All the Colors of the Dark (1972)

A woman recovering from a car accident in which she lost her unborn child finds herself pursued by a coven of devil worshipers.

Director:

Sergio Martino

Writers:

Santiago Moncada (story), Ernesto Gastaldi (screenplay)

Stars:

George Hilton, Edwige Fenech, Ivan Rassimov

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Hilton	...	Richard Steele
Edwige Fenech	...	Jane Harrison
Ivan Rassimov	...	Mark Cogan
Julián Ugarte	...	J.P. McBrian (as Julian Ugarte)
George Rigaud	...	Dr. Burton
Maria Cumani Quasimodo	...	Elderly Neighbor
Nieves Navarro	...	Barbara Harrison (as Susan Scott)
Marina Malfatti	...	Celia Morgan / Mary Weil
Luciano Pigozzi	...	Francis Clay (as Alan Collins)
Dominique Boschero	...	Jane's Mother
Lisa Leonardi	...	Girl with dog
Renato Chiantoni	...	Mr. Main
Tom Felleghy	...	Inspector Smith
Vera Drudi	...	Nightmare Woman
Carla Mancini

Storyline

Jane lives in London with Richard, her boyfriend. When she was five, her mother was murdered, and she recently lost a baby in a car crash. She's plagued by nightmares of a knife-wielding, blue-eyed man. Richard, a pharmaceutical salesman, thinks the cure is vitamins; Jane's sister Barbara, who works for a psychiatrist, recommends analysis; a neighbor Jane's just met promises that if Jane participates in a Black Mass, all her fears will disappear. Jane tries the Mass, but it seems to bring her nightmares to life. Is there any way out for her short of death or a living Hell?

---

Plot Keywords:

bare breasts | sexual intercourse | girl in shower | breasts | erotica | 

---

Taglines:

They cannot be exorcised from the world because their power has grown too strong ...their numbers too many!

---

Genres:

Horror | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The opening credits sequence was shot at twilight.

---

Goofs

When goblet is taken at the black mass and given to Jane to drink, amount of liquid in it doesn't match the previous shot of it, and neither is the liquid the same, probably being wine or something drinkable.

---

Quotes

Jane Harrison: I got frightened. A strange guy tried to follow me all the way home.
Mary Weil: I'm frightened that the time will come when a man won't follow me home.
Jane Harrison: I'm afraid this one was a maniac.
Mary Weil: Strange men have been following women since the Stone Age, Jane.

---

Connections

Referenced in Reel 2 (2020)

User Reviews

Edwige gets startled...again

You do know that in the real world, the chances of encountering women like Edwige Fenech, Susan Scott, and Marina Malfatti in the space of even a YEAR are almost zilch, right? George Hilton encounters them all in one day. He's an old man now, but I doubt he's got any regrets, and probably still has one of the most enviable wank banks in existence.

Edwige does a lot of 'startled over the shoulder glances' in this one, so if you're a big fan of that you will like this, a quasi-giallo involving that early seventies obsession: the satan worshipping cult. But I'm getting ahead of myself there. The main question of the first half of this film is: If Edwige has flashbacks to witnessing an OLD Ivan Rassimov killing her mother when she was a child, then why does she think a YOUNG Ivan Rassimov is stalking her now?

Needless to say when we first meet Edwige she's a messed up girl (in her head, she still looks immaculate no matter what happens to her) - she witnessed her mum being killed, she lost a baby in a car crash caused by husband George Hilton, and now she can't get it on with him due flashbacks. What's a girl to do? Go see a psychiatrist like her sister Susan Scott recommends? Or join a Satanic cult, drink the blood of a sacrificed dog, and get it on with some smelly hippies? If you thought Edwige's character in Anna, the Mafioso's Punching Bag was gullible, you aint seen nothing yet!

The Satanic cult element is introduced fairly early, but the main mystery of the film is who can Edwige trust? Probably not Ivan Rassimov, as she spends most of the film running away from him, but was is George Hilton up to? Is he a travelling salesman or is he something else? What about psychiatrist George Riguad? Or why does Susan Scott hate George? And what did lawyer Luciano Pigozzi want to talk to her about? Sergio Martino does a good job here of making everything as trippy as possible. The film starts with a bonkers dream sequence involving a floating man in drag and a pregnant woman rubbing blood on her stomach. He chops up the editing at several points so things repeat themselves, shows scenes that may or may not have happened in Edwige's head, and also has Edwige having visions of things that haven't happened yet. You can't go wrong with a good rooftop chase so Sergio throws one of them in too, and actually manages to explain most of what's going on before the end of the film! Except those visions.

That's it - I've now watched every Edwige giallo film (Top Sensation, Five Dolls for the August Moon, Strange Case of Mrs Wardh, Your Vice is a Locked Room and only I have the Key, The Case of the Bloody Iris, All the Colours of the Dark, 1975's Strip Nude For Your Killer and 1988's Phantom of Death). Apart from those, Edwige would appear in a whole lot of 'sexy comedies' that were seemingly the most popular genre in Italy in the late seventies. She would also appear in a couple of Euro Crime films, including Mean Frank and Crazy Tony, which I switched off after ten minutes due to the horrible comedy.

Details

Country:

Italy Spain UK

Language:

Italian Spanish

Release Date:

13 August 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

They're Coming to Get You

Filming Locations:

Kenilworth Court, Lower Richmond Road, Putney, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lea Film, National Cinematografica, Astro C.C.

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1