Umberto Lenzi's "Spasmo" is a very weird little film, even by gialli standards. It's a strange combination of Jean Rollin (the middle part in particular feels like something straight out of a Rollin film, in particular "Fascination") and David Lynch, so much so that one can argue how director Umberto Lenzi might be something of a poor man's Lynch. Nonetheless, it works, even if it takes itself way too seriously, often getting surrealism mixed up with cheesiness. The dialog is awfully goofy, and the script jumps all over the place. This might've been Lenzi's intention, and here, he shows that he is actually a pretty competent director, creating genuine suspense as well as some of the most haunting imagery in a genre film. Ennio Morricone's equally dreamy soundtrack perfectly matches the disorienting set pieces and it's perverse sexuality, and it's quite possibly it's highlight alongside the gorgeous cast of women. For those reasons alone, it might not be everyone's cup of tea, also considering how it's pretty tame compared to the works of Fulci, Argento or even Bava, but I love this kind of bizarre cinema, and I don't think the lack of extreme violence and nudity hurt the film at all. So overall, a 7/10 for me - a flawed but throughly entertaining and somewhat obscure piece of Italian horror.
38 Reviews
Bizarre but rewarding Giallo
Prof-Hieronymos-Grost29 June 2007
Spasmo(1974)Umberto Lenzi Christian Bauman (Robert Hoffmann,Death Carries a Cane, Naked Girl Killed in the Park) and his girlfriend while strolling along a beach see what they think is s dead body of a woman lying face down in the sand, as it turns out the girl named Barbara (Suzy Kendall,The Bird with the Crystal Plumage,Circus of Fear) is alive and claims to have passed out with the heat, but when Christian turns his back for a moment Barbara speeds away in her car leaving only a clue of a jar marked Tucania, which turns out to the name of a large yacht moored in the local harbour, Christian gatecrashes a party on board in order to see more of this alluring young woman, the host and Barbara's lover Alex is none to pleased at his intrusion but allows him to stay anyway. Meanwhile a mysterious hit-man with a gun and the habit of rolling marbles round his hand watches the yacht from afar, but who is his intended prey?
Barbara tired of the party on board offers Christian, the major shareholder in his family's plastics business a night he cant forget all he has to do is lose his beard, he doesn't need to be asked twice and before long he is in Barbara's bathroom removing the unwanted hair, but he is suddenly interrupted by the hit-man who comes through the window brandishing his gun, in the skirmish that follows Christian shoots and kills the intruder, Barbara horrified says they should run away together instead of notifying the police, they do this but return soon after only to find the body gone.
Barbara suggests staying in the house of a Brazilian painter friend for a while, as she is away, it's a house that is filled with stuffed birds of prey and caged exotic animals, reluctantly Christian agrees, but the house has been let out to an ex reporter and his young female friend, a bizarre couple who persistently act strange, in fact Christian thinks everyone seems to be acting strange, he constantly thinks he is being watched or followed and nobody except him seems to be acting rationally at all, not even his new love.
Nonetheless they accept an invitation to stay the night, where he has a quick liason with Clorinda the young woman of the house after which he flees the house speeding off to try and clear his head as to what is happening, he hears a dull thud from the trunk of the car, when he investigates he finds the hit-man there apparently dead, but he jumps up and orders Christian to drive to a local quarry where he aims to kill him for sure this time, again Christian gets the better of him kills him in a gloriously gruesome way, before setting him alight and pushing the car of the edge, below in the quarry he sees a man that he believes has been following him in a car with Barbara, he is even more confused now and follows them, they lead him to his own family business where he overhears them discussing with his brother Fritz Bauman (Ivan Rassimov,Jungle Holocaust,All the Colors of the Dark) their plan to have him locked up,the strange man mistakingly tells Fritz his brother has been killed in the quarry, Fritz is happy with this news, but this is the final straw for Christian and he sets out to take revenge on his sibling.
A really bizarre film, with really off the wall dialogue,Christian after a mere few hours of knowing Barbara calls her his "sweet little whore" and the film is full of things that just don't add up and characters that don't seem to have any relevance or relation to each other. Interspersed between all the action are various scenes of latex dummies being hung, stabbed and found mutilated, these add to the films quirkiness and leave the viewer baffled as to their meaning., the films linear storyline you would think would make it easier to follow but its not the case, its not until the films finale that Lenzi finally reveals the brutal and shocking revelations. Susan George clone Kendall puts in a fine performance as does Hoffman, Rassimov fits nicely into his usual bad guy role only this time with a twist. This is not your typical Giallo and here Lenzi who took over from Lucio Fulci as director of the project after he quit, dispenses with genre cornerstones (blood, gore,masked killer,black gloves etc..a fact that might be off putting for Giallo traditionalists) in favour of colourful characterisations and an exploration of madness and the psyche, in fact he also dispenses with the usual dark urban landscapes in favour of burning bright sunshine by the sea, a brave move that just about succeeds. Ennio Morricone's score is more percussive than usual and is at times generic but not without its charm. Another surprise contributor to the US release was one Giorgio Romero?, who added scenes of gore at the American distributors request much to the chargrin of Umberto, these were later removed for the Shriek Show DVD, the picture quality of which is decent but the sound suffers from the occasional hiss, also included is a brief but very interesting interview with Lenzi who is never one to mince his words
Barbara tired of the party on board offers Christian, the major shareholder in his family's plastics business a night he cant forget all he has to do is lose his beard, he doesn't need to be asked twice and before long he is in Barbara's bathroom removing the unwanted hair, but he is suddenly interrupted by the hit-man who comes through the window brandishing his gun, in the skirmish that follows Christian shoots and kills the intruder, Barbara horrified says they should run away together instead of notifying the police, they do this but return soon after only to find the body gone.
Barbara suggests staying in the house of a Brazilian painter friend for a while, as she is away, it's a house that is filled with stuffed birds of prey and caged exotic animals, reluctantly Christian agrees, but the house has been let out to an ex reporter and his young female friend, a bizarre couple who persistently act strange, in fact Christian thinks everyone seems to be acting strange, he constantly thinks he is being watched or followed and nobody except him seems to be acting rationally at all, not even his new love.
Nonetheless they accept an invitation to stay the night, where he has a quick liason with Clorinda the young woman of the house after which he flees the house speeding off to try and clear his head as to what is happening, he hears a dull thud from the trunk of the car, when he investigates he finds the hit-man there apparently dead, but he jumps up and orders Christian to drive to a local quarry where he aims to kill him for sure this time, again Christian gets the better of him kills him in a gloriously gruesome way, before setting him alight and pushing the car of the edge, below in the quarry he sees a man that he believes has been following him in a car with Barbara, he is even more confused now and follows them, they lead him to his own family business where he overhears them discussing with his brother Fritz Bauman (Ivan Rassimov,Jungle Holocaust,All the Colors of the Dark) their plan to have him locked up,the strange man mistakingly tells Fritz his brother has been killed in the quarry, Fritz is happy with this news, but this is the final straw for Christian and he sets out to take revenge on his sibling.
A really bizarre film, with really off the wall dialogue,Christian after a mere few hours of knowing Barbara calls her his "sweet little whore" and the film is full of things that just don't add up and characters that don't seem to have any relevance or relation to each other. Interspersed between all the action are various scenes of latex dummies being hung, stabbed and found mutilated, these add to the films quirkiness and leave the viewer baffled as to their meaning., the films linear storyline you would think would make it easier to follow but its not the case, its not until the films finale that Lenzi finally reveals the brutal and shocking revelations. Susan George clone Kendall puts in a fine performance as does Hoffman, Rassimov fits nicely into his usual bad guy role only this time with a twist. This is not your typical Giallo and here Lenzi who took over from Lucio Fulci as director of the project after he quit, dispenses with genre cornerstones (blood, gore,masked killer,black gloves etc..a fact that might be off putting for Giallo traditionalists) in favour of colourful characterisations and an exploration of madness and the psyche, in fact he also dispenses with the usual dark urban landscapes in favour of burning bright sunshine by the sea, a brave move that just about succeeds. Ennio Morricone's score is more percussive than usual and is at times generic but not without its charm. Another surprise contributor to the US release was one Giorgio Romero?, who added scenes of gore at the American distributors request much to the chargrin of Umberto, these were later removed for the Shriek Show DVD, the picture quality of which is decent but the sound suffers from the occasional hiss, also included is a brief but very interesting interview with Lenzi who is never one to mince his words
Winner 'Politically Correct Film Title' awards 1974
Bezenby28 February 2018
Umberto Lenzi is still playing the old school giallo hand here, which means less stabbing and more psychological games, but that doesn't mean he hasn't found new ways of presenting it. He spends the first hour of the film plunging you into a confusing plot, the explains what you've witnessed, then turns everything on its head again. Nice!
Christian (Robert Hoffman) is out at the beach with lady friend when he spots a corpse lying on the sand. The corpse turns out to be very much alive Barbara (Kendall) whom Christian becomes infatuated with. She runs off, leaving a thermos (!) with a strange name on it. This leads Christian to a boat where he meets Barbara again, and the two of them head off to a motel for some filthy squeazy, as long as Christian shaves off his beard. Of course, some strange man turns up in the bathroom and tries to kill him, resulting in one dead stranger. This happens in 75% of all one night stands.
Things go from bad to worse for Christian as he ends up in a never ending nightmare of people who may or may not who they say they are, dead strangers who come back to life, empty houses and their occupants, and the constant shots of mannequins dressed in sexy lingerie that have been stabbed with blades. Lenzi piles on the paranoia and the mysteries but doesn't lose focus, bringing it all together nicely (even if the twists are a bit cliché by this point).
Still, despite saying "Oh! It's that kind of plot twist!" Lenzi still has a couple of curveballs, one particularly grim and shocking. Lenzi keeps things nice and trippy for the most part too, as certain characters turn up as different people, and even what we've watched up to a point may not be the whole truth. The disturbing sight of sexualised dummies, which seems to have been switched with the real thing on purpose, just adds to the disorientation. The only downside is that some of the acting is a bit iffy. I'm looking at you, Kendall! Ivan Rassimov was fine though.
What people might have a bit of trouble with is home film that Rassimov watches in his office. It has all the zooms, focus shifts and edits of a professional film. When I think about it, I wonder if that was deliberate too...possibly.
Christian (Robert Hoffman) is out at the beach with lady friend when he spots a corpse lying on the sand. The corpse turns out to be very much alive Barbara (Kendall) whom Christian becomes infatuated with. She runs off, leaving a thermos (!) with a strange name on it. This leads Christian to a boat where he meets Barbara again, and the two of them head off to a motel for some filthy squeazy, as long as Christian shaves off his beard. Of course, some strange man turns up in the bathroom and tries to kill him, resulting in one dead stranger. This happens in 75% of all one night stands.
Things go from bad to worse for Christian as he ends up in a never ending nightmare of people who may or may not who they say they are, dead strangers who come back to life, empty houses and their occupants, and the constant shots of mannequins dressed in sexy lingerie that have been stabbed with blades. Lenzi piles on the paranoia and the mysteries but doesn't lose focus, bringing it all together nicely (even if the twists are a bit cliché by this point).
Still, despite saying "Oh! It's that kind of plot twist!" Lenzi still has a couple of curveballs, one particularly grim and shocking. Lenzi keeps things nice and trippy for the most part too, as certain characters turn up as different people, and even what we've watched up to a point may not be the whole truth. The disturbing sight of sexualised dummies, which seems to have been switched with the real thing on purpose, just adds to the disorientation. The only downside is that some of the acting is a bit iffy. I'm looking at you, Kendall! Ivan Rassimov was fine though.
What people might have a bit of trouble with is home film that Rassimov watches in his office. It has all the zooms, focus shifts and edits of a professional film. When I think about it, I wonder if that was deliberate too...possibly.
Brothers in harm.
dbdumonteil25 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
We feel the Argento influence all along the viewing,but "spasmo" in spite of a low budget and mediocre actors -with the eventual exception of Ivan Rassimov- is a good thriller,absorbing ,nay original: I dare you to guess what the hero is really up to.When he appears he seems to be a handsome young man ,sure of himself and of his charm but little by little,cracks appear in the mirror.The character's evolution is anything but predictable.There's
also his brother who is widely talked about,but who only appears after one hour.The traditional flashbacks are replaced by a home-made movie where Lenzi films the looks -sometimes we do not know whose look it is anymore:Christian?Fritz?.And the last picture is really scary ,without any blood at that.Some of its scenes predate "fight club" and the industrial landscape with its sinister factory gives goose flesh.
Perhaps in the first minutes ,you may feel like giving up.Don't.It's a film which grows on you.
also his brother who is widely talked about,but who only appears after one hour.The traditional flashbacks are replaced by a home-made movie where Lenzi films the looks -sometimes we do not know whose look it is anymore:Christian?Fritz?.And the last picture is really scary ,without any blood at that.Some of its scenes predate "fight club" and the industrial landscape with its sinister factory gives goose flesh.
Perhaps in the first minutes ,you may feel like giving up.Don't.It's a film which grows on you.
A strange yet compelling giallo-style thriller.
BA_Harrison7 January 2012
I don't know whether it was director Umberto Lenzi's intention or not, but in Spasmo he created a masterpiece of the absurd, a film so convoluted, disjointed, and bizarre in execution that it becomes strangely hypnotic, forcing the viewer to watch to the very end. I can't say I particularly liked the film enough to recommend it to anyone but avid giallo fans, but one thing I can guarantee... you won't have seen anything else quite like it before.
The film stars Robert Hoffman as Christian, a businessman slowly drawn into a strange and terrifying mystery after finding the enigmatic Barbara (Suzy Kendall) laying unconscious on a beach. To try and adequately explain the plot further would take me well over my IMDb word limit, but suffice to say that it's a disorientating head-scratcher, a psychological thriller that veers wildly from one scene to another, seemingly at random, with characters that repeatedly come and go for no rhyme or reason; the dialogue is equally strange, and yet the cast plays everything with complete sincerity, even when having to utter lines as strange as ""Hey, you remind me of a dying chicken" and "It's all so absurd, meaningless. And what's absurd is dangerous".
In true giallo style, Lenzi attempts to pull all the plot threads together in the film's closing moments, but although the revelations in the finalé do justify Lenzi's strange style of direction to a degree, and clears up why there are frequent shots of female mannequins throughout the film, it doesn't adequately explain why Christian is afraid of the dark, or why Barbara prefers her men without beards.
The film stars Robert Hoffman as Christian, a businessman slowly drawn into a strange and terrifying mystery after finding the enigmatic Barbara (Suzy Kendall) laying unconscious on a beach. To try and adequately explain the plot further would take me well over my IMDb word limit, but suffice to say that it's a disorientating head-scratcher, a psychological thriller that veers wildly from one scene to another, seemingly at random, with characters that repeatedly come and go for no rhyme or reason; the dialogue is equally strange, and yet the cast plays everything with complete sincerity, even when having to utter lines as strange as ""Hey, you remind me of a dying chicken" and "It's all so absurd, meaningless. And what's absurd is dangerous".
In true giallo style, Lenzi attempts to pull all the plot threads together in the film's closing moments, but although the revelations in the finalé do justify Lenzi's strange style of direction to a degree, and clears up why there are frequent shots of female mannequins throughout the film, it doesn't adequately explain why Christian is afraid of the dark, or why Barbara prefers her men without beards.
rich people leading gross lives
lee_eisenberg5 September 2010
Umberto Lenzi's "Spasmo" is not really a horror movie as much as a psychological thriller. There's minimal violence, instead focusing on the main character's (Robert Hoffmann) descent into confusion. But as Lenzi explained in an interview, he had the flick turn out as it does to demonstrate how sick Italy's elites are. Like Lenzi's earlier "Orgasmo" (retitled "Paranoia" in the US), "Spasmo" shows that all is not what it seems in this supposedly nice group of people. Still, the sequence of events leading up to that have some pretty neat occurrences. I will say that I liked "Orgasmo" better (partially for the scene of Carroll Baker in the shower), but this one is definitely worth seeing. Also starring Suzy Kendall, Ivan Rassimov and Guido Alberti.
Extremely Convoluted Lenzi Giallo
Witchfinder-General-66615 April 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Cult-director Umberto Lenzi is probably best known for the notorious "Cannibal Ferox" (1981), but, as far as I am concerned, his most interesting films are those from the 70s, especially his Poliziotteschi like "Almost Human" and "Rome Armed To The Teeth" as well as his contributions to the Giallo genre. While "Spasmo" of 1974 is not nearly Umberto Lenzi's best Giallo - "Seven Bloodstained Orchids" is, without doubt - it is an interesting one, as this is a highly unusual, stylish and extremely convoluted film that is unpredictable enough to surprise even experienced Giallo-buffs. Fact is that it is maybe even a bit too convoluted, which makes it very confusing throughout the first half, or even the first two thirds. The film really picks up then, though, and I can assure that "Spasmo" is a cinematic puzzle more than worth sitting through. The film which is elegant in style and dark in its atmosphere comes along with a mesmerizing score from none other than Ennio Morricone, and seems to get weirder and weirder in the beginning.
Rich playboy Christian (Robert Hoffmann) brings the seductive blonde Barbara (Suzy Kendall) to a motel bungalow for a sexual encounter. When he shaves off his beard in the bathroom, a man breaks in and threatens him with a gun, at which point Christian shoots the intruder in self defense. Things get strange when the body has disappeared hours later... And why do hanged and seemingly murdered plastic dolls keep showing up?... As mentioned above, the film seems to make no sense at all in the beginning, and sometimes gets tedious in the first half, but the convoluted (and nonetheless extremely weird) storyline does make sense after all, when the film goes into its downright ingenious last third. As Lenzi's other Gialli, "Spasmo" is extremely stylish, with beautiful settings and buildings and an excellent cinematography. Very unlike most other Lenzi films, "Spasmo" is actually very tame on the violence and sleaze. The murders are not very gory (Zombie-mastermind George A. Romero was actually asked to put in several gore scenes for the film's American Release) and only one of the three sexy female stars shows some nudity (shortly). This is not to say that "Spasmo" hasn't got some genuine shocks though - it does, they're just not very graphic. The performances are good. Austrian actor Robert Hoffmann is very good in the lead. Beautiful Suzy Kendall is equally good in the female lead, as are her fellow actresses Monica Monet, a prime example of mysterious beauty in this one, and Maria Pia Conte. The always-sinister Cult-actor and Lenzi-regular Ivan Rassimov alone is capable of making films worthwhile for fans of Italian cinema, and he is once again great in his role here. The cast furthermore includes two regular supporting actors in Italian cult-cinema, Guido Alberti and Adolfo Lastretti. Overall, this is not one of the most terribly suspenseful or creepiest Gialli ever made, and neither is it one of Lenzi's masterpieces, but it is nonetheless a highly interesting thriller that provides enough surprises even for trained Giallo fans. I am not sure how many times I'll watch it again, as the first half is a bit too slow for my tastes. However, the film is very unpredictable and highly original, which makes it a must-see for my fellow Giallo-fans. Recommended!
Rich playboy Christian (Robert Hoffmann) brings the seductive blonde Barbara (Suzy Kendall) to a motel bungalow for a sexual encounter. When he shaves off his beard in the bathroom, a man breaks in and threatens him with a gun, at which point Christian shoots the intruder in self defense. Things get strange when the body has disappeared hours later... And why do hanged and seemingly murdered plastic dolls keep showing up?... As mentioned above, the film seems to make no sense at all in the beginning, and sometimes gets tedious in the first half, but the convoluted (and nonetheless extremely weird) storyline does make sense after all, when the film goes into its downright ingenious last third. As Lenzi's other Gialli, "Spasmo" is extremely stylish, with beautiful settings and buildings and an excellent cinematography. Very unlike most other Lenzi films, "Spasmo" is actually very tame on the violence and sleaze. The murders are not very gory (Zombie-mastermind George A. Romero was actually asked to put in several gore scenes for the film's American Release) and only one of the three sexy female stars shows some nudity (shortly). This is not to say that "Spasmo" hasn't got some genuine shocks though - it does, they're just not very graphic. The performances are good. Austrian actor Robert Hoffmann is very good in the lead. Beautiful Suzy Kendall is equally good in the female lead, as are her fellow actresses Monica Monet, a prime example of mysterious beauty in this one, and Maria Pia Conte. The always-sinister Cult-actor and Lenzi-regular Ivan Rassimov alone is capable of making films worthwhile for fans of Italian cinema, and he is once again great in his role here. The cast furthermore includes two regular supporting actors in Italian cult-cinema, Guido Alberti and Adolfo Lastretti. Overall, this is not one of the most terribly suspenseful or creepiest Gialli ever made, and neither is it one of Lenzi's masterpieces, but it is nonetheless a highly interesting thriller that provides enough surprises even for trained Giallo fans. I am not sure how many times I'll watch it again, as the first half is a bit too slow for my tastes. However, the film is very unpredictable and highly original, which makes it a must-see for my fellow Giallo-fans. Recommended!
Not Lenzi's Best
bensonmum213 July 2004
To fully enjoy many of the gialli I've seen recently, the viewer must, as I call it, take a "leap of logic". What I mean is that if the viewer were to stop and think about how illogical things in the movie were, they probably wouldn't enjoy the movie as much. Well, with Spasmo the viewer is asked to take a Grand Canyon size leap of logic. The problem is, I only made it half way across. The illogical actions and reactions the character make throughout the movie ruined much of my enjoyment. When faced with a situation, in almost every instance the characters act and react in the most illogical manner possible in order to advance the storyline. A logical decision by any character at any time would have brought the movie to a screeching halt.
That's not to say that there weren't things I liked about the movie. The latex dummies hanging from trees were a nice touch. The way the murders are shown in flashback at the end of the movie was a fairly innovative idea. But, there weren't enough of these moments.
The acting is what you would expect. The score by Morricone, while good, is not one of his best. The revelation of the murderer is by far the best part of the movie. The DVD from Shriek Show is a mixed bag - good picture, but lots of hiss in spots on the soundtrack.
Overall, this is not one of the better gialli I've seen. If you want to see a far superior giallo by Lenzi, see Seven Blood-Stained Orchids. For what it's worth, I'll give Spasmo 5/10.
That's not to say that there weren't things I liked about the movie. The latex dummies hanging from trees were a nice touch. The way the murders are shown in flashback at the end of the movie was a fairly innovative idea. But, there weren't enough of these moments.
The acting is what you would expect. The score by Morricone, while good, is not one of his best. The revelation of the murderer is by far the best part of the movie. The DVD from Shriek Show is a mixed bag - good picture, but lots of hiss in spots on the soundtrack.
Overall, this is not one of the better gialli I've seen. If you want to see a far superior giallo by Lenzi, see Seven Blood-Stained Orchids. For what it's worth, I'll give Spasmo 5/10.
'Spasmo' remains a captivatingly serpentine, not infrequently orgasmic Giallo masterclass!
Weirdling_Wolf1 April 2021
Murder maestro, Umberto Lenzi's fabulously monikered Giallo has an equally perverse, creepily convoluted plot to match it! The passage of time has done little to dull the stilleto sharp edge of Lenzi's compellingly off-centre, audaciously twisted Giallo! Excitingly, Spasmo's skewed narrative takes more wayward U-turns than, Robert Downey Jr's no less circuitous route to sobriety! The genuinely thrilling opening gambit is a seamily bizarre sequence wherein a courting couple grimly discover the film's morbid leitmotif, an eerily lifelike female manikin suspended grimly from a tree! Driven by an especially evocative Morricone score we are plunged breathlessly into the palpably schizo realm of Machiavellian business dealings, ostentatious playboys, twitchy-eyed assassins, voluptuously vulpine Femme fatales, and darkly fulminating sibling rivalries!
While highly regarded, I don't feel that, Lenzi's scintillating psychodrama 'Spasmo' is afforded the avidly expressed plaudits it so ardently deserves. Intriguingly, it doesn't rely on the razor-slashing rages of a ubiquitously black gloved killer, and its conspicuous lack of nudity is an atypical trope for maestro, Lenzi. While relatively chaste, Spasmo's exemplary, tantalizingly twisted, dreamily diabolical plot concludes explosively in a spectacularly lurid climax!!! Featuring Euro-cult luminaries, Suzy Kendall, Ivan Rassimov, Monica Monet, with a mesmeric, paranoid turn by the vastly underrated Robert Hoffman. Hoffman's increasingly desperate descent into a hallucinatory spectrum of deadly duplicity is sure to keep Gialli gawkers blissfully boggled! Umberto Lenzi's stylishly sinister Giallo exudes a beguiling strangeness, maintaining its fearful fascination without resorting to ostentatious camerawork, excessive gore, and formalized black-gloved overkill. For me, 'Spasmo' remains a captivatingly serpentine, not infrequently orgasmic Giallo masterclass!
While highly regarded, I don't feel that, Lenzi's scintillating psychodrama 'Spasmo' is afforded the avidly expressed plaudits it so ardently deserves. Intriguingly, it doesn't rely on the razor-slashing rages of a ubiquitously black gloved killer, and its conspicuous lack of nudity is an atypical trope for maestro, Lenzi. While relatively chaste, Spasmo's exemplary, tantalizingly twisted, dreamily diabolical plot concludes explosively in a spectacularly lurid climax!!! Featuring Euro-cult luminaries, Suzy Kendall, Ivan Rassimov, Monica Monet, with a mesmeric, paranoid turn by the vastly underrated Robert Hoffman. Hoffman's increasingly desperate descent into a hallucinatory spectrum of deadly duplicity is sure to keep Gialli gawkers blissfully boggled! Umberto Lenzi's stylishly sinister Giallo exudes a beguiling strangeness, maintaining its fearful fascination without resorting to ostentatious camerawork, excessive gore, and formalized black-gloved overkill. For me, 'Spasmo' remains a captivatingly serpentine, not infrequently orgasmic Giallo masterclass!
Much better after a second viewing
Stevieboy6666 August 2018
Giallo movie starring Robert Hoffman, Ivan Rassimov & the incredibly beautiful Suzy Kendall & directed by Umberto Lenzi, who is perhaps best known for his cannibal movies. This one mixes up murder, love & insanity, focusing on the relationship between two brothers.
I first viewed this in Italian & under the influence of a few beers and to be honest I totally lost what was going on. So I have just viewed it again but sober & in English. Thankfully it all made sense! Not the best giallo by any means but its well shot, has a nice musical score, packs in some suspense & has a good cast. Pretty tame on the sex & violence front. Rated 15 in the UK.Strange title though!
Bad giallo variation
pumaye24 June 2002
Full of fetish images of inflatable love dolls hanged on trees or covered in blood, this madness of a movie is about the incoming insanity over a young industrial captain, who probably provoked the death of his father several years before. Not really bloody (most of the killings are strangling, and worst of all viewed all together at the end of the movie), not very sexy, not particularly stylish, without any unforgettable scenes and even with a very bland soundtrack, this movie is not a worthy successor of Argento giallos
Spasmo
Scarecrow-8821 November 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Slippery giallo from Umberto Lenzi has young swinging bachelor Christian Bauman(Robert Hoffman), a wealthy heir to his dead industrialist father's massive factory, abandons his painter girlfriend for the beautiful woman, Barbara(Suzy Kendall), he meets under awkward circumstances lying face-down on the muddy sand of a beach, with the appearance of a corpse having washed ashore. Their strange introduction gets even weirder when, not having been in each other's company that long, prepare for a sexual encounter(he even calls her his "sweet little whore"!)when Christian shoots a scary stranger with the mysterious man's own gun. Barbara, in the other room getting undressed, doesn't see what took place, but persists that Christian leave the body where it's at and prepare to hide it, not calling the police to implicate her or him. But, Barbara has a man in her life, Alex(Mario Erpichini)who doesn't like Christian's moving in on his catch. Meeting at Alex's yacht, Christian startlingly remembers leaving his necklace at the hotel he and Barbara planned to have sex in. The man he shot is missing with only spots of blood leaving any indication that any person was there. From this point on, Christian's life spirals out of control as Barbara takes the poor, confused soul to a luxurious villa overlooking the sea as a couple who rents the joint show up..older gent, Malcolm(Guido Alberti), and his much younger squeeze, Clorinda(Monica Monet). Christian becomes quite bewildered because it seems he has met Clorinda somewhere before, meets a strange man(with shades hiding his eyes)who was spying on him and Barbara earlier, seeing him having a conversation with Malcolm into the night. Clorinda and Barbara both act oddly around Christian as if they know certain things, but keep this vital knowledge(that might help him sort out his plight)to themselves. Soon, the man he thought he murdered shows up at the villa, and Barbara just might prove not to be the woman he thought was the chosen love for his life. Giallo mainstay Ivan Rassimov has a small but crucial role as Christian's brother Fritz known for bailing his brother out of trouble, and the actual responsible one running the factory business..yet, he plays a heavy part in the story revolving around Christian. The film also opens the idea that Christian is schizophrenic since his family is known to have that unfortunate mental illness, an example being his grandfather. The death of Christian's father also reveals a specific aspect regarding his deteriorating mental state. Everything that seems weird and odd, those pesky loose ends that seem unresolved as Christian's life gets spun around in circles regarding the killer he supposedly murdered, come together in an incredible montage of death scenes unleashing a killer and his victims.
It takes the typical giallo framework and spins in on it's head. Is the protagonist, who we begin to gain sympathy towards since his life is becoming a roller-coaster ride of bizarre psychological trappings, really who we think he is? And, his brother Fritz..what's with this guy and his motives towards his brother regarding the unfolding of events to come to a head at the end of the film? I have read comments from many who have problems with the film's structure and logical story-telling, but I think this creates a most unusual and unique experience compared to the other gialli which flooded the Italian marketplace. Umberto Lenzi's premise goes into all sorts of directions with the protagonist captured in a state of paranoia and confusion, not knowing who he can trust or if what he's experiencing is even real. Motives of characters are often unclear. The overplotted chaos Christian is swirling in, I felt, creates a schizophrenic experience for the viewer..in a sense, we feel as baffled as Christian does. I like this myself..a lot. The mannequins Lenzi layers the film(Lenzi himself titles this idea.."the doll motif")are obviously designed to catch the viewer off-guard and provide an even weirder experience coupled with the mystery unfolding before our eyes. I think this film is great fun, mainly because I like these psychological thrillers where nothing is what it seems and anyone is suspect. The climax which explains what Christian and Fritz are suffering with(..and finally stamping what the hell those mannequins are indeed about)I think works tremendously.
It takes the typical giallo framework and spins in on it's head. Is the protagonist, who we begin to gain sympathy towards since his life is becoming a roller-coaster ride of bizarre psychological trappings, really who we think he is? And, his brother Fritz..what's with this guy and his motives towards his brother regarding the unfolding of events to come to a head at the end of the film? I have read comments from many who have problems with the film's structure and logical story-telling, but I think this creates a most unusual and unique experience compared to the other gialli which flooded the Italian marketplace. Umberto Lenzi's premise goes into all sorts of directions with the protagonist captured in a state of paranoia and confusion, not knowing who he can trust or if what he's experiencing is even real. Motives of characters are often unclear. The overplotted chaos Christian is swirling in, I felt, creates a schizophrenic experience for the viewer..in a sense, we feel as baffled as Christian does. I like this myself..a lot. The mannequins Lenzi layers the film(Lenzi himself titles this idea.."the doll motif")are obviously designed to catch the viewer off-guard and provide an even weirder experience coupled with the mystery unfolding before our eyes. I think this film is great fun, mainly because I like these psychological thrillers where nothing is what it seems and anyone is suspect. The climax which explains what Christian and Fritz are suffering with(..and finally stamping what the hell those mannequins are indeed about)I think works tremendously.
Where da blood?
macabro3571 June 2003
Warning: Spoilers
*spoilers attached*
I'm really surprised Lenzi didn't show any blood in this one, not after all those cannibal films he did, so I commend him for showing that kind of restraint, rarely shown in giallo films. Plus, if you can look past some of the unbelievable naiveté shown by some of the characters, then it's not a bad film.
Convoluted plot about a dead industrialist's son Christian (Robert Hoffman) who is slowly being driven insane by those around him. It turns out that it is all a complicated set-up by his brother Fritz (Ivan Rassimov) in order to have Christian declared insane. That way he can control all of his dead father's business for himself.
Instead Christian gets wise and kills the assailant Fritz hired, in a rock quarry by running him over with his BMW before sending his dead body over the quarry cliff into a flaming crash below.
It also turns out that the femme fatale, Suzy Kendall, was in on the plot but did not want to see Christian get killed. But as a plot twist, it turns out the Christian really is insane due to a heredity condition and kills women during blackouts.
We also find out that it is his brother Fritz who is leaving those latex mannequins lying around near the scene of every crime as a sort of calling. You see, Fritz is just as insane as his brother. It runs in the family.
In the end, Christian is shot dead by Kendall's estranged lover, right after Christian strangles Kendall. He falls dead on a beach.
The new Shriek Video doesn't have a lot of extras beyond a short interview with Lenzi along with trailers to other Shriek DVDs like SEVEN BLOOD STAINED ORCHIDS and EATEN ALIVE, along with some stills. It's taken from an excellent wide-screen, scratch-free print that looks like it's been carefully preserved for the past 25 years. I'm impressed with it. Shriek looks like it's following in the footsteps of good quality competitors like Anchor Bay and Synapse.
6 out of 10 for Lenzi deviating slightly from the norm.
I'm really surprised Lenzi didn't show any blood in this one, not after all those cannibal films he did, so I commend him for showing that kind of restraint, rarely shown in giallo films. Plus, if you can look past some of the unbelievable naiveté shown by some of the characters, then it's not a bad film.
Convoluted plot about a dead industrialist's son Christian (Robert Hoffman) who is slowly being driven insane by those around him. It turns out that it is all a complicated set-up by his brother Fritz (Ivan Rassimov) in order to have Christian declared insane. That way he can control all of his dead father's business for himself.
Instead Christian gets wise and kills the assailant Fritz hired, in a rock quarry by running him over with his BMW before sending his dead body over the quarry cliff into a flaming crash below.
It also turns out that the femme fatale, Suzy Kendall, was in on the plot but did not want to see Christian get killed. But as a plot twist, it turns out the Christian really is insane due to a heredity condition and kills women during blackouts.
We also find out that it is his brother Fritz who is leaving those latex mannequins lying around near the scene of every crime as a sort of calling. You see, Fritz is just as insane as his brother. It runs in the family.
In the end, Christian is shot dead by Kendall's estranged lover, right after Christian strangles Kendall. He falls dead on a beach.
The new Shriek Video doesn't have a lot of extras beyond a short interview with Lenzi along with trailers to other Shriek DVDs like SEVEN BLOOD STAINED ORCHIDS and EATEN ALIVE, along with some stills. It's taken from an excellent wide-screen, scratch-free print that looks like it's been carefully preserved for the past 25 years. I'm impressed with it. Shriek looks like it's following in the footsteps of good quality competitors like Anchor Bay and Synapse.
6 out of 10 for Lenzi deviating slightly from the norm.
Spoilers follow ...
parry_na16 March 2017
Warning: Spoilers
A lurid title, day for night filming, a young couple indulging in some tepid sex venture, the discovery of what appears to be a corpse; all of this leads into some instantly lovely title music and leaves us under no illusions – this is giallo territory! Brusque, humourless, hunk-cake poser Christian (Robert Hoffman) and his girlfriend discover an unconscious girl, Barbara (Suzy Kendall) on the beach and before long, she and rakish Christian have fallen in love. Soon, an intruder interrupts their courtship – before accidentally getting killed with his own gun. His corpse however, disappears
It's madness, I tell you. And yet it moves briskly, has a typically addictive soundtrack (usual suspect Ennio Morricone, not quite firing on all cylinders but as always, providing an elegant score) and contains more intrigue than you could shake a stick at. 'Spasmo' is a lot less ludicrous than the trailer (an urgently choreographed selection of scenes with an actor yelling the title over and over in an increasingly feverish manner), but also a lot less fun. Tell-tale bloodstains, espionage, the main man's miraculously self-cleaning clothes, corpse-like mannequins strewn about the place – all these things would add layers of intrigue if only the plot was more comprehensible. Someone seems to be out to drive Noel Edmonds-lite Christian mad and goes to extraordinary lengths to do so. He doesn't make it difficult, driven as he is by his libido making him an easy target. Simply engage him with a woman almost as beautiful as he is, and away we go.
Eccentric in its story-telling to the point of delirium, it's impossible not to at least partially enjoy this mad-fest. Not the greatest giallo, it nevertheless takes a while to leave you.
Eccentric in its story-telling to the point of delirium, it's impossible not to at least partially enjoy this mad-fest. Not the greatest giallo, it nevertheless takes a while to leave you.
Dream-like giallo like no other
Wheatpenny28 October 2001
By 1974 the giallo genre was running out of steam and the films were getting more complicated, more violent and altogether weirder in an attempt to keep viewers coming. Director Umberto Lenzi made two that year, this one and the equally absurd Eyeball, leaving one to hope that Lenzi was putting the audience on and not the stark raving lunatic the films give the impression he was. Whereas Eyeball is a more conventional giallo, with a hooded killer picking off a variety of unwitting victims, Spasmo is more of a "Gaslight"-inspired venture. Someone may be trying to drive the irrepressible Robert Hoffman mad, but he needs little help, and the last fifteen minutes contain the strangest twists I've yet seen in a giallo. Those looking for a stylish thriller will be disappointed by the plant-the-camera-and-shoot direction, and don't expect anything like a plot that's worth following or characters with any relation to human beings. What makes it worth seeing is the genuinely dream-like story, linear yet impossible to follow, and the way each sequence transition requires a twisted justification by the viewer to accept that Yes, maybe it is possible that someone would do this. Here and there a haunting Morricone score comes in, sad and lovely as the one in "My Dear Killer," and there are inexplicable scenes of an unseen man stabbing female dolls, his identity revealed only at the very end in one the finale's many left-field twists. The only giallo remotely comparable to this one is Death Laid An Egg, and at least that had the excuse of being from the 1960's and (I assume) the use of mind-altering chemicals by its creators. I can't imagine what state of mind the filmmakers of this mini-classic were in while making it, but you'd be hard-pressed to find another film like it.
Somewhat troubling but still watchable Giallo
kannibalcorpsegrinder25 February 2017
Finding a woman on the beach, a man soon finds himself in a strange and bizarre series of encounters that convinces him he's going insane and digs deeper into the overall series of events in order to find the true culprit at the center of his torment and stop their game.
Overall, this one was quite an enjoyable if flawed Giallo. One of the more engaging aspects of this one is the fact that it works in quite a fun and wholly entertaining central mystery that makes for an appropriately thrilling mystery. There's a lot to say here with the way it starts off finding her on the beach and leading to the general craziness of the encounter in the bathroom before being whisked away and into the rather strange set-up which all comes off with a great deal of rather fun Giallo fervor as the situation makes for a fine outcome. The fact that it soon involves them getting deeper and deeper into the conspiracy involving the mysterious friend and the insistence that the initial murder took place despite all the people telling him that he's going insane after no such incident took place. With the assassin trailing them into the lighthouse and begins toying with them who begin trying to convince each other that something isn't happening even though there's plenty of evidence to suggest someone is after them stalking around the villa, there's plenty of suspenseful moments during the night and leading into the discovery of their true relationships, this is quite nicely handled here. That gives the film a large amount of genuine atmosphere during the lead-up to the finale as the encounter at the villa where they run into the still-alive assassin and the later scenes in the rock quarry which sets the double-cross in motion and the final encounter at the house which gives this one an incredibly strong and somewhat shocking finish which is right in line with the remaining parts of the film. While these make this one enjoyable, there's still a few flaws here. The biggest issue is that regardless of how much fun it is to unravel the main mystery there's little about it that really makes you care about what's happening. The way this one goes about trying to make the whole film about their strange sibling rivalry and setting the whole plot in motion is simply not in the slightest bit rewarding or even fun, and there's little about it that makes sense at all either. It really shows no sense of logic as for why this particular plan had to be set into motion for these events to play out as this one tries to make it seem, and there are so many internal gaps of logic that are featured here which really does drag this one down with such a wholly incoherent and illogical storyline no matter how much fun it is to play out. This even leads to the films' supposed inclusion of the murdered dolls around the woods that are continually showcased here which are so bizarre and clueless that it's completely unknown why this one carries out the way it does and really just leaves the whole thing a giant mystery. These here are what really hold this one back.
Rated R: Language, Violence and Brief Nudity on mannequin figures.
Overall, this one was quite an enjoyable if flawed Giallo. One of the more engaging aspects of this one is the fact that it works in quite a fun and wholly entertaining central mystery that makes for an appropriately thrilling mystery. There's a lot to say here with the way it starts off finding her on the beach and leading to the general craziness of the encounter in the bathroom before being whisked away and into the rather strange set-up which all comes off with a great deal of rather fun Giallo fervor as the situation makes for a fine outcome. The fact that it soon involves them getting deeper and deeper into the conspiracy involving the mysterious friend and the insistence that the initial murder took place despite all the people telling him that he's going insane after no such incident took place. With the assassin trailing them into the lighthouse and begins toying with them who begin trying to convince each other that something isn't happening even though there's plenty of evidence to suggest someone is after them stalking around the villa, there's plenty of suspenseful moments during the night and leading into the discovery of their true relationships, this is quite nicely handled here. That gives the film a large amount of genuine atmosphere during the lead-up to the finale as the encounter at the villa where they run into the still-alive assassin and the later scenes in the rock quarry which sets the double-cross in motion and the final encounter at the house which gives this one an incredibly strong and somewhat shocking finish which is right in line with the remaining parts of the film. While these make this one enjoyable, there's still a few flaws here. The biggest issue is that regardless of how much fun it is to unravel the main mystery there's little about it that really makes you care about what's happening. The way this one goes about trying to make the whole film about their strange sibling rivalry and setting the whole plot in motion is simply not in the slightest bit rewarding or even fun, and there's little about it that makes sense at all either. It really shows no sense of logic as for why this particular plan had to be set into motion for these events to play out as this one tries to make it seem, and there are so many internal gaps of logic that are featured here which really does drag this one down with such a wholly incoherent and illogical storyline no matter how much fun it is to play out. This even leads to the films' supposed inclusion of the murdered dolls around the woods that are continually showcased here which are so bizarre and clueless that it's completely unknown why this one carries out the way it does and really just leaves the whole thing a giant mystery. These here are what really hold this one back.
Rated R: Language, Violence and Brief Nudity on mannequin figures.
Spasmo is an uneven movie with enough entertaining elements to warrant a viewing
kevin_robbins27 March 2024
I recently watched the Italian thriller 🇮🇹 Spasmo (1974) on a random streaming service. The storyline follows a couple in a hotel who are startled by a noise in the bathroom. When the boyfriend investigates, he is attacked by a gunman whom he ends up killing. As they attempt to flee, they discover the body has vanished, leading them to question who was behind the attack and why.
Directed by Umberto Lenzi (Ghosthouse), the film stars Robert Hoffman (Nights and Loves of Don Juan), Suzy Kendall (The Penthouse), Adolfo Lastretti (Syndicate Sadists), and Franco Silva (Patrick Still Lives).
Spasmo presents a mixed bag of hits and misses. It introduces a unique premise and creatively utilizes mannequins, adding an intriguing layer to the story. The plot unfolds with numerous twists, turns, and clever whodunit elements, keeping the audience engaged. While the kills are adequately set up, their execution falls short. The film features attractive actresses and some nudity, although less than traditional giallo films. However, it delivers a satisfying reveal and twist at the end.
In conclusion, Spasmo is an uneven movie with enough entertaining elements to warrant a viewing. I would rate it a 6/10 and recommend seeing it once.
Directed by Umberto Lenzi (Ghosthouse), the film stars Robert Hoffman (Nights and Loves of Don Juan), Suzy Kendall (The Penthouse), Adolfo Lastretti (Syndicate Sadists), and Franco Silva (Patrick Still Lives).
Spasmo presents a mixed bag of hits and misses. It introduces a unique premise and creatively utilizes mannequins, adding an intriguing layer to the story. The plot unfolds with numerous twists, turns, and clever whodunit elements, keeping the audience engaged. While the kills are adequately set up, their execution falls short. The film features attractive actresses and some nudity, although less than traditional giallo films. However, it delivers a satisfying reveal and twist at the end.
In conclusion, Spasmo is an uneven movie with enough entertaining elements to warrant a viewing. I would rate it a 6/10 and recommend seeing it once.
Incredible start with lackluster finale
dopefishie19 February 2022
Incredible start and build up of suspense! The first 2/3 of the film is close to perfect. However, it loses its way in the last 20 mins or so and limps to the conclusion.
Acting and cinematography were both great! And Ennio provides a very nice score. With a stronger, more coherent script, this could have been something special.
Acting and cinematography were both great! And Ennio provides a very nice score. With a stronger, more coherent script, this could have been something special.
Convoluted story, unravels towards the end. Decent film.
Bababooe7 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Convoluted story, unravels towards the end. Decent film.
Good cinematography, good music, decent acting, good locations and scenes. The story is convoluted, and the dialogue does not make sense most of the time. The story unravels towards the end and it unfolds to a satisfying end.
Highlights: When the guy is run over by the main character. And when the guy is picked up by a woman and she asks to if he wants to go to a "Motel".
Slow moving film, but it works. Rating is a C, 5 stars. Recommended for giallo fans.
Good cinematography, good music, decent acting, good locations and scenes. The story is convoluted, and the dialogue does not make sense most of the time. The story unravels towards the end and it unfolds to a satisfying end.
Highlights: When the guy is run over by the main character. And when the guy is picked up by a woman and she asks to if he wants to go to a "Motel".
Slow moving film, but it works. Rating is a C, 5 stars. Recommended for giallo fans.
"I Have A Razor In My Room...Big, Sharp And Sexy...."
ferbs549 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I have watched Umberto Lenzi's 1974 offering, "Spasmo," twice during the last week, and still find myself perplexed as to that peculiar title...unless, of course, it refers to the brain spasms the picture is likely to induce in the unsuspecting viewer! In this truly disorienting experience, hunky dude Christian, well played by Robert Hoffman, picks up a woman named Barbara (Suzy Kendall, looking for all the world here like a poor man's Julie Christie) and goes back to her motel. A gunman barges in, Christian kills him, the body disappears, and the bewildered couple embarks on an increasingly loopy, borderline surreal adventure peopled with ambiguously motivated characters and filled with bizarre locations and non sequitur lines of dialogue. (And just what the heck is the deal with all those mutilated and strung-up mannequins littering the countryside?) As the excellent film reference book "DVD Delirium 2" puts it, the picture has an "increasing atmosphere of mental disintegration, creating the feeling that the viewer himself is losing his mind." So true. And yet, miraculously, by the film's end, and with its chilling final shot, all the preceding zaniness suddenly makes perfect sense. Whereas on my initial viewing I thought "Spasmo" an entertaining hoot, a second look revealed it to be quite ingenious; a small masterpiece, in fact. Lenzi's direction is both assured and impeccable, the performances across the board are splendid (including, of course, that of fan favorite Ivan Rassimov), and the score by the maestro, Ennio Morricone, is both eerie and suspenseful. I don't know if I'd term "Spasmo" a giallo--the film is almost wholly bloodless, with no real murderous set pieces per se--a mind-warping mystery might be more appropriate. Whatever you call it, though, I have a feeling it is one film you won't soon forget. Highly recommended, especially when viewed on this great-looking Shriek Show DVD.
Sibling Rivalry
kapelusznik184 July 2016
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS**** "Spamso" starts rather innocently with Chris Bauman, Robert Hoffmann,helping out this woman that's fully clad Barbara, Suzy Kendell, who passed out on the beach from sunstroke who suddenly runs or drives out on him. Leaving a clue to where she is going to "Tucania" a large yacht down by the bay he meets her and fall heads over heels for Barbara who-Can you blame him- has a striking resemblance to the future and later fatal British Princes Diana. Staying at a local motel and ready to jump into action or under the covers Chris is told by Barbara to shave off his saggy beard before she has anything to do with him. Which leads to him being attacked in the bathroom-while shaving off his beard-by this hit-man Tatum, Adolfo Lastretti, who's always seen playing with his steel balls, like the crazed captain in the film the "Cain Mutiny", who after a life & death straggle Chris kills Tatum with his own gun.
The rest of the film has Chris as well as Barbara on the run from who knows who since it's discovered that Tatum survived being shot or even more strange that he never existed since only Chris, not the local police or even Barbara, can prove that he killed him-in self defense- and has absolutely no proof of doing it! With all the running that Chris as well as Barbara are doing in the movie from what seems like invisible forces they encounter in Barbara's artist friends villa where their chilling out this couple Malclom & the zombie like Clorinda, Guido Alberti & Monica Monet, who claim that they rented the place and threaten to call the police to get the two evicted and arrested for trespassing!
***SPOILERS*** This entire mess of a movie boils down to Chris' past when he was a young boy who together with his older brother Fritz,Ivan Rassimov, attended their father's, Tom Felleghy, funeral that Malcolm covered as a newspaper reporter. It's Malcolm who always felt that it was Chris who murdered his father and has been secretly following him ever since to prove his point so this encounter with him at the villa wasn't an accident! What later come out is that Tatum as well as Barbara are actually working for Chris's brother Fritz who wants to have him hospitalized in a mental institution before he does any damage to himself or anyone else. And that plan by Fritz soon backfires with Chris, in a long flashback sequence,ends up murdering some dozen women including Barbara before he's stopped and gunned down by the police! As for Fritz the "Good" son he soon realizes that he's just as crazy as his late brother Chris since they share, from their equally insane and homicidal dad, the same genes or personalities!
The rest of the film has Chris as well as Barbara on the run from who knows who since it's discovered that Tatum survived being shot or even more strange that he never existed since only Chris, not the local police or even Barbara, can prove that he killed him-in self defense- and has absolutely no proof of doing it! With all the running that Chris as well as Barbara are doing in the movie from what seems like invisible forces they encounter in Barbara's artist friends villa where their chilling out this couple Malclom & the zombie like Clorinda, Guido Alberti & Monica Monet, who claim that they rented the place and threaten to call the police to get the two evicted and arrested for trespassing!
***SPOILERS*** This entire mess of a movie boils down to Chris' past when he was a young boy who together with his older brother Fritz,Ivan Rassimov, attended their father's, Tom Felleghy, funeral that Malcolm covered as a newspaper reporter. It's Malcolm who always felt that it was Chris who murdered his father and has been secretly following him ever since to prove his point so this encounter with him at the villa wasn't an accident! What later come out is that Tatum as well as Barbara are actually working for Chris's brother Fritz who wants to have him hospitalized in a mental institution before he does any damage to himself or anyone else. And that plan by Fritz soon backfires with Chris, in a long flashback sequence,ends up murdering some dozen women including Barbara before he's stopped and gunned down by the police! As for Fritz the "Good" son he soon realizes that he's just as crazy as his late brother Chris since they share, from their equally insane and homicidal dad, the same genes or personalities!
Nifty and offbeat giallo thriller
Woodyanders27 January 2016
Troubled Christian Bauman (a solid and likable performance by Robert Hoffman) discovers the beautiful Barbara (beguiling Suzy Kendall) lying unconscious on the beach. Christian's subsequent involvement with Barbara soon finds him thrust into a puzzling and dangerous world populated by decadent rich oddballs with something awful to hide.
Director/co-writer Umberto Lenzi keeps the compelling, if convoluted, story moving along at a constant pace, does an able job of crafting a dreamy, perplexing, and potently morbid atmosphere (the hideously lifelike female mannequins littered throughout the bleak and surreal landscape are an especially inspired and unsettling touch), and concludes everything on a startling grim note. Hoffman and Kendall make for attractive and appealing leads; they receive sound support from Ivan Rassimov as Christian's protective brother Fritz, Adolfo Lastretti as the menacing Tatum, Mario Erpichini as the possessive Alex, Monica Monet as the alluring, yet enigmatic Clorinda, and Guido Alberti as helpful old-timer Malcolm. Ennio Morricone's exquisitely haunting and harmonic score rates as another major asset. Ditto Guglielmo Mancori's handsome widescreen cinematography. Granted, Lenzi doesn't deliver much in the way of either gore or sleaze, but the tricky winding narrative certainly keeps the viewer guessing about what's actually going on right until the alarming end.
Director/co-writer Umberto Lenzi keeps the compelling, if convoluted, story moving along at a constant pace, does an able job of crafting a dreamy, perplexing, and potently morbid atmosphere (the hideously lifelike female mannequins littered throughout the bleak and surreal landscape are an especially inspired and unsettling touch), and concludes everything on a startling grim note. Hoffman and Kendall make for attractive and appealing leads; they receive sound support from Ivan Rassimov as Christian's protective brother Fritz, Adolfo Lastretti as the menacing Tatum, Mario Erpichini as the possessive Alex, Monica Monet as the alluring, yet enigmatic Clorinda, and Guido Alberti as helpful old-timer Malcolm. Ennio Morricone's exquisitely haunting and harmonic score rates as another major asset. Ditto Guglielmo Mancori's handsome widescreen cinematography. Granted, Lenzi doesn't deliver much in the way of either gore or sleaze, but the tricky winding narrative certainly keeps the viewer guessing about what's actually going on right until the alarming end.
I could take you now, and you'd like it, even with the beard.
bennozoid119 July 2003
SPASMO is a gem, and possibly THE most preposterous, infinitely quotable, bafflingly ridiculous film i have ever seen!
The first half hour provides more belly laughs and crazy soundbites than most comedies, and this is supposed to be a deadly serious psychological horror film.
Find SPASMO. But first: watch the trailer! It's got to be the best trailer in the history of trailers; with a ranting, fevered italian bloke panting/groaning the word "SPASMO" at least ten times, ending in a final uttering of "SPASMO!" that sounds like he's constipated on the toilet, desperately trying to squeeze one out!
Wonderful, wonderful stuff. A joy to behold....
The first half hour provides more belly laughs and crazy soundbites than most comedies, and this is supposed to be a deadly serious psychological horror film.
Find SPASMO. But first: watch the trailer! It's got to be the best trailer in the history of trailers; with a ranting, fevered italian bloke panting/groaning the word "SPASMO" at least ten times, ending in a final uttering of "SPASMO!" that sounds like he's constipated on the toilet, desperately trying to squeeze one out!
Wonderful, wonderful stuff. A joy to behold....
"I remember one summer,we found a dog strangled to death."
morrison-dylan-fan13 February 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Over the last two weeks,I have started to develop an interest into looking for murky,hard-bitten film Noirs.When a friend asked me if I could help him to order some films,one of the first ones that he went for was this.After having brought the film,I went looking round on sites to read about it,and I discovered that it was being under a genre that I have not heard about before called "Giallo".As I started to read up more about the genre,my eagerness to view a Giallo film highly increased.Luckaly for me,my friend kindly gave me the chance to watch the film. The plot:
During a relaxed scroll on the beach,a couple (named Christian and Clayen) spot a girl laying face-down dead at the side of the beach.As they get closer,they realise that the girl is thankfully alive.As Christian helps the girl (Barbara) up,he takes his attention off her for a moment,and in almost an instant,she has disappeared!,and possibly is even driving away.Determined to not let this event fade away Christian looks round the area of the beach that Barbara was at,and he finds a flask that has the name of a ship that is in a near by boat yard.From the moment that he finds the flask,Christian starts a one man mission into finding the girl.When he arrives at the boat yard,he finds out that there is a party on the boat,and although the party host first refuses him access to the party,Christian is able to push himself into the party,where he at last finds Barbara.Due to being completely enchanted to her,Christian instantly accepts her invitation of him going round to her place.And whilst the night starts off well enough,when Christian goes to the bath room,he discovers that there is a hit man there,waiting to kill him.As he battles it out with the hit man,Christian ends up shooting him.With both of them fearing that they will end up in jail over the murder (although when Christian goes to look back at the murder scene,the body has oddly "disappeared")Barbara suggestes that they stay at a lavish empty country house that a friend of hers has lived at.When they get inside the house,they find out that it is actually being rented out by two tenets,who tell them that they are fine with both of them living in the place as well.Although as there time in the house grows,Christian starts to think that the tenets,and maybe even Barbara seem to be acting very strangely.And although Christian thinks that it may have something to do with the hit-man,he does not realise that he is far more involved in the disturbing going ons on the island,then he could ever imagine.. View on the film:
Although the score does not have a strong metallic tone that he would become legendary for,the score by Ennio Morricone is still very engaging.With my favourite track being the one used in the opening credits,which features a light jazz sound,and a Spanish guitar having excellent ghostly voices whispering over the track,which creates a very haunting feel. For this being my first ever Giallo film,I feel that writer-director Umberto Lenzi has made a film that welcomes me with open arms to the genre.With the screenplay,Lenzi (who wrote the screenplay with four other people) does very well at making the film a very atmospheric paranoid mystreey film,with a film noir undertone that becomes more noticeable as the story progresses.And whilst I feel that the girlfriend at the start of the film could have been used a little bit more,the film is that jammed packed with other deeply engrossing plot elements that it is very easy to overlook this.With Umbertos directing matching the terrific frantic feel of the story. (which includes someone "murdering" plastic dolls,a gradual mental breakdown and the last fifteen minutes of the film,which are extremely gripping,although they completely turn the film upside down,in a way that rewards repeated viewings.)Lenzi also does lots of excellent shots,with the section of the film where Christian starts to think that everyone around him seem to be hiding something from him,being shown with some very fast-edited close ups of the things that are making the character very nervous.
Final view on the film: A fantastic Giallo-Noir mystreey film,with excellent writing and some very clever directing by Umberto Lenzi.
During a relaxed scroll on the beach,a couple (named Christian and Clayen) spot a girl laying face-down dead at the side of the beach.As they get closer,they realise that the girl is thankfully alive.As Christian helps the girl (Barbara) up,he takes his attention off her for a moment,and in almost an instant,she has disappeared!,and possibly is even driving away.Determined to not let this event fade away Christian looks round the area of the beach that Barbara was at,and he finds a flask that has the name of a ship that is in a near by boat yard.From the moment that he finds the flask,Christian starts a one man mission into finding the girl.When he arrives at the boat yard,he finds out that there is a party on the boat,and although the party host first refuses him access to the party,Christian is able to push himself into the party,where he at last finds Barbara.Due to being completely enchanted to her,Christian instantly accepts her invitation of him going round to her place.And whilst the night starts off well enough,when Christian goes to the bath room,he discovers that there is a hit man there,waiting to kill him.As he battles it out with the hit man,Christian ends up shooting him.With both of them fearing that they will end up in jail over the murder (although when Christian goes to look back at the murder scene,the body has oddly "disappeared")Barbara suggestes that they stay at a lavish empty country house that a friend of hers has lived at.When they get inside the house,they find out that it is actually being rented out by two tenets,who tell them that they are fine with both of them living in the place as well.Although as there time in the house grows,Christian starts to think that the tenets,and maybe even Barbara seem to be acting very strangely.And although Christian thinks that it may have something to do with the hit-man,he does not realise that he is far more involved in the disturbing going ons on the island,then he could ever imagine.. View on the film:
Although the score does not have a strong metallic tone that he would become legendary for,the score by Ennio Morricone is still very engaging.With my favourite track being the one used in the opening credits,which features a light jazz sound,and a Spanish guitar having excellent ghostly voices whispering over the track,which creates a very haunting feel. For this being my first ever Giallo film,I feel that writer-director Umberto Lenzi has made a film that welcomes me with open arms to the genre.With the screenplay,Lenzi (who wrote the screenplay with four other people) does very well at making the film a very atmospheric paranoid mystreey film,with a film noir undertone that becomes more noticeable as the story progresses.And whilst I feel that the girlfriend at the start of the film could have been used a little bit more,the film is that jammed packed with other deeply engrossing plot elements that it is very easy to overlook this.With Umbertos directing matching the terrific frantic feel of the story. (which includes someone "murdering" plastic dolls,a gradual mental breakdown and the last fifteen minutes of the film,which are extremely gripping,although they completely turn the film upside down,in a way that rewards repeated viewings.)Lenzi also does lots of excellent shots,with the section of the film where Christian starts to think that everyone around him seem to be hiding something from him,being shown with some very fast-edited close ups of the things that are making the character very nervous.
Final view on the film: A fantastic Giallo-Noir mystreey film,with excellent writing and some very clever directing by Umberto Lenzi.
Well done...but convoluted and frustrating
The_Void9 August 2006
Despite not being as artful as the masterpiece 'Seven Blood-Stained Orchids', or as fun as the trash classic 'Eyeball'; Umberto Lenzi's Spasmo is a Giallo highlight in it's own right, and a big plus point for the versatile director's filmography. It's rather hard to believe that a director of such films as the aforementioned Eyeball, as well as the likes of Nightmare City could have made a film as sombre as this one; there's barely any of the gore and nudity that many Giallo fans look for on display, and instead Lenzi has opted to concentrate on the story and characters. It has to be said that Spasmo isn't the most entertaining film of the genre; but thanks to Lenzi's handling, it's one of the most fascinating
.and most frustrating. The plot follows Christian; a young man who discovers an apparently dead young woman while walking on the beach with his girlfriend. It turns out that she isn't dead, and it's not long before the two of them are about to go to bed together. However, the pair is interrupted by a stranger, whom Christian accidentally kills. From there, the action switches to a so-called safe house and the plot thickens...quite a lot, actually.
Giallo's are famous for featuring convoluted plot lines, but this one takes it to the next level. Umberto Lenzi takes us on a tour of red herrings before eventually turning back full circle to deliver an unexpected climax. The film takes obvious inspiration from the Alfred Hitchcock classic 'Psycho', but unlike a lot of films that use Psycho as an inspiration; here it isn't obvious, as the plots aren't similar and it's only a central theme that the two films share. There isn't a great deal of graphic murders in this film; one that sees a man ran over is about as bloody as it gets, and there's barely any nudity either. This puts more focus on the plot, which doesn't always do the film a lot of favours as it dries up a bit too often, and Lenzi would have been better served dishing up some gore as usual. Robert Hoffman makes for a decent lead, while Suzy Kendall; a prolific Giallo actress isn't given much to do. Ivan Rassimov makes his mark in the support cast, however, and is my pick of the bunch. The atmosphere isn't a major strongpoint with this film either, although Lenzi's use of a number of dolls is good. Overall, this is an enjoyable film; even if it is a little convoluted, and it comes just about recommended to Giallo fans.
Giallo's are famous for featuring convoluted plot lines, but this one takes it to the next level. Umberto Lenzi takes us on a tour of red herrings before eventually turning back full circle to deliver an unexpected climax. The film takes obvious inspiration from the Alfred Hitchcock classic 'Psycho', but unlike a lot of films that use Psycho as an inspiration; here it isn't obvious, as the plots aren't similar and it's only a central theme that the two films share. There isn't a great deal of graphic murders in this film; one that sees a man ran over is about as bloody as it gets, and there's barely any nudity either. This puts more focus on the plot, which doesn't always do the film a lot of favours as it dries up a bit too often, and Lenzi would have been better served dishing up some gore as usual. Robert Hoffman makes for a decent lead, while Suzy Kendall; a prolific Giallo actress isn't given much to do. Ivan Rassimov makes his mark in the support cast, however, and is my pick of the bunch. The atmosphere isn't a major strongpoint with this film either, although Lenzi's use of a number of dolls is good. Overall, this is an enjoyable film; even if it is a little convoluted, and it comes just about recommended to Giallo fans.
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