So Sweet, So Dead (1972)

A serial killer is on the loose. His victims are unfaithful wives and he always leaves compromising photographs at the crime scene.

Director:

Roberto Bianchi Montero

Writers:

Luigi Angelo (screenplay), Luigi Angelo (story)

Stars:

Farley Granger, Sylva Koscina, Silvano Tranquilli

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Farley Granger	...	Inspector Capuana
Sylva Koscina	...	Barbara Capuana
Silvano Tranquilli	...	Paolo Santangeli
Annabella Incontrera	...	Franca Santangeli
Chris Avram	...	Professor Casali
Sandro Pizzochero	...	Roberto (as Sandro Pizzorro)
Krista Nell	...	Renata
Angela Covello	...	Bettina Santangeli
Fabrizio Moresco	...	Piero
Andrea Scotti	...	Gianni
Irene Pollmer	...	Giannina
Luciano Rossi	...	Gastone
Ivano Staccioli	...	The Liar
Nino Foti
Jessica Dublin	...	Rossella

Storyline

Inspector Capuana investigates serial murders where the victims of unfaithful wives were get killed as they were having sex with their husbands. A naked woman is found murdered and mutilated in a prosperous small province town in Southern Italy. But who is murdering her? After a while, the killer who wears black fedora, gloves, and trench coat starts photographing unfaithful wives as they start having sex with their lovers and also killing them.

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Plot Keywords:

sleazy giallo | giallo | black gloved killer | psychotronic film | serial killer | 

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Taglines:

Only beautiful women... only if they are evil... and when they are caught in the act... he commits the ULTIMATE BRUTALITY!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

X

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

18 July 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bad Girls

Filming Locations:

Elios Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Produzioni Cinematografiche Romane (P.C.R.)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A re-edited version released in the U.S. was called "Penetration", and featured hardcore porno footage with adult-film stars Harry Reems and Tina Russell. It was advertised as a porno featuring actor Farley Granger, who was in the original film but had nothing to do with the re-edited version. Granger threatened the distributors with a major lawsuit for the unauthorized use of his name in the new version, and they subsequently withdrew the film from US distribution, but not from Europe.

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Alternate Versions

The Slasher was edited into Penetration in 1976 and Farley Granger's role was changed into a porno movie watcher.

User Reviews

Killing in the name of... Marital Vows!

This little seen but nonetheless notorious Italian giallo opens with the SECOND-best footage imaginable. A bunch of policemen are standing in the room where the horribly mutilated body of an attractive woman has just been discovered, and this disturbing discovery heralds the search for a sadistic killer. The absolute best horror opening would of course be that we actually witness the killer take the life of his victim but, no worries, as we're treated to that not more than ten minutes later already and several times after that! The maniac at large is exclusively interested in adulterous women with a high-society standing. He stalks them as they secretly meet up with their lovers, patiently waits until they're alone again, then kills them barbarically and leaves behind photographical evidence of their liaisons. Inspector Capuano faces huge difficulties in his investigation, as the prominent husbands of the killed women don't want to see their names mentioned in this scandal. This oddly titled Italian film (actually, NONE of the many titles is completely relevant) can be described best as a straightforward and unscrupulous giallo. The killer fully answers to all the standard characteristics (black gloves, black coat, face covered by a black veil), the gore is graphic & plentiful and every female cast member extendedly shows off her ravishing body before getting slashed. All this should already satisfy pretty much every giallo-fan, but there's more. Good stuff mostly, but bad stuff as well unfortunately.

The greatest thing about "So Sweet, So Dead" is unquestionable the whole climax which, regretfully, I can't write about much. Peculiar but surely innovating about this movie is how the revelation of the murderer's identity is totally downgraded by the setting and circumstances of his last killing. The face behind the veil isn't surprising but the whole ending is definitely shocking and highly memorable! The film's negative elements are fairly obvious: the plot and message are very women-unfriendly (although many gialli are…). Only the women are punished for their salacious lifestyles even though their rich husbands & lovers aren't without sin, neither. If I have no defense for this, but to immediately label the entire film as misogynistic is a bit exaggerated in my opinion. The other and more annoying flaws include a lack of plausible red herrings, bad use of soundtrack and wooden acting performances by pretty much the entire cast. You can clearly tell that Roberto Bianchi (father of Mario Bianchi) isn't Italy's finest horror director but he does an overall adequate job. In all honesty, "So Sweet, So Dead" doesn't deserve a rating higher than 6 or maybe 7, but I'm giving it one point extra if only for that end-sequence! Definitely worth looking for if you're a giallo fanatic!