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| Often released under the name of Torso,
Sergio Martino's Carnal Violence
caused quite a stir on its initial release. Very
rarely seen uncut, from memory the film also got
caught up in the video nasty craze of the mid Eighties.
Watching it now it still plays well but many of
its moments have been repeated so often in the modern
day horror genre that it unfortunately doesn't
have the effect if probably once did.
Saying that, Martino fills his giallo with so
much nudity, violence and general creepiness that
all but the most hardened of Digital Retribution
readers will fail to enjoy it. Once you get pulled
into the storyline you'll be hooked.
The plot follows a balaclava-clad killer who
is murdering young men and women in the area and
keeping bits of them as a keepsake. When his attention
falls on the local university three students decide
to leave town and stay in a villa little knowing
that have been followed by the psycho. That's
about it but Martino's clinical approach
to the killings and the films imagery give the
film its guts.
Many will know the film's heroine Suzy
Kendall from Dario Argento's The
Bird with the Crystal Plummage and Martino's
résumé includes such classics as
Isle of Mutations, The
Violent Professionals and the Giallos
Excite Me and All the
Colours of the Dark. In fact much of
Martino's early career featured the fetishistic
glinting knives and the prowling killer point
of view shots that many love the genre for. |
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| Video |
| The transfer is not to bad, the image is fairly
sharp and the vibrant blood reds are vibrant. The
transfer can be a bit grainy at times but overall,
not too bad. |
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| Audio |
| The stereo soundtrack is adequate but lacks the
punch that a 5.1 mix would have added to the film. |
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| Extra Features |
| The disc is unfortunately a bit slim on the extras;
all we get is a slideshow and a couple of trailers,
one for The New York Ripper and
one for Demons 3: The Ogre. |
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| The Verdict |
| For anyone interested in Italian horror then this
is a must see. It's obvious that many an American
director will have watched Carnal Violence aka.
Torso before filming the multitude of slasher movies
of the Eighties. Some will find the film slow in
places but anyone familiar with the Giallo genre
will find much to enjoy. |
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