'Murder Obsession' is a bizarre 80's Giallo slasher flick with a gothic dream-like atmosphere, a confusing narrative and plenty of blood-shed once the plot gets going. The movie is a very strange offering to the genre with its uneven pacing, questionable acting, and sloppy editing, but there's also plenty here to enjoy also with its stunning visuals, fantastic set-pieces and the over-the-top death scenes which makes this flick a whole lot more entertaining than it has any right to be.
The plot = Michael (Stefano Patrizi) a successful actor returns to his childhood home for the weekend with his girlfriend Deborah (Silvia Dionsio) and are soon joined by the director and some of the crew. But there's a scandal in Michael's past and soon as they arrive, someone starts killing them off one by one, could all this be connected to Michael's past.
Despite the movie's many flaws its entertaining as hell with an intriguing murder mystery element and the overall demented approach by the director Riccardo Freda with tons of random strangeness thrown into the run-time. After a very awkward start the movie becomes more off-kilter with black magic, incest and strange dream sequences, all of which generates a WTF reaction, but with all this mayhem going on, the plot does become very much secondary as almost nothing makes any sense, but there's enough style and sleaze to keep things moving.
The performances are all over the place here, but the legendary Giallo Queen Anita Strindberg brings a much-needed presence to the flick and her fantastic performance manages to hold everything together rather well. John Richardson is also great here as the creepy groundskeeper Oliver. Laura Gemser was also decent and stunning to look at. Stefano Patrizi was okay as the male lead but could have done with a lot more charisma and this role felt a bit beyond his range.
Overall 'Murder Obsession' is not a forgotten Giallo masterpiece by any means, but its quirky strangeness is entertaining enough to make it a memorable experience.
The plot = Michael (Stefano Patrizi) a successful actor returns to his childhood home for the weekend with his girlfriend Deborah (Silvia Dionsio) and are soon joined by the director and some of the crew. But there's a scandal in Michael's past and soon as they arrive, someone starts killing them off one by one, could all this be connected to Michael's past.
Despite the movie's many flaws its entertaining as hell with an intriguing murder mystery element and the overall demented approach by the director Riccardo Freda with tons of random strangeness thrown into the run-time. After a very awkward start the movie becomes more off-kilter with black magic, incest and strange dream sequences, all of which generates a WTF reaction, but with all this mayhem going on, the plot does become very much secondary as almost nothing makes any sense, but there's enough style and sleaze to keep things moving.
The performances are all over the place here, but the legendary Giallo Queen Anita Strindberg brings a much-needed presence to the flick and her fantastic performance manages to hold everything together rather well. John Richardson is also great here as the creepy groundskeeper Oliver. Laura Gemser was also decent and stunning to look at. Stefano Patrizi was okay as the male lead but could have done with a lot more charisma and this role felt a bit beyond his range.
Overall 'Murder Obsession' is not a forgotten Giallo masterpiece by any means, but its quirky strangeness is entertaining enough to make it a memorable experience.