Review: Amuck!

Doe-eyed Barbara Bouchet becomes aloof writer Farley Granger’s secretary, and quickly arouses the interest of Granger and his sexy seductress wife Rosalba Neri, who are fond of hosting decadent sex parties. However, Bouchet had a legitimate reason for applying for the secretarial position, as we slowly find out. Something involving a person from her past with a connection to Granger and Neri. Nino Segurini plays a local copper who keeps sniffing around.

 

Tolerable 1972 giallo erotica-mystery from writer-director Silvio Amadio (“Smile Before Death”, a giallo with Rosalba Neri) has an enjoyably sexy softcore opening 20-30 minutes. Lots of nudity, sleaze, and softcore fondling, especially the Sapphic love scene between Barbara Bouchet and Rosalba Neri. It’s slow-mo deliciousness (Quentin Tarantino’s apparently a fan of it too), and I was enjoying the hell out of the film. Unfortunately, it slowly loses one’s interest over the next 60 or so minutes. There’s very little sex or nudity after that point, for one thing. The central mystery isn’t particularly compelling, though the backstory with Bouchet’s character might’ve been interesting if fleshed out a bit more beyond a couple of brief snippets of flashbacks. I rather liked that Bouchet’s character is clearly very comfortably a lesbian (though also very clearly seducing Neri as a means to an end as well), instead of being the usual virginal straight girl who is seduced by a ravenous evil seductress as these Eurotrash films often provide us with. I just wanted the backstory to be given a bit more screen time. Pacing is an issue, as there’s a heck of a lot of skulking about and padding. That duck hunt seemed like it went on for a week, dopey quicksand bit and all.

 

It’s pretty well-acted, especially by vampish Rosalba Neri (whose lady parts are on fire from practically moment one), who sadly gets wasted in the latter portion of the film. As for Farley Granger, he’s fine and was never a great actor anyway. However it’s pretty sad that in 1948 and 1951 he was working with Hitchcock on “Rope” and “Strangers on a Train” (Hitchcock’s best film in my view), and in 1972 he was sucking Barbara Bouchet’s titty in this softcore giallo. It wouldn’t be his last venture into Eurotrash horror, either. It’s certainly a very attractive film in every respect. But it works in fits and starts, and most of the fun is in the early stretch.

 

Although there’s not nearly enough sex to warrant an alternate title like “Hot Bed of Sex” (nor any “Leather and Whips” to warrant that AKA either), the sensual opening stretch of this otherwise fairly dull giallo is certainly the highlight. It’s good-looking, but slow and meandering with too much unnecessary padding. It does seem to have a cult following, however. I wish I had more fun with it, maybe you will. It’s no “Vampyros Lesbos”, “The Devil’s Nightmare” or even “Torso” but it’s…serviceable.

 

Rating: C+