Saturday 28 January 2012

The Iguana With The Tongue of Fire (1975)

Dir: Ricardo Freda

Obscure giallo that's every bit as baffling as its title, this one finds the ubiquitous black-gloved killer throwing acid in people's faces then slitting their throats (because, y'know, just the one simply wouldn't be enough). Unusually, the killer's at large in Dublin which, while it does make an interesting change of pace, means that everything looks a little grey and chilly compared with the bright, hot, colourful Roman climes typical of the genre. The mystery here is pretty dismal with the final reveal being more of a "huh? who?" than an "ahhh! them!" but there are one or two nice touches. The detective's batty mother - a half-deaf, half-blind Miss Marple type - is great and has all the best lines but there's also some decent gore and nudity to pass the time while the parade of red herrings are wheeled out ad infinitum. Still, I'd say it's only really worth bothering with if you're a hopeless giallo completist who just can't help themselves. That'd be me then. **

No comments: