The brief synopsis of this film promised quite a lot of sadistic murders and and intelligent, convoluted plot twists, but it's actually one of the most boring giallo-efforts I've encountered so far. The plot is uninvolving and introduces too many superfluous characters that like to behave suspiciously even when they have absolutely no reason to! Take the hero's girlfriend, for example! She's a blond girl, but occasionally wears a black wig without saying why. Anyways, we're looking for a killer in a world of wild sex parties, blackmailing, astrology and really confused journalists. It all starts with the assault at an Australian doctor on new year's day and many victims follow, although not right away. The killer isn't exactly in a hurry (he only commits like one murder per month) and why should he/she be? There hardly seem to be any police officers investigating the case and the biggest danger comes from an alcoholic journalist with quite a few personal issues. The murders aren't particularly spectacular or imaginative and some of the players couldn't possibly give more careless performances. Like always when his name appears in the credits, Ennio Morricone delivers the best work, with his staggering musical score that provides even the most daft sequences with an undeserved portion of suspense. Franco Nero is truly cool dude, but he obviously feels much more at home wearing his cowboy hat preferably that of Django an makes a very unconvincing lead star. None of the supportive cast members are really worth mentioning. Trust the general opinion on this one, there are about 50 to 60 Italian gialli that you should give priority over "The Fifth Cord"
Review of The Fifth Cord
