The main ingredient in a Giallo film I like best is the story. Usually, these are well thought out revenge thrillers, with loads of twists, red-herrings, and a hint of the supernatural. This film has all the above and more.
I liked the way the writers, Luis G De Blain and Antonio Troiso, pull the attention of the audience into the story from the first frame. The hook of the Biker and the Hitchhiking Damsel snags you right away. You start thinking, what will happen? This interesting and intriguing segue is only to introduce the characters to each other... and the audience.
Then we meet a group of friends who have urgent business to conduct. They journey out of their home for the meeting and drive straight into the thickest fog they've seen. Around this time, the Biker and the Damsel ride into the same peasouper. This is where the writers start to throw in some supernatural - or not - elements. A man walking along the roadside. Nothing unusual there, except he wears a wide-brimmed hat and is carrying a long staffed scythe. Shot in silhouette, he is a spooky character indeed.
This is only the start. Things get stranger and darker as we progress through the film. If this story cannot keep your interest, then you have ADD. This is one of the better and more intricate Giallo films I've watched.
The one thing I wasn't fond of in the story was the ending. If I had written the tale, I would have opted to go for more of a horror style climax and not the thriller ending. For me, it wasn't as satisfying as the rest of the movie.
I was thankful that the director, Francisco Lara Polop, was skilled enough to keep the story smooth. It would have been easy to create confusion. This adds another great ingredient. Unlike the horror films and thrillers being shot in America and England, the Spanish and Italian liked to play with the rhythms of the pacing. This variation allows for the creation of tension and excitement within the film's atmosphere. Though Polop isn't a master at this, he does enough to keep it engaging.
The cast does their bits admirably and keeps their characters believable, relatable, and a little mysterious. You're never too sure what's happening or who is to blame, if anyone. I will also pay respect to the voice talents and the dubbing masters. Most Giallo films are dubbed into English and luckily for the audience, the voices match the actor. At times, it's the actual actor or actress who voices their character in English. At other times, it's a different actor or actress. The main culprits of bad dubs, from this era, were Japan and China. Some pair-ups and voiceovers were risible. Though I have yet to find an Italian or Spanish production with such low dubbing production values. So don't let the fact it's dubbed put you off watching this screen gem.
Though this isn't a horror film, as such, I would recommend it to all horror fans as well as the Giallo aficionados, Thriller followers, and Chiller fans. This is well worth a watch, and it has made it onto my watch again pile. So turn off the lights, settle down with a warm drink, and enjoy.
Ratings:
Story 1.5 : Direction 1.5 : Pace 1.25 : Acting 1.25 : Enjoyment 1.5 : Total 7 / 10
Now bike on over to my Killer Chiller Thrillers and The Game Is Afoot lists to see where this spooky picture ranked.
Take Care and Stay Well.
