The Case of the Scorpion's Tail

source: The Case of the Scorpion's Tail

La coda dello scorpione

Just watched The Case of the Scorpion's Tail for the first time, very impressed. Incredibly stylish, good looking cast, great locations (London and Athens), a terrific musical score by Bruno Nicolai, a few interesting plot twists and some decent murder scenes. The latter reminded me very much of Dario Argento's giallo movies, the blood does look more like red paint to be honest but the kills are pretty brutal (despite the BBFC 15 rating). I liked one scene in which the camera is angled at 90 degrees and swings between 2 people having a conversation. This movie ticks all the right giallo boxes, right down to bottles of J&B whisky everywhere, and the quote I have used for my title is one of the best lines ever! Better than director Segio Martino's later film "Torso", this is essential viewing for fans of the Giallo genre. Superb.

Who could even in those craziest dreams imagine George Hilton well-known by endless spaguetti pictures making a serious role in this interesting Giallo from Sergio Martino, he leaves deliberately many fake clues along of the movie trying to bewilder the audience, l have to confess after elapsed over the middle, l had to stop the session and try figure out who'll be the killer looking around with three potential suspects, made my choice, but Martino overcame my suspicious once more and the final was totally opposite, l' had several picture from him and l can assure he is quite eclectic director working in many genre in one word "Fabulous"!! Resume: First watch: 2018 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8

Filmed mostly in Greece, this is a flawed but enjoyable giallo. The editing is incredibly jerky at times, the gore effects are unconvincing (the blood looks like red paint) and the solution, while fairly unexpected, is not the most original you're ever likely to come across. But the smooth George Hilton and the voluptuous Anita Strindberg (she could have easily been one of the best Bond girls) make an attractive couple, the story dares to break some conventions (the first slashing comes when you least expect it) and mystery fans should generally be pleased. (**)

Love for Giallo or thrillers or love in general that is. Maybe just the latter? Though if you don't like the genre itself, the question is why would you want to watch this anyway? But murder mystery is one thing, giving you one of the biggest red herrings with - well I won't spoilt it, suffice to say, one does not expect that character fate at all. But it works in favor of the movie and even if maybe you can decipher and see the twist, it still works. I guess I've seen one too many (or at least quite a lot) of these types of movies to have grown a feeling of how most go down - no pun intended. Decent acting, script works the way it should and enough murder, mayhem and nudity to keep everyone occupied who is not too squeamish