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Police inspector Amaldi (Luigi Lo Cascio) investigates two cases at the
same time: One concerns a pretty, young student, Giuditta (Lucía
Jiménez), who has a stalker who doesn't even seem to shy away from
violence - if one is to believe his threats. (By the way, need I say it,
before long Amaldi and Giuditta fall in love with each other.)
The other case concerns a series of extremely brutal - but very
operatic - murders where the killer not only kills his victims but also
mutilates them quite professionally and often attaches bodyparts of
mannequins to his victims and leaves the police notes that, if properly decoded, lead to the respective next victim
(needless to say, Amaldi never manages to decode any note in time) - and he leaves dried leaves
with his victims, which are shamanic symbols ... which brings Amaldi's two
cases together, because Giuditta studies anthropology, and to learn more
about the shamanic meaning of the leaves (and other stuff concerning the
murders) he has to interview one of her professors, Avildsen. Together the
two man figure out that the killer probably is a taxidermist who wants to
make a human puppet out of all the body parts he has collected ... gulp !
But then there is also another clue, which involves one of Amaldi's
colleagues, Ajaccio (Simón Andreu), who as a kid has been in the
orphanage with a boy that would exactly fit the profile of the killer -
thing is, Ajaccio has a brain tumor and his memory constantly fades in and
out, plus he doesn't seem too safe even in the hospital he's in - and sure
enough, he is killed before the film is over ...
In the finale, Giuditta is kidnapped (to noone's real surprise), and
the killer is revealed to be Professor Avildsen himself, whose life has
become completely unhnged due to a childhood trauma. Only just before he
can kill Giuditta does Amaldi - who has figured the whole thing out not a
moment too soon - arrive at the scene, and the two men battle it out, but
in the end it's Giuditta who shoots Avildsen to save Amaldi's and her own
life ...
Without looking in the least bit nostalgic or retro, this film takes us
back to the best gialli (= a specifically Italian version of the
serialkiller movie, often enrichened with strong horror elements) of the
1970's: Like back then, a convoluted murder mystery is kept alive by
breathtaking setpieces, imaginative murder scenes, and plenty of horror
gore and suspense. Necessarily, the story has to take back seat behind all
of this, but while watching the film this doesn't matter one bit, it's an
entertaining if gruesome rollercoaster ride of a serialkiller movie that
should not be missed ... so, watch it.
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amazon.com
amazon.de
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find Eyes of Crystal at adultvideouniverse.com
