Starring - Tomas Milian (Massacre Play, The Devil and Holy Water), Pierre Clementi (Hideous Kinky, Massacres), and Katia Christine (Spirits of the Dead, Margin for Murder)
Release Date - 1971
Genre - Crime/Thriller
Tagline - "It was the perfect crime... but who was the victim?"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)
Rating (out of 5):
When I started reviewing Mondo Macabro's releases several years back I found myself liking most of the releases but I will be completely honest when I say not all of them are for me. When MM releases films do typically do so in 3 or 4 film increments. Typically I'll dig one or two but one or so just don't work for me. When I received It's Nothing Mama, Just a Game, Human Animals, and The Designated Victim in to review a few months ago I honestly wasn't too interested in The Designated Victim. It looked like an Italian crime film which just wasn't something that I typically enjoy. However, once I tossed it in and hit play I realized that I was a damn fool. It was a fantastic Italian spin on the Strangers on a Train story. I want to thank CAV and Mondo Macabro for sending this one over.
The film follows a married man who is wanting to sell his wife's assets and move to another country but she refuses. All of their business ventures is under her name and she's not ready to cash in just yet. He gets the idea to forge her name but before he does so he meets an eneigmatic man who is often beaten and bruised by his older brother. He tries to convince him to kill his brother and he will take care of his wife but he refuses. However, his wife is found murdered after he forges her signature and he is moved to the top of the suspect list. His new "friend" is hiding evidence that provides his innocence but is blackmailing him into killing his brother before he can get it.
I'm being completely honest when I said I wasn't looking forward to The Designated Victim but the movie was quick to impress me and after just a few minutes I was honestly hooked on it. I can't recall the last time that MM released as many well rounded titles as this did with these three film. The Designated Victim was a great film to finish out my Mondo Macabro marathon. The acting in this one is absolutely fantastic. Milian and Clementi are fucking fantastic together. I really enjoyed how different their characters are and how well they work together to make the story what it is. These two have fantastic on screen chemistry and they both carry the film on their back. The supporting cast is solid for what it is but the characters are nowhere near as entertaining as what these two give viewers. The story for this one is Strangers on a Train with a little Italian crime spin on it. It's a murder mystery without the mystery and follows a police investigation and a man who is being fingered for a murder he did not commit. I really enjoyed the spin on this classic tale that we get and you think it's predictable because of the set up but you never truly know what is going on. It's some clever writing and not just a scene for scene rip off of that known story. Finally, the film has a little blood it's not a movie with a body count. The deaths are off screen with no practical effects. Genre fans looking for blood will be disappointed with this. Overall, The Designated Victim doesn't look like a movie that most horror fans would enjoy but I fucking loved it. I highly recommend snagging this release from Mondo Macabro! You will not be disappointed!
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