SPASMO

Suzy Kendall and Robert Hoffman

SPASMO (1974). Director: Umberto Lenzi.

A young couple see a woman hanging from a tree but it turns out to be a life-size rubber doll. Then Christian (Robert Hoffman) and a lady friend spot what they think is a woman's corpse on the beach, but she turns out to be the very alive Barbara (Suzy Kendall), who agrees to have a drink and then disappears. Christian next spots her at a boat party he crashes, and winds up in her motel room, where a strange man breaks into the bathroom, threatens him with a gun, and gets shot in self-defense; later the body disappears. Barbara takes Christian to a friend's cliffside tower house, where they encounter an older man named Malcolm (Guido Alberti) and his younger companion, Clorinda (Monica Monet), both of whom seem to be keeping secrets. The trouble with Spasmo is that in trying to keep secrets from the audience, it leave us in the dark for too long, making the whole thing seem pretty nonsensical. [In truth, even after the revelations, the movie still doesn't make a lot of sense.] At one point Barbara, who throughout the movie says things like "I don't understand anything" and "I can't take any more" asks Christian "doesn't it seem terribly absurd to you?" at about the same time all the members of the audience are asking each other the very same question. Meanwhile, someone is leaving "murdered" mannikins all over the place. There's a wealthy man named Alex (Mario Erpichini) who seems obsessed with Barbara, and Christian's brother, Fritz (Ivan Rassimov), who may or may not be involved in what ever's going on. The acting isn't bad, with pretty Kendall, who also appeared in Torso, acquitting herself nicely, and Austrian actor Hoffman -- this Italian production has a truly international cast -- making a more than competent and very attractive leading man. The darn thing holds your attention because it's not only unpredictable for the most part, but you keep watching it for no other reason than to find out what the hell is going on; there's at least one good twist as well.

SPOILER ALERT. Spasmo  has been classified as an Italian giallo film but it's actually more of a suspense film than a horror movie or shocker. However, it does feature two brothers, one of whom is a serial killer of women, and another who stabs and strangles mannikins instead of real people.

Verdict: One of the weirdest movies ever. **1/2.

TALES THAT WITNESS MADNESS

TALES THAT WITNESS MADNESS (1973). Director: Freddie Francis.

An anthology of horror tales tied to a psychiatric clinic presided over by Donald Pleasance, who introduces his patients to visiting doctor Jack Hawkins. In the first a little boy with bickering parents [Donald Houston and Georgia Brown] insists that a tiger comes to visit him in his bedroom. The parents don't believe him -- until the tiger shows up. This story is a complete throwaway. In the second tale a young man travels back in time to the turn of the century, followed by a ghoulish figure who spies upon him and his lady love. This one has some interesting elements but isn't developed very well. Suzy Kendall and Peter McEnery are fine as the young couple, however. In the third story Joan Collins has her hands full with a devilish sculpted tree monster in her living room which her artist lover seems to prefer over her. This one really has a hilarious -- and stupid -- wind-up. Collins as as zesty as ever. In the last and best story Kim Novak -- still gorgeous at forty -- is cast as Auriol Pageant, who's throwing a luau. One of the guests is a client named Kimo (Michael Petrovitch) who has sinister designs on Novak's beautiful daughter Ginny (Mary Tamm). This has a ghoulish touch of cannibalism but seems to be over just as it's getting interesting. Tales that Witness Madness is certainly no world-beater, but it holds the attention and is amusing, including the wind-up at the clinic. Novak is fun.

Verdict: Definitely don't eat the mystery meat. **1/2.

CIRCUS OF FEAR aka PSYCHO-CIRCUS

CIRCUS OF FEAR (1967/British). Director: John Moxey. AKA Psycho-Circus.

The American title of Psycho-Circus tried to make this sound like a horror film even more than the original British title, but this is actually a big top mystery based on a story by the prolific Edgar Wallace. Police trace a member of a gang that robbed an armored car to Barberini's circus, but it turns out there are already a number of other suspicious characters there, including a lion tamer named Gregor (Christopher Lee) who is supposedly disfigured and constantly wears a black hood over his head. There are a couple of mostly off-screen murders, assorted histrionics, and a fair amount of tedium. Aside from Lee, Klaus Kinski and Suzy Kendall (Torso) are the best-known names in the cast. Like a low-grade TV production for the most part.

Verdict: You can skip this one. *1/2.