Crazy Desires of a Murderer

Director - Filippo Walter Ratti (Night of the Damned, Mondo Erotico)

Starring - Corrado Gaipa (The Godfather, Marco Polo), Roberto Zattini, and Isabelle Marchall (The Terror with Cross-Eyes, The Crimes of the Black Cat)

Release Date - 1977

Genre - Horror

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     As I work my way through the third volume of the Forgotten Gialli box set from Vinegar Syndrome I've found myself having a lot of fun with these films.  Autopsy was a fantastic giallo and The Murder Mansion really surprised me.  I absolutely loved it.  This left the third and final film in the set which is the 1977 giallo Crazy Desires of a Murderer.  I was riding a wave into this one.  The other two were fantastic films and I had high hopes for CDoaM but this one would let me down.  It is, by far, the weakest film in the collection.

     The film follows a young woman who brings her friends with her to her father's home.  Her father is wheelchair bound and reluctant to have visitors.  Also in the home is her brother who is a recluse with a knack for taxidermy.  When her friends start turning up dead some dark secrets are revealed by each of the guests.

     I was pretty pumped when I tossed this one in and by the 30 minute mark I found myself drifting off to sleep.  In fact, I had to turn it off and restarted it the following day in hopes I could appreciate it a little more when I was well rested.  Sadly, I did not.  The film was extremely boring and lackluster.  The acting in this one is the only redeeming quality in the film.  The characters are entertaining and the cast does a wonderful job bringing them to life.  As the film progresses you see some of the character change to fit the story.  The cast does a wonderful job at making these changes show.  The story for this one is a giallo paint by numbers.  However, this doesn't make this one enjoyable.  The scenes are drawn out and the dialogue is completely too drab and dull.  I found myself struggling through most of these scenes.  Finally, the film has some blood and practical effects but they are nothing that really stands out or that entertaining.  The kills try to be gruesome but they just fall short.  Overall, Crazy Desires of a Murderer looks great on blu bit is not that enjoyable. This is the week link in the set but the transfer from Vin Syn looks fantastic.