MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Up 2,205 this week

Spasmo (1974)

 -  Mystery | Thriller  -  August 1976 (USA)
6.1
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 6.1/10 from 439 users  
Reviews: 22 user | 29 critic

Christian (Robert Hoffman) and his girlfriend are taking a walk on a deserted beach when they discover a woman's body lying. A closer look proves that she's alive. The next day Christian ... See full summary »

Director:

Writers:

(story), (screenplay), 2 more credits »
Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 200 titles created 05 Feb 2012
 
a list of 113 titles created 11 months ago
 
a list of 25 titles created 11 Jul 2011
 
a list of 41 titles created 30 Jul 2011
 
a list of 167 titles created 18 Apr 2012
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: Spasmo (1974)

Spasmo (1974) on IMDb 6.1/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of Spasmo.

Videos

Photos

Edit

Cast

Cast overview:
Robert Hoffmann ...
Christian Bauman
Suzy Kendall ...
Barbara
Ivan Rassimov ...
Fritz Bauman
Adolfo Lastretti ...
Tatum, the killer
Monica Monet ...
Clorinda
Guido Alberti ...
Malcolm
Mario Erpichini ...
Alex
Franco Silva ...
Luca
Maria Pia Conte ...
Xenia
Luigi Antonio Guerra ...
Boy - in the 'incipit'
Rosita Torosh ...
Woman in car
Edit

Storyline

Christian (Robert Hoffman) and his girlfriend are taking a walk on a deserted beach when they discover a woman's body lying. A closer look proves that she's alive. The next day Christian meets her again at a yacht party and they fall in love. Later at a nearby motel, something weird happens as they prepare to go to bed together: An intruder breaks in and starts beating Christian who accidentally shoots him with his own gun. A few hours later they find out that the corpse is missing and a series of weird incidents takes place. Written by Ørnås

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

beach | gun | murder | long hair | hired killer | See more »

Taglines:

Beyond "Psycho" SPASMO!

Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

August 1976 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Efialtis  »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

George A. Romero shot approximately ten minutes of Cinemascope footage inserted into the United States release of the film, depicting the killings. See more »

Quotes

Alex: C'mon honey, let's go to the poop deck.
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Il mostro (1977) See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
A strange yet compelling giallo-style thriller.
7 January 2012 | by (Hampshire, England) – See all my reviews

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.


1 of 2 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
spasmo is good fun entertainment hmstar
Spasmo in Perspective maestro146
Discuss Spasmo (1974) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?