Spasmo

While walking along the seashore Christian Bauman (Robert Hoffman) and his girlfriend Xenia notice a woman's body lying on the beach. Going to investigate, they are relieved to find the woman, Barbara (Suzy Kendall) had merely passed out from the heat. Then, when their backs are turned she disappears, leaving behind a thermos flask with the word 'Tucania' on it.

Spotting a boat with the same name, the couple go on board. Christian sees Barbara again and, with Xenia going home with a convenient headache, they get talking and wind up – with remarkable ease, perhaps – back at Barbara's. Seemingly something of a pogonophobic, Barbara encourages Christian to shave off his beard. A gunman sneaks in through the bathroom window and threatens Christian with his silenced pistol. But with the gunman briefly distracted, Christian is able to turn the tables on his assailant and shoots him dead.

In a panic he tells Barbara what has just happened and she suggests they flee. Just as they are about to get into Christian's car who should show up – another curious coincidence – than Barbara's overpossessive friend Alex, who announces they have something to talk about. Worse, he seems to somehow know something is up:

"For God sake Christian what's wrong? You look like you just murdered someone."

"What the hell do you mean."

"…Exactly what I said"

Suddenly realising he has left his distinctive medallion back at Barbara's Christian dashes off, only to discover that the body has vanished…

What the hell is going on and what does it have to do with all those mutilated mannequins that are turning up all over the place?

Although the Italian giallo film has rarely been terribly strong in terms of writing and characterisation, the better examples of the genre manage to combine style with substance (Deep Red) or have sufficient excess of the former to get by with a modicum of the latter (Blood and Black Lace).

Spasmo, alas, is not one of them. Director Umberto Lenzi tries with the subjective camera, extreme close-ups and so forth, but just lacks the imaginative touches of a Mario Bava or Dario Argento.

The one thing Lenzi can normally be relied upon to provide, as his numerous poliziotteschi and cannibal entries amply demonstrate, is brutal action. Yet for whatever reason, Spasmo sees him in surprisingly restrained mood. (Some indication as to just how far removed the film is from the typical giallo can be gleaned from the fact that when Spasmo was belatedly released in the US its distributors did not feel the need to make cuts, instead seeking to spice up the action with some murder scene inserts.)

As a result, Spasmo has relatively little going for it for the casual viewer. Those writing a thesis on discourses of mental illness in the giallo or – for extra obscurantism – the role of the mannequin in the genre (cf. Blood and Black Lace, Hatchet for the Honeymoon) may find it more interesting.

Although Robert Hoffman make a more engaging protagonist than Seven Bloodstained Orchids Antonio Sabata, the needless complexity of the storyline coupled with the ponderous, portentous dialogue and unsatisfactory resolution – I won't spoil it, but it's sufficient to say that no one is who they appear to be and nothing is quite what it seems – mean that one soon stops caring what's going on.

All told, the only person to emerge from the mess unscathed is Ennio Morricone, whose mournful, expressive score suits the mood yet also stands on its own outwith Spasmo.

This Region 1 DVD from Shriek Show features better visuals than audio. The 2.35:1 anamorphic enhanced widescreen transfer is a sharp and well-defined with strong colours and deep blacks. The English dubbed soundtrack and Morricone's score come through clear enough, though there is also quite a bit of hiss and crackle in otherwise silent passages.

The extras comprise a 13 minute interview with Lenzi, conducted in Italian and subtitled in English, in which he reveals that the film was originally slated as a project for Lucio Fulci – one wonders what he would have made of it – and comments on the importance of seeing the film in its proper aspect ratio; a stills gallery; and a selection of Shriek Show trailers, including Spasmo, Eaten Alive, Seven Bloodstained Orchids and What Have you Done to Solange – the usual.