Although they have a few things in common, I've always preferred the Italian Giallo to the German Krimi which is probably why I'm a bit underwhelmed by many entries. Most krimi were made before the London Mod scene changed a generation's fashion, music, and decor (something the giallo took full advantage of) and were usually filmed in black & white with very little style and even less sex. CREATURE WITH THE BLUE HAND was a typical entry; a convoluted Edgar Wallace murder mystery (which is no bad thing, reely) made at the tail end of the cycle with color to recommend it.
Lord Emerson's lunatic twin (Klaus Kinski in a dual role) escapes from a nearby insane asylum and makes his way back home to gloomy Grayson Hall as a series of murders begin to plague both the estate and the asylum. The weapon of choice this time is a piece of ancestral armor, a blue steel glove with razor-sharp blades for fingers a la Freddy Krueger. Jumps scares and red herrings abound and a jazzy, inappropriate soundtrack makes the film feel like an episode of MANNIX at times but I will say one thing- there's always a decent body count in any given krimi. Characters drop like flies and no one cares -least of all the viewer- since the complicated plot's always in perpetual motion, leaving no time for character development.
Years later, additional scenes were filmed on the same sets and a re- edited version was released on the U.S. drive-in circuit as THE BLOODY DEAD. It's an extra on my DVD but I can't say I'm all that interested.
Lord Emerson's lunatic twin (Klaus Kinski in a dual role) escapes from a nearby insane asylum and makes his way back home to gloomy Grayson Hall as a series of murders begin to plague both the estate and the asylum. The weapon of choice this time is a piece of ancestral armor, a blue steel glove with razor-sharp blades for fingers a la Freddy Krueger. Jumps scares and red herrings abound and a jazzy, inappropriate soundtrack makes the film feel like an episode of MANNIX at times but I will say one thing- there's always a decent body count in any given krimi. Characters drop like flies and no one cares -least of all the viewer- since the complicated plot's always in perpetual motion, leaving no time for character development.
Years later, additional scenes were filmed on the same sets and a re- edited version was released on the U.S. drive-in circuit as THE BLOODY DEAD. It's an extra on my DVD but I can't say I'm all that interested.