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The Bloodstained Shadow
[Blue Underground]
1978; color
Directed by Antonio Bido
Starring: Lino Capolicchio, Stefania Casini, Craig Hill, Massimo Serato & Juliette Mayniel
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The pre-credit opening sequence of The Bloodstained Shadow would seem to set up a revenge murder type plot, a la Giallos like What Have You Done To Solange?, but the poor unfortunate girl who is strangled in the woods is more of a catalyst than a direct cause of the events to follow. Of course, the interesting parts of the events to follow don't happen right after the currently unexplained murder. (Literally or metaphorically.) First we have the introduction of some living characters, many years after the girl's death. Mainly a roguish turtleneck-wearing academic type returning to his hometown (near Venice) for a little rest, relaxation and reconnecting with his brother, the town priest. Since he seems unlikely to find much action at the church he's about to call his temporary home, it's a good thing he meets a pretty hippie-ish "I make a living as an interior decorator but I'm really a painter" type in his travels, who happens to be heading to the same town to tend to her ailing mother. Although they part ways at the dock without more than a nod, it is clear these two will meet again... after more set up. Over a hearty hometown cooked meal the father begins to fill his brother in on the town's more interesting residents - while mostly remembering to keep his sacred oath - before taking him back to his pad, where we meet the prerequisite creepy church caretaker before all parties turn in for the night. (Among all of the other things every Giallo needs, at least a few obvious red herrings are good to have around and no character says, "I might have a desire to kill pretty young women," like an unpretty not that young male loner with obvious social problems.) As fate would have it the Professor's first night of R&R turns out to be not so restful or relaxing. Well, for him it might have been OK but his brother the priest witnesses a woman being strangled in the courtyard outside his bedroom window. Had he not stood there helplessly, letting the rain fall inside his room for so long he might have actually saved the woman, or at least gotten a good glimpse of the attacker, but the experience seems to put him into a bit of shock. In the end all he can do is race around the house and look for his brother and the creepy guy to tell them about the murder. Lo and behold - he finds their respective beds empty. (Hmmmm, I wonder where that is supposed to lead the viewer's imagination?) In short order both turn up and, shortly, the rest of the story begins to unravel. Once the typewritten notes, with their oh-so suspicious capital T's, start to come into the picture and more townsfolk turn up dead things start to get more interesting, albeit at a slow pace. And that's pretty much all you're going to get out of me as far as details, since attempting to make sense of the story and figure out who the killer is half the fun of... uh, making sense of this film and figuring out who the killer is. (PS: Not that anyone is keeping track but I correctly guessed the murderer well before the end despite, as the Kommandant was quick to point out, forgetting a key scene that would seem to make that outcome impossible. However he forgot that nothing is impossible in a Giallo. They simply write in an explanation that fits and leave things that seem like they couldn't possibly happen unexplained.) On the one hand, this movie has a lot of problems. (Among them: the story is less than linear; the acting is somewhat wooden; it's way, way too long.) On the other hand, I quite liked it. What it lacked in plot cohesion and style it made up for in atmosphere and dimly lit canals. Recommended for fans of the genre and fans of European thrillers alike.
—Bunny
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