Torso

Introduction

A group of American art students in Italy to take in the sights and further their studies suddenly find themselves terrorised by a killer. All they know is that one of their friends was strangled with a silk scarf but, as these seem quite popular and are sold in the market, there isn't much of a lead.

With the police mysteriously absent from the situation, they relocate to a house at the top of a hill overlooking the town but the killer has followed them there, interrupting their solitude and quasi-lesbian idyllic break.

In typical Giallo style, the masked killer wears gloves, the story largely revolves around the murders and the final-reel revelation of his identity is meant to catch you out. The main selling point of Torso (aka Carnal Violence or I corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale is the casting of Suzy Kendall, best known to horror fans for her performance in Dario Agento's The Bird With The Crystal Plumage).

Video

Shameless have done their best to make the most complete version of the film available and, before the film plays, a 'disclaimer' says that it has been pieced together from various sources so some scenes are in Italian with English subtitles.

The quality of the better preserved stock is very good though some of the more gory elements have dated and look a little fake by today's standards. The picture is clear with good colours, black levels and flesh tones (plenty of which are on display in the second half of the film) though there is some grain and other detritus throughout, mostly on the newly inserted Italian scenes.

Audio

A clear Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono soundtrack with appropriate dubbing - nothing stupid or laughable here - and a decent score which helps to build up the tension in the murder scenes and latter stages of the film.

Extra Features

The usual assortment of upcoming Shameless Treats plus the trailer.

Conclusion

Torso is a well constructed and enjoyable giallo with well designed murder scenes, a reasonable array of red herrings and a tense payoff. Suzy Kendall is impressive and has a bevy of beauties around her (are all fine art students that attractive and sexually open?!) who are all, along with her, obvious potential murder victims.

Sergio Martino directs with real flair and style and, whilst he is not in the same class as Bava or Argento as the box claims, he is a fine director who really knows how to structure a slasher film. This is well worth the attention of any fan of Italian horror and a fine addition to the impressive collection that Shameless are building.