Rings of Fear (1978)

A detective investigating the murder of a teenage girl begins to focus his suspicions on the three girlfriends of the victim, who call themselves "The Inseparables."

Director:

Alberto Negrin

Writers:

Marcello Coscia (screenplay), Massimo Dallamano (screenplay)

Stars:

Fabio Testi, Christine Kaufmann, Ivan Desny

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fabio Testi	...	Inspector Gianni Di Salvo
Christine Kaufmann	...	Christina
Ivan Desny	...	Chief Inspector Louis Roccaglio
Jack Taylor	...	Michael Parravicini
Bruno Alessandro	...	Di Salvo's Assistant
María Asquerino	...	Miss Graham
Helga Liné	...	Mrs. Russo
Silvia Aguilar	...	Virginia Nardini
Taida Urruzola	...	Franca
Tony Isbert	...	Max van der Weyden
Fausta Avelli	...	Emily Russo
Albertina
Fabián Conde	...	Mr. Mandel
Brigitte Wagner	...	Virginia
Carmen Carro

Storyline

A detective investigating the murder of a teenage girl begins to focus his suspicions on the three girlfriends of the victim, who call themselves "The Inseparables."

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Plot Keywords:

cult | kitten sits on man's shoulder | woman undressing | close up of eye | women's showers | 

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Taglines:

Sweet sixteen ... they'll lose more than just their lives.

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Massimo Dallamano was going to direct this movie in order to complete his 'school girl in peril' trilogy but died in a car crash before production began.

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Quotes

Inspector Gianni Di Salvo: [holds up hands to depict size] Someone with a cock this big raped Angela Russo and threw her in the river!

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Connections

Follows What Have You Done to Solange? (1972)

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Soundtracks

L'Intoccabile Mr. Cliff
From Si può essere più bastardi dell'ispettore Cliff? (1973)
Written and Conducted by Riz Ortolani

User Reviews

School's out … Sleaze class just started!

Naughty schoolgirls, perverted killers and unorthodox police officers… What more could you possibly hope to see in a late 70's Italian Giallo, apart from perhaps some large portions of graphic nudity and gritty bloodshed? Well, "Rings of Fear" has ALL of this (and more…), but still it certainly doesn't rank among the best efforts in this wondrous sub genre of horror. Even though no less than SIX persons are credited as scriptwriters, this film undoubtedly is the weakest installment in Massimo Dallamano's trilogy revolving on "Schoolgirls in Peril". The unofficial franchise began magnificently, with "What Have You Done To Solange?" – arguably one of the best Gialli ever made – but already lowered in quality a bit with "What Have They Done To Our Daughters", which felt more like a crime film with loads of car chases and gangster networks. "Rings of Fear", however, features the least amount of surprises and shocks and painfully suffers from the one demerit Gialli should never suffer from: predictability! Dallamano and his army of co-writers attempt to mislead us with red herrings and mysteriously behaving side characters, but even if you're only just slightly familiar with the standard Giallo trademarks, you can see right through every plot twist and easily unravel the identity of the culprit(s) yourself. It nevertheless remains a worthwhile horror gem for Italian horror fanatics to purchase, though, if it were only to behold the awkward and thoroughly unorthodox investigation methods Insp. Gianni Di Salvo (Fabio Testi) uses to unmask his sleazy killer. Di Salvo is charged with the case of an attractive 16-year-old schoolgirl who was raped and sadistically cut open with a large sharp weapon. The victim's witty younger sister informs him that Angela, along with three of her boarding school girlfriends, formed a secret alliance known as "The Inseparables" and frequently escaped from their dorm to serve as lustful & sexy entertainment for rich businessmen. Di Salvo knows where to look for the killer, but due to some of the suspects' prominent reputations the commissioner holds him back. "Rings of Fear" is an overall amusing Giallo because the story contains so many odd & unusual sub plots. For example, the inspector's girlfriend is a notorious shoplifter and his own interrogation techniques are rather ingenious, to say the least. He invades the boarding school in the middle of the night to question the scarcely dressed teachers and even drags his main suspect onto a wild roller coaster to force him to testify. The gorgeous (barely legal?) teenage girls provide this film with a more than fair amount of full-frontal nudity and lusciousness; while the light-hearted dialogs and Testi's utterly cool performance contribute in making "Rings of Fear" easy and undemanding viewing. The exciting score is courtesy of Riz Ortolani ("Cannibal Holocaust") and Alberto Negrin's direction is overall competent. Recommended viewing for trained Italian sleaze-fanatics, but newcomers to the Giallo-industry should probably postpone their viewing of "Rings of Fear" until they've seen some of the works of Dario Argento and Sergio Martino, or Massimo Dallamano's initial masterpiece "What Have You Done To Solange?".

Details

Country:

Italy West Germany Spain

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

19 August 1978 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Red Rings of Fear

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daimo Cinematografica, CIPI Cinematografica S.A., Central Cinema Company Film (CCC)

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1