DEATH SMILES ON A MURDERER – The Blu Review

Review by Roger Carpenter

Before Joe D’Amato became Joe D’Amato, he was Aristide Massaccesi, a respected cinematographer and camera operator.  As such, he was largely responsible for the look of films ranging from low-budget spaghetti westerns to gialli such as Umberto Lenzi’s A Quite Place to Kill and, most famously, Massimo Dallamano’s What Have You Done to Solange.  Massaccesi first co-directed several small films before directing the war film Heroes in Hell as well as the giallo Death Smiles on a Murderer, both in 1973.

But D’Amato, who would use his famous pseudonym for the first time in 1975, would become (in)famous for his extreme horror titles and adult films beginning in the late 70’s and continuing until his death in 1999.  He is perhaps most famous for his string of over-the-top gorefests like Beyond the Darkness (AKA Buio Omega), Anthropophagus, and Absurd as well as his series of super-popular and sometimes controversial “Black Emanuelle” films which starred the luscious Laura Gemser.  His films increasingly featured sexual situations, moving from softcore to hardcore, culminating in the horror-porn crossovers Erotic Nights of the Living Dead and Porno Holocaust.  But in the early 70’s he was still Aristide Massaccesi, experienced cinematographer and newly-minted director.

Death Smiles on a Murderer is a strange film.  The plot centers on a young woman, Greta (Ewa Aulin), who is having an incestuous relationship with her brother, Franz (Luciano Rossi).  One day Greta has a chance encounter with a handsome older gentleman, Dr. von Ravensbruck (Giacomo Rossi Stuart).  But when she becomes pregnant, von Ravensbruck abandons her and she dies during childbirth.  Overcome with grief, Franz uses an ancient Incan amulet to raise his sister from the dead, placing the jewel around her neck. But when he attempts to molest his sister again, she kills him with the help of some magic of her own and a fairly ferocious black cat.  Greta then embarks on a killing spree as she seeks revenge on the von Ravensbruck family for their past misdeeds.

Greta manages to insert herself into von Ravensbruck’s family, coming to live with von Ravensbruck’s son Walter and his wife.  Soon both husband and wife are smitten with Greta and neither can see they are in danger as Greta kills off anyone who suspects her secret.  But Walter’s wife becomes enraged with jealousy and manages to trick Greta into the recesses of the family castle, walling her up and leaving her to die a second time.  Unfortunately for the wife, Greta returns as a ghostly spirit, intent on completing her vengeful plans.

As an early feature for Massaccesi, the film shows glimmers of what was to come as the director doesn’t shy away from the blood.  A cat shreds a man’s face, pulling his eyeball out, a coachman is disemboweled in graphic detail during an accident, someone is shot in the face while another character is repeatedly slashed by a razor blade, and Greta is just getting started.  But while there is plenty of gore and grue, the effects are generally primitive enough to be unrealistic and generally inoffensive.

It seems that Massaccesi and his co-writers took inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe as there are elements from many of Poe’s most famous stories including “The Black Cat,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Mask of the Red Death,” and others.  But though the storyline may take some cues from Poe, it seems Massaccesi’s direction is more akin to Jess Franco, another director of low-budget exploitation fare, famous for, among other things, creating poetic films filled with fever dreams that were sometimes exercises of style over substance.  This certainly is true of Death Smiles on a Murderer.  It sometimes feels like the characters are caught in a waking nightmare which doesn’t always make sense.  Greta is clearly a walking corpse, raised from the dead by ancient magical rites.  She most often appears in her original beautiful figure but sometimes appears as a rotting corpse. After she is killed a second time (how does one kill a walking corpse…certainly not by walling it into a secret compartment in the basement), she seems to appear as an apparition, though she is still able to wreak havoc as the need arises.

Ewa Aulin as Greta is really perfect for the role of the strange girl who continues to suffer ill fate even after her death.  Aulin has a unique look—pretty, but not the classic beauty of an Barbara Bouchet or an Edwige Fenech.  It’s a strange look, perfectly suited to this strange character.  Luciano Rossi also has a strange look. Indeed, it is so strange as to stretch one’s imagination that he would be able to carry on a love affair with a pretty girl, sister or not.  Then there is the ancient Incan ritual, completed by the use of an amulet to raise Greta from the dead.  But Klaus Kinski, as Dr. Sturges, who looks after Greta until her death, discovers an alternate method via mysterious chemical concoction, as opposed to needing the mystical amulet.

Part horror film, part murder mystery, and wholly weird, Massaccesi’s film is an interesting amalgamation of literary gothic and gore.  It’s not my favorite of Massaccesi’s films, but it does make for an interesting mish-mash of Eurohorror themes.

The film looks and sounds great, thanks to a 2K restoration from the original camera negative.  The Blu-Ray comes with a great deal of extras which are quite entertaining themselves and include a video essay by Kat Ellinger entitled “Sex, Death, and Transgression in the Horror Films of Joe D’Amato,” a new, career-spanning interview with star Ewa Aulin, an archival interview about the film with D’Amato himself, and a very interesting audio commentary by the always-thorough Tim Lucas.  The features are rounded out by a stills gallery and a couple of film trailers, and the first pressing comes with a booklet with new writing on the film by critic Stephen Thrower and film historian Roberto Curti.

Death Smiles on a Murderer won’t win any awards but it’s an interesting mash-up of horror and mystery elements that Franco fans, in particular, will appreciate. The inclusion of excellent special features makes this disc worth catching.  Arrow Video USA has just released this package.  You can purchase the film directly from Arrow Video at http://www.arrowfilms.co.uk/category/usa/ or from Amazon.