I haven't seen enough from the Italian film industry (or the Dutch one, for that matter) to be overly familiar with the conventions of the so-called "giallo" genre, but I can tell when someone is trying to make a crime/suspense thriller with a "jet-set" cast and settings, and this one falls smack into that category. However, I can't quite figure out why the title is "The Devil With Seven Faces", when there is no real horror element to the screenplay, no "devils" are to be seen (just thugs and gangsters) and no one here has seven "faces" that I can see...not even the diamond that serves as the 'MacGuffin' for the plot.
The plot is ridiculously contrived, convoluted, and unconvincing - with several dead-ends (some of the characters' actions and decisions make no sense at all, and what the heck was the deal with the dead landlady?? ); the cast leads are played more like fashion models than actors; the soundtrack tries for a weird combination of Ennio Morricone and John Barry; and every time the screenplay gets some actual momentum going, it immediately bogs down again in a bunch of "clever" dialog, travelogue footage designed to get you to visit Holland, and endless exposition and flirting. Also, the director doesn't seem to be able film a good car chase scene, and some of the gun-play and fisticuff choreography falls flat.
And yet, I sort of liked it. The leads are at least pleasant to look at and no one here sucks the way they might in a typical Italian genre ripoff. The camera seems at more interested in the outfits than the actors wearing them, but the proceedings do have a certain shallow glamor. Even the minor roles are decently filled out by hardworking character actors.The scenery is glamorous and intriguing, although there is far too much of it (if you've seen one windmill,you've seen them all). The climax is actually gripping and ends horrifically (I flinched a little, anyway). The soundtrack may be odd, but it tries hard to sustain a certain mood and sometimes succeeds. Also in its favor, the English dubbing is fairly good - I think I recognized some of the voice actors from "Secret Agent Super Dragon", which was also pretty good for an import.
Minus a couple stars for the terrible way the plot is resolved in the last three or four minutes - possibly the worst ending to a thriller and mystery since "it was alllllll a dream". Plus one star for the insane blue wig that the female lead wears in a beach scene - it takes a lot of something special to pull off a piece of head-wear like that, and it is almost worth the entire movie to see it.
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