SPASMO (1974)
Director: Umberto Lenzi
Shriek Show/Media Blasters

In this "giallo" from the cult director Umberto Lenzi (CANNIBAL FEROX, NIGHTMARE CITY), starts with the young and handsome Christian (Austrian actor Robert Hoffman), a plastics tycoon, strolling along the beach and discovering a what seems to be a dead body. On closer inspection, it turns out to be a lovely young woman named Barbara (60s British starlet Suzy Kendall) laying face down in the sand for no particular reason. Christian becomes fascinated with her, and despite some unsuspecting obstacles, begins an affair with her.

Soon Christian is confronted with a jealous wealthy playboy with a yacht, and accidentally shoots an intruder who breaks into the bathroom and threatens him. Fearing what the authorities might think, Christian and Barbara flee the scene, but get caught up in a whirlwind of mystery and erratic people, and it turns out that the man he thought he murdered is still alive and on his trail. Is someone trying to frame Christian or trying to drive him to absolute insanity?

SPASMO is not your typical slice-and-dice or murder-by-numbers giallo, unlike Lenzi's extremity-drenched EYEBALL, made the same year. This one takes a unique approach to the storytelling, forming a number of twists and turns in its second half. Not graphic or gratuitous in the least, the film uses such imagery as life-size female dolls hanging from trees to depict that there's something rotten in Denmark, but still holds the viewer in suspense until the very end. The film may be boring to some, but it's proof that Lenzi was trying to do something decidedly different with a genre that was quickly running out of steam by 1974.

Hoffman (who also starred in the 60s crime thriller A BLACK VEIL FOR LISA) is interesting and far from one dimensional, pretty much having to carry the film, and Kendall (fashionable in giallos like THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE and TORSO) is a worthy terror queen in one of her final roles before disappearing from show business altogether. Italian character favorite Ivan Rassimov (who sadly, passed away in March) play's Hoffman's grinning brother/business partner and plays a key role in the plot--but I won't give away too much.

SPASMO was released in the U.S. for a limited period in 1976 and never issued on home video. George Romero was rumored to have directed some inserts, but they don't show up here in the Italian original. Shriek Show's DVD of SPASMO looks quite nice, presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio with Anamorphic enhancement. The clean transfer is very satisfying, with nice bright colors filling the screen, and the scope framing does this film great justice. Audio has its limitations, and there is a lot of scratchy surface noise present, but the English-dubbed dialog and Ennio Morricone's fine score are not terribly effected by it.

The main extra on here is a video interview with director Lenzi, who maintains that he started the crime/thriller genre in Italy with films like PARANOIA. Lenzi also states that SPASMO was originally intended as a project for the late Lucio Fulci, and gives his thoughts on the film in general, expressing how well he thinks it works on the big screen. Other extras include a trailer (with a narrator constantly whispering "Spasmo!"), trailers for other Shriek Show releases, and a still/poster gallery. (George R. Reis)

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