The Bloodstained Butterfly (1971)

- Una farfalla con le ali insanguinate
Solid, but not great, 11 June 2005

The Bloodstained Butterfly has one of the most convoluted plots I've seen thus far in a giallo. The story is about a young girl who is murdered in a park. A man is apprehended, tried, and convicted of her murder. But the murders don't stop. Two deaths later and the man is released. So just who is the real killer?

The tone of The Bloodstained Butterfly is much more serious in nature than many gialli. The more outlandish murder scenes you'll find in other gialli aren't here. While the movie has many of the traditional trappings of a giallo - a black-gloved killer, sex, and a boat load of suspects. What it doesn't have is the grisly on-screen murders one would expect. The first half is actually a bit like watching an episode of Law & Order - a police investigation followed by a trial.

The score is outstanding. The more of these films I watch, the more I appreciate the music and how it works within the movie. The Bloodstained Butterfly starts with (and repeats throughout) Tchaikovsky but soon mixes in original pieces from Gianni Ferrio. It works very nicely.

The only problem I see with The Bloodstained Butterfly is the movie's tendency to drag during the second half. I just wanted them to get on with it. But it wasn't enough of a problem to seriously hamper my enjoyment.

7/10