Nelle pieghe della carne (1970)

Director:

Sergio Bergonzelli

Writers:

Sergio Bergonzelli (screenplay)
Mario Caiano (idea)

Release Date:

2 May 1970 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | Horror

Plot:

The guests of a villa are killed off one by one by their hosts. Incest, decapitations and a cyanide bath feature amongst the other bizarre delights.

Plot Keywords:

Cyanide | Incest | Blackmail | Governess | Decapitation

Cast

Eleonora Rossi Drago	...	Lucille
Pier Angeli	...	Falesse / Ester (as Anna Maria Pierangeli)
Fernando Sancho	...	Pascal Gorriot
Alfredo Mayo		(as Alfredo Majo)
Emilio Gutiérrez Caba
María Rosa Sclauzero
Víctor Alcázar
Giancarlo Sisti
Gaetano Imbró
Luciano Catenacci		(as Luciano Lorcas)
Bruno Ciangola

Also Known As:

In the Folds of the Flesh (UK)
Las endemoniadas (Spain)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

Italy | Spain

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:18

Company:

MGB Cinematografica

Entertaining and sleazy psychedelic-giallo-exploitation flick

To be honest, "In the Folds of the Flesh" doesn't exactly have a coherent or compelling murder mystery storyline. If that's what you're looking for, there's much better Giallos out there, such as "Don't Torture a Duckling" or "The Bird With the Crystal Plumage". However, if you're a fan of swinging European exploitation flicks with a touch of psychedelics for extra flavoring, than you're bound to enjoy this little treat. The plot, as mentioned, is a bit confusing. There is a story, but its rather difficult to piece together and has many holes. It involves a murderer on the run from the law who thinks he sees a body being buried in a wealthy socialite's backyard. Thirteen years later, he returns to attempt to get money out of her in order to not hand her over to the police. However, the socialite and her son and daughter are a bit depraved themselves, taking pleasure in incest and even murder. The plot goes several directions from this point on, including the father of the household possibly returning and another sister who went insane. The story isn't what matters here. What is important is the sheer amount of sleaze on display. In addition to the aforementioned incest, there's also decapitations, schizophrenia, rape, and plenty of other delights along those lines. It even veers into Nazisploitation for a few moments, with a character having flashbacks to a concentration camp. Its never remotely disturbing, just very distasteful. I also enjoyed seeing Pier Angeli and Eleanora Rossi-Drago playing a daughter and mother, because its obvious they're only a few years apart in age. If you're looking for a compelling murder mystery, look elsewhere. However, if you want a slice of stylish, pretentious, and weird European sleaze, than you'll enjoy this. (7/10)