Death Laid An Egg (1968)

Dir: Giulo Questi

The beautiful Ewa Aulin leads the cast of this psychedelic proto-giallo set in a hi-tech poultry farm. There are a couple of plots going on at once here; one involving a love triangle between Aulin's character, her cousin (Jean-Louis Trintigant) and his wife (Gina Lollobrigida!) and another involving the farm's ultimate owners (THE ASSOCIATION) and some mutant headless chickens that double in size at an alarming rate having accidentally fed on a combination of dead dog and radiation... Um. Yeah. There's a dude in black leather gloves killing some women in lingerie as well if that helps you? "Death Laid An Egg" is an odd one in that it's years ahead of the giallo curve with its insane crossover ideas and its beautiful photography by Fellini collaborator Dario di Palma (think of how an episode of "Mad Men" might look if you watch it right after sustaining a serious bump on the head). It's rich with symbolism. Even the "mystery" element,as pulpy as it is, makes sense. But there's just something that doesn't quite work. If it's anything, it's an overabundance of ideas trying awkwardly to squeeze into 85 minutes (which is no bad thing in itself) but there's just something stopping it from attaining the greatness that it so frequently brushes. **1/2