Blucher One of the worst movies I've ever seen

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Bezenby Umberto Lenzi is still playing the old school giallo hand here, which means less stabbing and more psychological games, but that doesn't mean he hasn't found new ways of presenting it. He spends the first hour of the film plunging you into a confusing plot, the explains what you've witnessed, then turns everything on its head again. Nice!Christian (Robert Hoffman) is out at the beach with lady friend when he spots a corpse lying on the sand. The corpse turns out to be very much alive Barbara (Kendall) whom Christian becomes infatuated with. She runs off, leaving a thermos (!) with a strange name on it. This leads Christian to a boat where he meets Barbara again, and the two of them head off to a motel for some filthy squeazy, as long as Christian shaves off his beard. Of course, some strange man turns up in the bathroom and tries to kill him, resulting in one dead stranger. This happens in 75% of all one night stands.Things go from bad to worse for Christian as he ends up in a never ending nightmare of people who may or may not who they say they are, dead strangers who come back to life, empty houses and their occupants, and the constant shots of mannequins dressed in sexy lingerie that have been stabbed with blades. Lenzi piles on the paranoia and the mysteries but doesn't lose focus, bringing it all together nicely (even if the twists are a bit cliché by this point). Still, despite saying "Oh! It's that kind of plot twist!" Lenzi still has a couple of curveballs, one particularly grim and shocking. Lenzi keeps things nice and trippy for the most part too, as certain characters turn up as different people, and even what we've watched up to a point may not be the whole truth. The disturbing sight of sexualised dummies, which seems to have been switched with the real thing on purpose, just adds to the disorientation. The only downside is that some of the acting is a bit iffy. I'm looking at you, Kendall! Ivan Rassimov was fine though.What people might have a bit of trouble with is home film that Rassimov watches in his office. It has all the zooms, focus shifts and edits of a professional film. When I think about it, I wonder if that was deliberate too...possibly.

ferbs54 I have watched Umberto Lenzi's 1974 offering, "Spasmo," twice during the last week, and still find myself perplexed as to that peculiar title...unless, of course, it refers to the brain spasms the picture is likely to induce in the unsuspecting viewer! In this truly disorienting experience, hunky dude Christian, well played by Robert Hoffman, picks up a woman named Barbara (Suzy Kendall, looking for all the world here like a poor man's Julie Christie) and goes back to her motel. A gunman barges in, Christian kills him, the body disappears, and the bewildered couple embarks on an increasingly loopy, borderline surreal adventure peopled with ambiguously motivated characters and filled with bizarre locations and non sequitur lines of dialogue. (And just what the heck is the deal with all those mutilated and strung-up mannequins littering the countryside?) As the excellent film reference book "DVD Delirium 2" puts it, the picture has an "increasing atmosphere of mental disintegration, creating the feeling that the viewer himself is losing his mind." So true. And yet, miraculously, by the film's end, and with its chilling final shot, all the preceding zaniness suddenly makes perfect sense. Whereas on my initial viewing I thought "Spasmo" an entertaining hoot, a second look revealed it to be quite ingenious; a small masterpiece, in fact. Lenzi's direction is both assured and impeccable, the performances across the board are splendid (including, of course, that of fan favorite Ivan Rassimov), and the score by the maestro, Ennio Morricone, is both eerie and suspenseful. I don't know if I'd term "Spasmo" a giallo--the film is almost wholly bloodless, with no real murderous set pieces per se--a mind-warping mystery might be more appropriate. Whatever you call it, though, I have a feeling it is one film you won't soon forget. Highly recommended, especially when viewed on this great-looking Shriek Show DVD.

The_Void Despite not being as artful as the masterpiece 'Seven Blood-Stained Orchids', or as fun as the trash classic 'Eyeball'; Umberto Lenzi's Spasmo is a Giallo highlight in it's own right, and a big plus point for the versatile director's filmography. It's rather hard to believe that a director of such films as the aforementioned Eyeball, as well as the likes of Nightmare City could have made a film as sombre as this one; there's barely any of the gore and nudity that many Giallo fans look for on display, and instead Lenzi has opted to concentrate on the story and characters. It has to be said that Spasmo isn't the most entertaining film of the genre; but thanks to Lenzi's handling, it's one of the most fascinating….and most frustrating. The plot follows Christian; a young man who discovers an apparently dead young woman while walking on the beach with his girlfriend. It turns out that she isn't dead, and it's not long before the two of them are about to go to bed together. However, the pair is interrupted by a stranger, whom Christian accidentally kills. From there, the action switches to a so-called safe house and the plot thickens...quite a lot, actually.Giallo's are famous for featuring convoluted plot lines, but this one takes it to the next level. Umberto Lenzi takes us on a tour of red herrings before eventually turning back full circle to deliver an unexpected climax. The film takes obvious inspiration from the Alfred Hitchcock classic 'Psycho', but unlike a lot of films that use Psycho as an inspiration; here it isn't obvious, as the plots aren't similar and it's only a central theme that the two films share. There isn't a great deal of graphic murders in this film; one that sees a man ran over is about as bloody as it gets, and there's barely any nudity either. This puts more focus on the plot, which doesn't always do the film a lot of favours as it dries up a bit too often, and Lenzi would have been better served dishing up some gore as usual. Robert Hoffman makes for a decent lead, while Suzy Kendall; a prolific Giallo actress isn't given much to do. Ivan Rassimov makes his mark in the support cast, however, and is my pick of the bunch. The atmosphere isn't a major strongpoint with this film either, although Lenzi's use of a number of dolls is good. Overall, this is an enjoyable film; even if it is a little convoluted, and it comes just about recommended to Giallo fans.

bensonmum2 To fully enjoy many of the gialli I've seen recently, the viewer must, as I call it, take a "leap of logic". What I mean is that if the viewer were to stop and think about how illogical things in the movie were, they probably wouldn't enjoy the movie as much. Well, with Spasmo the viewer is asked to take a Grand Canyon size leap of logic. The problem is, I only made it half way across. The illogical actions and reactions the character make throughout the movie ruined much of my enjoyment. When faced with a situation, in almost every instance the characters act and react in the most illogical manner possible in order to advance the storyline. A logical decision by any character at any time would have brought the movie to a screeching halt. That's not to say that there weren't things I liked about the movie. The latex dummies hanging from trees were a nice touch. The way the murders are shown in flashback at the end of the movie was a fairly innovative idea. But, there weren't enough of these moments. The acting is what you would expect. The score by Morricone, while good, is not one of his best. The revelation of the murderer is by far the best part of the movie. The DVD from Shriek Show is a mixed bag - good picture, but lots of hiss in spots on the soundtrack. Overall, this is not one of the better gialli I've seen. If you want to see a far superior giallo by Lenzi, see Seven Blood-Stained Orchids. For what it's worth, I'll give Spasmo 5/10.