachermann, a chemist tormented by nightmarish visions related to her own childhood... I don't want do give too much of the storyline away, since it is unforeseeable and often bizarre, but I am sure it will appeal to most of my fellow Italian Horror fans. If the film has one weakness, it is that it is sometimes a bit too confusing, and does not always make perfect sense, but then, the film's obscure, sometimes surreal nature mostly makes up for this. Mimsy Farmer is once again wonderful in her role. Farmer is known to Italian Horror fans for her roles in films like "Macchie Solari" (aka. "Autospsy", 1975), Dario Argento's "Four Flies On Grea Velvet" (1971) and this one. Beautiful as she is, Farmer also has a great talent to play women on the cusp of mental instability, and she once again delivers an outstanding performance here. The other performances are all very good, especially memorable are Mario Scaccia as a friendly elderly neighbor, and Orazio Orlando as a truly sleazy scumbag. "Beautiful" is a word often used to describe this film, and for understandable reasons (at least as far as the visual style goes). This must be one of the most visually striking Italian Horror films of the early/mid 70s, and this is saying something as the combination of this genre, country and period bears countless films that are visually astounding. The photography is as impressive as the settings, and the many occult elements only make the film more effective. The score by Nicola Piovani is also great and contributes a lot to the film's creepy atmosphere. "The Perfume Of The Lady In Black" is a chilling and nightmarish film with an ascending atmosphere of insanity and a brilliant leading performance by Mimsy Farmer. Beautiful and terrifying in equal measures, this stylish and obscure cult-gem is highly recommended to all my fellow fans of Italian Horror.

What today is an obvious mash up of Rosemary's Baby and Repulsion (complete with Mia Farrow clone) was a clever cash in on a then fresh genre. It's predictable, unoriginal and somewhat stale, but it's also one of the more lavish and well-crafted Italian giallo. It's not the best of the countless Occult horro films that came out of Europe but it's far from the worst.

The Perfume of the Lady in Black is a distinctive Italian thriller from the less obvious end of the giallo spectrum. It brought me to mind of other more psychologically focused gialli such as Footprints on the Moon (1975) with its dreamlike feel and mentally fragile female protagonist who finds herself in the midst of mysterious events that connect with something strange in her past. It also has similarities to the apartment-based horror/thrillers of Roman Polanski. Its story centres on a woman who starts to experience strange hallucinations that include visions of a mysterious black-clad woman who applies perfume and a ghostly little girl.

Director Francesco Barilli helms this one and, on the strength of this film, he is a director who definitely didn't get a chance to make enough movies. This is a very odd giallo which mixes unusual elements together such as Alice in Wonderland and the African occult. It's presented in a visual style that is often breathtakingly beautiful; one scene involving a medium particularly stands out, where the use of colour and mirrors is quite wonderful. On the whole, it's a very classy production that begins like it means to go on with a fantastic extended opening crane shot that takes us from a child's toy boat in a fountain way up to the high balconies where a couple of the key characters are introduced. This visual elegance in some ways can throw the viewer off-guard however as there are some proper visceral shocks to come in this one, as anybody who has seen it can attest. The lead actress is Mimsy Farmer who also starred in Dario Argento's earlier classic-style giallo Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971). On the basis of that movie I wasn't too impressed with her, seeing as she over-acted excessively; which is why I was so pleasantly surprised with her work here, where she is in practically every scene and does pretty convincing work in a role that requires a decent amount of range.

This is certainly a high quality giallo, although it will no doubt not have universal appeal to all seasoned fans of the sub-genre given it travels down a less hysterical path to its conclusion. It does venture into some very unusual territory for these kinds of films, however, and certainly is a very fine example of the genre.

Reading some rave reviews l really thought had missing something on the movie, but on the bottom has a reviewer who gave 1 out 10, well it's explains all my early feelings after watching this psychological thriller, too haunting, threatening and so inconclusive, Giallo isn't, Minsy Farmer has a convincing acting, pretty lonely woman who has been scarring to see a little girl at his house, all key elements doesn't find grounds to support such bizarre ending, a lack of reliability, could her had killed his mother to commit adultery?...or the lover?..all about all those black characters??? a voodoo?? where?? a hard and challenging picture!!!

Resume:

First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 6.25

When it comes to rare cult gems, The Perfume of the Lady in Black is a finely cut diamond! Many rare Italian films have received wide releases recently, meaning that it's a tragedy that this film hasn't. While this film isn't the best to come from Italy, it's certainly well worth seeing for fans of the Italian thriller, and its cult value is immense! The film is often mistaken for a Giallo; but this seems to be more because of the fact that it's from the Giallo homeland than any affiliation with the sub-genre. The Perfume of the Lady in Black is more of a psychological thriller, although it does benefit from a colour scheme typical of Italy's most famous cult films. The plot follows the story of Silvia Hacherman. We see her in a photograph over the title sequence, and it quickly becomes apparent that all is not right with her and her family. The film starts years later; Silvia is grown up and her parents are dead. However, their memory is not, and the beautiful young woman finds herself haunted by their memory.

Carrying on with the diamond idea...this film is absolutely stunning to look at! The vibrant colour scheme (which mainly consists of yellow) ensures this and every scene is beautifully photographed by director Francesco Barilli. Barilli directs the film with care, and every vista is dripping with a double meaning bubbling below the surface. Mimsy Farmer (who has worked with Italian legends Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci) takes the lead role, and only adds to the aesthetic value. This beautiful actress is a delight to look at, and her image always suits the film. The plot is character based, and the plot points are few. Because of this, several points will be lost on the casual viewer, and The Perfume of the Lady in Black is a film that needs to be viewed carefully in order for it to be fully appreciated. The film benefits from a foreboding atmosphere, which is perfectly backed up by the music score; and the way that it climaxes in bloody and brutal fashion brilliantly offsets the pace of what has gone before. The Perfume of the Lady in Black is not an easy film to track down; but if you get the chance to see it, I definitely recommend taking it!

Interesting spooky drama about a young woman driven to madness by her own guilt or by demons around her. But why? It appears she may have killed someone close to her at some point but we're not really sure.

The film is shot in Rome and has a very interesting look to it. I kept thinking of an Argento film (Susperia?) with hints of Rosemary's Baby, The Sentinel and Carnival of Souls. There are several interesting male characters around the woman and they seem to know something about her that she herself doesn't know.

It is mysterious without becoming too scary. The settings are very nice and there is just enough mystery to keep one interested. The ending is shocking and unsettling though and may turn some people off.

All in all I found this enjoyable and would keep it in my collection.