Torso (1973)

- I corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale
A weak Martino is still a good movie, 11 June 2005

Torso may not be the best giallo that Sergio Martino ever made, but I'll argue that it has some of the most intense moments found in any of his films. The last 30 minutes or so are as edge-of-your-seat, tension filled as you'll see. The movie kicks into high gear when Jane (Suzy Kendall) wakes-up only to find all of her friends slaughtered. But the nightmare doesn't end there. The killer is still in the house, taking his own sweet time to dismember the bodies. Jane hides just inches away from the killer. This is incredible stuff.

It's too bad the rest of the movie isn't as good as the finale. Sure, there are some nice scenes - the girl being stalked though the swamp - but these moments can't compare with Jane's plight at the end. The first two-thirds of the movie are reasonably entertaining, just not the best you'll see from Martino.

7/10