Seven Blood-Stained Orchids (1972)

- Sette orchidee macchiate di rosso

A good representation of what the genre has to offer, 15 March 2006

A series of seemingly unrelated women are brutally murdered. The only clue is the silver crescent moon shaped pendant the killer leaves with each body. After the killer is unsuccessful in his attempt to murder a woman on a train, she begins to put the pieces of the mystery together. With the help of her husband, she begins to suspect that the murders may have something to do with a specific period of time years previous when she and the other victims were connected to the hotel her father owned. But can she solve the mystery before the killer discovers she is still alive and strikes again?

Seven Blood-Stained Orchids is a very solid Giallo. It's not as flashy as some as some other Gialli, but the mystery aspects of the movie are intriguing. Seven Blood-Stained Orchids plays out a lot like an Agatha Christie story with a mysterious event in the past, a few baffling clues, and a red herring or two thrown in for good measure. Sure, there are the natural plot holes you'll find in other movies of this type, but they hardly get in the way of the fun. As you might expect, the movie features a few nasty death scenes including one involving power tools. Finally, the supporting cast includes more than a couple recognizable faces to fans of 70s genre films including Antonio Sabato, Marina Malfatti, Bruno Corazzari, and the always delightful Marisa Mell.

I've always felt that Seven Blood-Stained Orchids would make a good starting point for someone new to Gialli looking for something other than the more well-known films of Argento and Bava. It's a good representation of what the genre has to offer.

8/10