A Lizard in a Woman's Skin

Carol Hammond (Florinda Bolkan) lives in a wealthy part of London in a flat with her Husband Frank (Jean Sorel) and stepdaughter Joan (Ely Galleani as Edy Gall). Carol is an insomniac and lately has been having strange and totally bizarre dreams about her next door neighbour Julia Durer (Anita Strindberg) that involve lesbianism, long boots and a fur coat, and who in reality holds drug and sex fuelled parties that annoy Carol, her family and the rest of their neighbours. Carol has been seeing a psychologist called Dr. Kerr (Georges Rigaud) to try and learn the meaning of her dreams and help cure her insomnia. During one such session she talks of having a dream where she murdered Julia with a paper knife. Soon after Carol learns from a Mrs. Gordon (Erzsi Paal as Ersi Pond) that Julia has been killed in real life, exactly like the way it happened in her dream. Insector Corvin (Stanley Baker) and Sergeant Brandon (Alberto De Mendoza) are put straight on the case. Together with someone from the 'scientific squad'(yeah right, I've lived in the UK all my life and they aren't called the scientific squad!) called Lowell (Ezio Marano) they make a load of implausible assumptions, and the fact that it was Carol's own paper knife that was used to stab Julia, they come to the conclusion that Carol may be responsible, however Carol claims she has never even spoke to Julia before and denies the accusation. Carol's Father Edmund Brighton (Leo Genn) luckily happens to be a hot shot lawyer and takes on the case together with Frank whom works for Edmund. Meanwhile Joan and Carol set out to find a couple of hippies who were at the party that night, Jenny (Penny Brown) and Hubert (Mike Kennedy). Things turn even more mysterious and complicated when an attempt is made on Carol's life, and it comes to light that Julia may have been blackmailing Frank over an affair he is having with a woman named Deborah (Silvia Monti). Who is responsible for the murder? Who is trying to kill Carol? Will Corvin and Brandon get to the bottom of the mystery? Who knows? Watch it to find out! Co-written and directed by Lucio Fulci and known more commonly under the title of A Lizard in a Woman's Skin, I thought this was a pretty good murder mystery who dun-nit, probably one of Fulci's better films. The London locations are used well throughout, especially the sequence where Carol is chased through a church and onto it's roof, it was actually Woburn Abby that the filmmakers used for this scene. The film has good production design and values plus a nice atmosphere to it throughout. There's a surprising lack of gore and violence, just Julia Durer being stabbed. There's more nudity than violence with most of the female cast getting undressed at one point or another. The script by Fulci, Roberto Gianviti, Jose Luis Martinez Molla and Andre Tranche concentrates on Julia's murder and the subsequent investigation, it's not a slasher film where random people are killed for the hell of it so don't expect a high body count. Therefore it may be a little slow for certain tastes, but try not to let that put you off as it's overall quite a rewarding film to watch, and it certainly kept me watching right through to the twist ending. There are various red-herrings to keep the viewer guessing, just about everyone seems to have both opportunity and motive. One thing I would like to mention at this point is that I managed to guess the killer's identity quite early on, it was a complete fluke as I just thought about the most implausible conclusion and to my surprise I was right! Technically the film is fine, photography, editing, acting and music. I'm not sure if I would want to see it again in a hurry as the story obviously loses it's impact and it's surprises are no longer surprising! A good, well made, solid and entertaining giallo that I recommend to all interested in the genre, and it's a film that may appeal to a wider audience too. Give it a try, you might like it.

When people think of Lucio Fulci, it's always his gorier and largely incoherent efforts that spring to mind. Films like Zombie Flesh-Eaters and The Beyond, which are most definitely good films if you like that sort of thing (as I certainly do!); but they don't adequately portray the man's talent. If you want to see the 'great' Fulci films, you need to go back to his Giallo days with films like Don't Torture a Duckling and indeed this film; A Lizard in Woman's Skin. Fulci's first Giallo is a trippy thriller that excellently captures the laid back style of the swinging sixties and blends it magnificently with the thrilling pace that has gone on to epitomise the Italian thriller. The film follows a young woman (Florinda Bolkan) who dreams that she is having orgies with a hippy woman that lives downstairs. Events take a turn for the worse when the young woman dreams that she's killed the hippy, who then turns up dead; brutally murdered in her apartment, in exactly the way that the woman dreamt... While this film isn't as brutal as some of the later Giallo efforts, Fulci succeeds in creating a foreboding atmosphere and manages to keep his audience on the edge of their seats. The plot line is rather strange, and Fulci makes best use of this through an excellent Ennio Morricone score, which firmly instills the trippy atmosphere in the viewers mind. The Giallo has come to be synonymous with brutal murders and lots of gore but, ironically, Fulci keeps his murders down a minimum and some of them even happen off screen. This is both a good and a bad thing as I, personally, like seeing brutal murders in Giallo's; but on the other hand it allows Fulci to keep the focus firmly on the central murder and he doesn't get sidetracked with lots of blood and gore, which does the film itself lots of favours. The mystery boils down to an excellent ending, in which the film is tied up nicely and we are treated to a great twist and some first rate detective work from the detective on the case. Highly recommended viewing and a must for Giallo fans!

source: A Lizard in a Woman's Skin

Trailer—Una lucertola con la pelle di donna

Una lucertola con la pelle di donna

Delirious movie and one of Fulci's best. Set in London, there are some decent street scenes but these are mainly the usual 'tourist' ones but there is spectacular use made of Alexandra Palace towards the end. The opening is simply wonderful. Having purchased the recent Optimum release, I was comparing various versions I have by screening the opening sequence from the train/orgy dream sequence and through the lesbian seduction scene on the red bed and didn't even begin to tire of watching it. There is also a most graphic and affective breast slashing scene I did not recall and the Morricone music holding everything together beautifully. There are stretches, especially towards the end , when it is a bit 'police procedural' but there is certainly enough surreal/psychedelic visuals to prevent this becoming the least bit pedestrian.

A troubled rich woman Carol Hammond played by Florinda Bolkan is suffering from a series of bizarre sexual dreams where she indulges in lesbian activities with her neighbor Julia Durer(Anita Strindberg).Unfortunately one morning after another perverse sex dream culminating in a gory knifing of Julia,Carol is shocked to find that Julia was murdered in her apartment the stormy night before.When all evidence points to Carol being the culprit she must not only investigate the crime but determine what is dream and what is reality."Lizard in a Woman's Skin" is perhaps the most bizarre and puzzling Fulci's giallo.The cinematography by Luigi Kuvellier is splendid with some gorgeous visuals and the dream scenes are appropriately psychedelic.The eviscerated dogs sequence still shocks unprepared viewers drawn into the murder mystery aspect of the film.8 out of 10.