The Bloodstained Shadow

source: The Bloodstained Shadow

Antonio Bido's previous foray into the Giallo sub genre, The Cat's Victims, was a rather messy and highly derivative affair, so I'm pleased to report that he's improved greatly for this follow-up. Typically for Giallo, The Blood-Stained Shadow features a convoluted plot, and unfortunately Bido's plot pacing can be a little off at times, as the film is painfully slow at some points, and then whimsically clever at others. Luckily, the director uses the atmosphere from the Venetian Island upon which the film is set well, and even during the 'down time', there is enough about the film to keep it ticking over in a pleasant manner. The plot starts with a shot of a dead body; a young girl whose murderer was never discovered. We pick up the plot some time later when a young man has returned to his home, which also happens to be the place where his brother, the local priest, lives. After having being told by his brother of all the immoral people in the town, a group which includes gamblers, perverts and con artists, the dead bodies begin to pile up. Is there a connection with the murder years earlier? The Cat's Victims was clearly very derivative of the great Dario Argento, and this film is too. The film isn't as well put together as the likes of Deep Red and Tenebrae, but Bido does a good job of imitating the superior director. The murder scenes are very well orchestrated and really quite nasty also; as we've got a man getting an axe through the heart, a woman having her head forced into a fire and other such gory highlights. The score by Stelvio Cipriani is a particular highlight, as the heavy tones suit the movie excellently and provide it with one of its strongest elements. Naturally with this kind of plot, it can be a little difficult to follow at times as random events occur at regular intervals; but Bido makes good of it by the end, as everything comes together in a way that makes sense and manages a genuine surprise for the audience. Overall, while The Blood-Stained Shadow isn't one of the heavyweight 'must see' films of the Giallo cycle, it has enough strongpoint's to ensure that it will be a point of interest for Giallo fans, and while the director has borrowed, perhaps even a little too much, seeing all the common Giallo elements in a film together is a treat. Recommended!

The Bloodstained Shadow doesn't do anything you haven't seen a million times over and the killer is so obvious from the start that you spend most of the overstuffed run time wondering why no one is calling out this person. It doesn't have the style, excess, or general unease of an Argento giallo and, instead, feels uncomfortably sandwiched somewhere in between a movie of the week and a less spirited episode of Murder, She Wrote: Jessica Goes To Italy. There are a few attempts at the sleaze a lot of giallos are known for, but it's a mostly polite, too-classy affair with only the occasional instance of camp when a priest and child molesting piano teacher have a battle over who is more corrupt. The characters are poorly drawn and uninteresting to follow and the film just doesn't seem to understand this and treats us to long sequences of them going about their day to day lives. Even worse, most of the murder scenes (the highlight of just about any giallo) aren't very creative or interesting.

Watch Me While I Kill wasn't the best giallo in the world, so it's nice to Antonio Bido step things up a bit in this one, even though it's nearly two hours long. In a place that isn't quite Venice but nearby, young Stefano returns home to stay with his brother, a local priest. Stefano suffers from flashbackitis, a disease where he keeps seeing a small crying child, but it's not all doom and gloom because it looks like local lass Stefania Casini is into him. His priest brother is also a bit of a gossip, and fills Stefano in on the local freaks, including a phoney medium who may or may not be blackmailing her customers, which includes a backstreet abortionist with a dark secret, a doctor, and some rich gay guy who could also be a nonce. Then there's Andrea, the bereaved father of a girl we saw murdered at the start of a film, and Stefania Casini's crippled stepmother, who paints pictures, one of which sets off Stefano's flashbacks! Its like Eastenders, really. After someone rather stupidly murders the medium in front of the priest's house, the priest starts receiving death threats, Stefano embarks on an investigation (while also putting the moves on Stefania Casini), and someone pulls on those old black gloves to do some murdering... While overlong and very Argento-like, this is still a solid giallo with loads of twists and turns, and plenty of atmosphere too, due to the almost-Venice setting (I probably should have looked up where this takes place). There was enough going on to keep me entertained, and although I did eventually figure out who the killer was, I was still pretty satisfied by the proceeding. You could also make a game out of what scene you've previously witness in a preceeding Giallo film: the Cemetary scene from Cat O Nine Tails, the crazy son hidden by his mother in Case of The Bloody Iris, the clue in the painting from Bird With The Crystal Plumage. Some people hate this one by the way.

Stefano (Lino Capolicchio) goes to Venice to visit his brother--priest Don Paolo (Craig Hill). While there certain people are being murdered for no rhyme or reason. Also Don Paolo is getting letters threatening his life. Plot wise there's nothing new here. You've seen these characters (and situations) in giallos of the past. Also Capolicchio and Stefania Casini (playing his blank girlfriend Sandra) are pretty terrible actors. We're supposed to identify with them but they don't come across at all. And, of course, there's the obligatory pointless sex scene and a long trip through the canals that leads to nothing. Still this works. The cinematography here is just great--virtually every shot here takes your breath away. Hill is very good as Don Paolo--more of him could only have helped the movie. There's also a great score by the group Goblin--almost as good as the one for "Suspiria". The ending is effective too. So--it's no great shakes but you could do worse. See a wide screen print. I give it a 7.

"The Bloodstained Shadow" is a film that requires patience. Had I not seen several giallos already, I might have fallen asleep in parts of this one. That being said, for giallo fans, this one is a worthy addition to your collection. It starts out with a professor going back to his hometown, a small Italian island, and reuniting with his brother, a priest. The two become entangled in a web of murder and deception and it is somehow linked to the murder of a young girl year earlier. The setting is remarkable, the music is great and the acting is over par. Then, we have the 'required' giallo elements. A love story. A suspect. Two suspects. Red herrings. Vague clues. Flashbacks. It gets a little ridiculous. By the time we find out who the killer is, (the first person I guessed,) we're a little worn out. There is a cheap shot which I cannot reveal because I'd give away the movie, but lets just say it's not fair to the viewer. All being said, a really good ambiance and awesome setting give this film some merit. I'd recommend it to a hardcore giallo fan. PS: now we know where the Blue Underground theme song comes from. 6 out of 10, kids.

Antonio Bido's previous foray into the Giallo sub genre, The Cat's Victims, was a rather messy and highly derivative affair, so I'm pleased to report that he's improved greatly for this follow-up. Typically for Giallo, The Blood-Stained Shadow features a convoluted plot, and unfortunately Bido's plot pacing can be a little off at times, as the film is painfully slow at some points, and then whimsically clever at others. Luckily, the director uses the atmosphere from the Venetian Island upon which the film is set well, and even during the 'down time', there is enough about the film to keep it ticking over in a pleasant manner. The plot starts with a shot of a dead body; a young girl whose murderer was never discovered. We pick up the plot some time later when a young man has returned to his home, which also happens to be the place where his brother, the local priest, lives. After having being told by his brother of all the immoral people in the town, a group which includes gamblers, perverts and con artists, the dead bodies begin to pile up. Is there a connection with the murder years earlier? The Cat's Victims was clearly very derivative of the great Dario Argento, and this film is too. The film isn't as well put together as the likes of Deep Red and Tenebrae, but Bido does a good job of imitating the superior director. The murder scenes are very well orchestrated and really quite nasty also; as we've got a man getting an axe through the heart, a woman having her head forced into a fire and other such gory highlights. The score by Stelvio Cipriani is a particular highlight, as the heavy tones suit the movie excellently and provide it with one of its strongest elements. Naturally with this kind of plot, it can be a little difficult to follow at times as random events occur at regular intervals; but Bido makes good of it by the end, as everything comes together in a way that makes sense and manages a genuine surprise for the audience. Overall, while The Blood-Stained Shadow isn't one of the heavyweight 'must see' films of the Giallo cycle, it has enough strongpoint's to ensure that it will be a point of interest for Giallo fans, and while the director has borrowed, perhaps even a little too much, seeing all the common Giallo elements in a film together is a treat. Recommended!

Dario Argento was,along with Mario Bava ,one of the two most influential forces as far Italian horror movies were concerned.As an user has already pointed out,the director desperately pretends he is Argento. Alas!Argento's sensational sense of space ,his non-Euclidian geometry cannot be imitated ,aped.Here the director tried to hold the cards and he dismally failed: horrible crimes ,strange characters(a priest that knows more than he claims,a gay /pedophile ,a medium), a scary painting (like in Argento's "Ucello dalle piume di cristallo"),and a young man whose past comes back to haunt him. Even Venice is ugly!It speaks volumes about the cinematography.

Really not much to say about this movie, other than that's a pretty standard Giallo-flick that doesn't do an awful lot wrong but also doesn't do anything too exciting or original with its concept either. Oh yes, this is a typical Giallo alright. All of the usual ingredients are present in this, so this movie still remains a pretty good watch for the fans of the genre. However even in that regard, the movie just isn't the most exciting one, due to its lacking pace. The movie can get slow at certain points but it also doesn't help much that the movie at no point ever gets exciting or original. Even the killings are being somewhat of a disappointment to watch, especially also if you are a gore-lover. Of course it hasn't got the most tight story but this is pretty normal for a genre movie like this one. It does basically everything for its tension and mystery and doesn't care too much if this all in the end also will still makes sense for the rest of the movie. It's a movie that gets sidetracked quite often, which is also part of the reason why the movie gets a bit slow at times. The surprises that are in it are quite enjoyable and at least it's not a movie in which you can see from miles away who the killer at the end will turn out to be. It isn't an exceptionally well made movie but at least it also isn't an horrible one. It simply serves its purpose well enough and is therefore still a perfectly watchable movie within its genre. 6/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

As fans of this particular genre, "giallo", knows there are some characteristics that have to be included: POV-shots from the killer, black gloves and grisly, graphic murders and so on! The gloves are missing here but everything else is! The story is set in Venice where bizarre events are unfolding, leading to death-threats and murders. And everything is connected to an episode many years ago, concerning the strangulation of a young girl. There are echoes from many other giallos, like the classic "Deep Red", but unlike so many other imitators, director Antonio Bido (who made the inferior giallo "The cat's victims") has a true feeling for setting up the set-pieces. His actors are also quite good even if the dubbing, as always, may distract from the viewers pleasure. His knows how to place his camera to enhance the suspense and atmosphere. To complain a little, I too found, like a previous reviewer here, that the episodes between Casini and Capolicchio are a bit squirm-inducing. They are simply put, very boring together, and even a * scene fails to give any sparks. And the boat trip they take together is a scene that should have been omitted (I do HATE those sunglasses) because it seems to belong in another movie altogether, like some travelogue movie. But otherwise a nice exercise in suspense and horror, even if it is talky in places (most gialli are) and takes some time to get the pace going.