Diagonaldi Very well executed

Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Coventry "The Bloodstained Shadow" is Antonio Bido's second giallo in two years' time, and he actually makes the exact same mistakes here as he did with his previous effort "Watch me when I kill". The basic plot is mysterious and intriguing enough, and several of the murders are nicely gory and inventive, but the film contains way too many dull sequences and slow pacing, while the search for the killer's identity isn't involving enough for the viewer. The character drawings remain too vague, characters that are clearly important to the plot are only introduced late into the film and there's too much interval between the different murders in order to keep the story compelling enough. And last but not least, experienced giallo- fanatics will sadly notice that Antonio Bido is often a copycat director who borrows the vast majority of his ideas, whether in terms of plotting or stylistic, from other and more masterful directors like Argento, Fulci, Martino and others. Stressed-out college professor Stefano returns to his hometown, a little island community close to Venice, for a vacation and stays with his brother Paolo who's the town's priest. At night, Paolo witnesses a vicious strangulation from his bedroom window and begins to receive menacing little notes shortly after. More prominent community members are killed off and Stefano investigates the case, along with his new and lovely girlfriend Sandra. The murders lead back to the murder case of a young girl, which occurred many years ago but always remained unsolved. Admittedly the denouement and eventual revelation of the killer's identity are surprising, but not entirely satisfying and – as said – uninvolving. The already slow pacing is too often interrupted with pointless footage, like an awful "we are falling in love" montage (mainly taking place in a speedboat) and a boring sex sequence. It's best to focus on the few good elements instead, like two terrifically gruesome murders (one has to do with a burning fireplace and the other takes place in the canal), relatively good use of the narrow and atmospheric Venetian alleys and the musical score of the always reliable Stelvio Cipriani. But the absolute and undeniable highlight of the film is one particular scene in which a certain character goes berserk and mutilates a poor and defenseless doll. Only during this moment, Antonio Bido reaches the same quality as his aforementioned giallo role-models.

ferbs54 A practically goreless giallo coming fairly late in that genre's cycle, "The Bloodstained Shadow" (1978) yet manages to provide all the requisite thrills that Euro horror fans might reasonably expect. This was the second picture from director Antonio Bido, whose initial giallo entry, "The Cat With Jade Eyes" (aka "Watch Me When I Kill"), released the year before, seems almost forgotten today. Drawing liberally from 15 years' worth of giallo tropes and conventions preceding it (Bido, on this Anchor Bay DVD, acknowledges his debt to Dario Argento during a modern-day, informative interview), the film remains a very worthwhile contribution to the genre.In it, the viewer meets a pair of brothers, Stefano and Paolo D'Archangelo. When Stefano, a college professor (played by Lino Capolicchio, who some may recall as the leading man in Pupi Avati's grisly giallo of 1976, "The House With the Laughing Windows"), comes to visit his older brother, a priest living on an island off the coast of Venice, he picks a rather unfortunate time to do so. On his first night in town, Paolo witnesses the murder of the local medium woman, although the murderer him/herself is not visible in the driving rain. Before long, Paolo (played by Craig Hill in a very intense manner) begins to receive threatening notes enjoining his silence, while the trio of regulars at the medium's seance get-togethers starts to meet very violent ends. To help his distraught brother, Stefano goes into Sherlock Holmes mode, accompanied by a woman whom he'd met on the train trip to the island, Sandra (played by Stefania Casini, whose barbed-wire demise in Argento's "Suspiria" the previous year will be recalled by many)....Filmed largely on the island of Murano, right off the northern coast of Venice, "The Bloodstained Shadow" certainly does have local color and ambiance to spare. The town where Stefano visits looks beautiful and at the same time run-down, engendering a seedy aura of old-world, decayed charm. Bido and his director of photography, Mario Vulpiani, treat the viewer to many glimpses of the town and its canals, as well as nearby Venice; add this picture to the list of horror films that transpire around Venice in the winter, such as "Don't Look Now" and "Who Saw Her Die?" Plotwise, Bido's film holds together fairly well, unlike many other gialli that I have seen (I'm thinking of you, "Death Walks at Midnight"!), although most viewers will benefit from a repeat viewing to appreciate all of the film's plot subtleties. As mentioned previously, this is not a particularly violent giallo picture, and even the queasiest of viewers will have no problem watching the murders--a strangling, a spear to the chest, an old woman being thrown into a roaring fireplace, a slaying via motorboat in a nighttime canal, a throat slitting--that the film dishes out. And adding hugely to the experience is yet another wonderful score done by the prog-rock outfit known as Goblin. Here, the band has arranged and performs music by composer Stelvio Cipriani, and those viewers who have enjoyed the band's contributions to the Argento films "Deep Red" and "Suspiria" will certainly be pleased with its work here. Goblin goes uncredited in the film, as does director Bido's cameo role, playing a cemetery surveyor around 4/5 of the way in. (On a side note, this viewer just recently saw yet another Italian horror film with a score by Goblin, the 1979 cult item "Beyond the Darkness," which I can also recommend. This film is twice as sick and 100 times as gruesome as "The Bloodstained Shadow," and is quite the unforgettable experience!) As for the Anchor Bay DVD itself, it looks just fine, and the 13-minute interview with the modern-day Bido reveals him to be a man with an engaging personality and a clear memory. The film has been excellently dubbed for this print (although subtitles would still have been preferable), and in all makes for a very nice evening's entertainment. Just one thing: Make sure you look up the definition of the word "breviary" before venturing in....

Scott LeBrun In this heavily plotted Giallo from director / co-writer Antonio Bido, two brothers have a reunion that unfortunately goes sour when graphic murders begin to take place. Stefano D'Archangelo (Lino Capolicchio), the professor, works the clues while taking the time to romance Sandra (Stefania Casini), a new acquaintance, while his priest brother Don Paolo (Craig Hill) is worried that he will be among the victims when he witnesses an assault and soon starts receiving threatening notes. Not all fans of Italys' Giallo genre may be too enamoured with this one as it simply isn't as trashy as some of them. The murders do get fairly intense (one victim has their head shoved into a roaring fire) but the amount of bloodshed is minimal (title of the film notwithstanding). There is also a sex scene and nudity from Casini, but these are done in a tasteful manner, perhaps too tasteful for some of the viewers. While Bidos' direction is good, he never lets style take over, preferring to concentrate first and foremost on telling the story. He lets his film unfold at a very deliberate pace; he devotes a fair amount of time to Stefanos' courting of the lovely Sandra, who works as a painter. As a result, one might grow impatient waiting for the next major set piece. Still, when these set pieces come, they prove worth the wait, such as a sequence of Sandra being stalked as she heads home. The twists are decent and keep the audience guessing; there are of course red herrings and the identity of the disturbed killer might come as a shock to some. One of the strongest assets here is the way Bido utilizes the Venice setting; the sights and sounds are a pleasure to take in. The music score by Stelvio Cipriani runs hot and cold - sometimes it's quite atmospheric, at others it's just too offbeat to really work, especially when it's used for suspense sequences. The cast is solid, with Capolicchio and Hill making for a likable sibling duo; Capolicchio is also a refreshingly different sort of hero as he has a real average Joe quality. This isn't among the absolute best of its kind but it's still pretty good; aficionados should be reasonably satisfied. The ending is awfully abrupt, though. Seven out of 10.

Scarecrow-88 A professor, Stefano(Lino Capolicchio), returns home to visit his brother Don Paolo(Craig Hill), a parish priest, and finds that someone is bumping off specific citizens in gruesome ways. We get a séance reading with the spiritualist after earlier seeing her receiving bribe money in an envelope in the café where the brothers feast and chat about old times. The spiritualist is strangled by someone in black leather gloves and raincoat as a storm rages outside with Paolo hearing her death scream from his room above. He doesn't see the person responsible only later receiving threatening fragmented riddled letters informing him to remain silent or else. Stefano will pursue the identity of the killer, out of devotion to his brother. Stefano meets an art decorator, Sandra(Stefania Casini), on his train to home, with a blossoming relationship resulting as the murders to several who partook in the very séance held by the spiritualist before she was killed, continue to increase. Sandra's ill mother, once a very talented artist, has a specific painting which might yield a clue to the overall mystery that opens the film in slow motion..an innocent girl was strangled by someone(..the killer, of course, off camera)and as she falls to the ground, ripping pages from a book tossed away. Also, the way the letter "t" is printed on the threatening letters to Paolo, an image that haunts Stefano, an abortionist with a mentally ill son, and the aforementioned painting someone is very interested in requiring all play a hand in who is committing the murders. Those who sought after by the killer include a wealthy aristocratic homosexual Count who likes to fondle boys, an atheist doctor often clashing with the priest, Sandra's own artist mother, and quite possibly the abortionist and Paolo himself.Stylish giallo from director Antonio Bido perhaps is a bit slow in places, but is convoluted enough with a pretty good cast and sordid characters which should satisfy the giallo thriller crowd. I thought Craig Hill as the troubled priest was very good, quite expressive as his face displays tormenting thoughts and paranoia. This giallo does have a sex scene between Stefano and Sandra which should also satisfy the ones expecting it in their gialli. Not as violent as other thrillers of it's ilk, and the film takes it's time telling the story. Very story-driven with the mystery unveiling bit by bit. Those who are familiar with this genre might find a twist(..used in films such as "Don't Torture a Duckling" & "Seven Blood-Stained Orchids")rather derivative, but I think this giallo works well enough. Some beautiful, effective uses of the island the director shot the film representing his own form of Vienna. My favorite set-piece would be the following point-of-view shot as someone is walking behind Sandra through alleys of Vienna and across corners as she makes her way to home.