The Killer Must Kill Again
By Chris Hyde
January 17, 2005
A little celebrated giallo is this year's first offering from Mondo Macabro.
The Italian genre known as the giallo had its heyday in the '60s and '70s as filmmakers like Mario Bava, Riccardo Freda and Dario Argento helmed thrillers that became known internationally. However, much like the spaghetti western — the country's other famous cinema export from the time — beyond the big films that received global fanfare there toiled many a director whose lower profile efforts garnered little attention beyond the theaters of Rome and Milan. Largely this is because much of the output was unmitigated hackwork that was undeserving of the world's attention, but occasionally amongst the dross there appeared a real hidden gem. Such is the case with Luigi Cozzi's The Killer Must Kill Again.
As the film opens, we at first see a grimly visaged man (French actor Michel Antoine) tenderly carrying a female corpse to his car and driving off. Shortly thereafter, a cad named Mainardi (played by the ubiquitous Italian film presence George Hilton) is introduced as he argues with his rich wife (Theresa Velazquez) in their fabulously outfitted apartment. It seems that she has finally cottoned to the fact that hubby is bleeding her bank accounts dry, and she tells him in no uncertain terms that he's about to be cut off. Storming off into the night, Mainardi then happens upon the previously seen killer disposing of his body and decides to work a deal that will help him get rid of his proverbial ball and chain.
After this bit of blackmail, Mainardi figures that he has everything in hand and heads off to a party while instructing the killer on how to make his murder look like a kidnapping. (During the turbulent '70s, abductions of members of the upper class were not uncommon in Italy). Everything goes pretty smoothly until the unnamed criminal puts the fruit of his efforts in the trunk of his car and goes back to clean up the crime scene — only to find when he emerges that a young couple (Christina Galbó and Alessio Orano) have absconded with the vehicle. This kicks off the events of the rest of the film as the killer tries to get the corpse back, Mainardi attempts to ward off the cops, the car thieves work on staying alive and famed sexpot Femi Benussi appears to show off her ample assets.
Ultimately, this overlooked film reveals itself to be an interesting and engaging example of the genre that flourishes under the hand of director Luigi Cozzi. It's not without its unpleasant moments, of course, but even the most controversial scene in the movie is handled in a manner that derives from the storyline and isn't simply there for exploitation's sake. The film handles all of its multiple storylines quite capably, and the stylish settings, groovy music and artful cinematography all combine to make The Killer Must Kill Again a very entertaining genre piece. Best of all, the screenplay's deft changes of gear allow the movie to be interesting throughout and help this one avoid the leaden pacing that sinks so many a giallo. Also worthy of note is the high quality of the cast, nearly all of whom turn in dramatic performances that help carry the movie — especially Michel Antoine, whose unique countenance lends his anonymous killer role an unsuspected depth.
Since this is a Mondo Macabro disk, however, there is naturally much more to be had here than just the movie itself. Along with the clean looking and colorful print and the choice between English or Italian dubbed language tracks (the English audio has some noticeable noise on it at times, but it's not all too prevalent) there's a raft of extra stuff to enhance the value of the disk. There's a pair of interviews with director Cozzi, one of which (Road to the Killer) concentrates on his background and the other (Initials D.A.) that delineates the filmmaker's long association with the legendary Dario Argento. Additionally, there's a brilliant full-length audio commentary with Cozzi and Mondo Macabro head honcho Pete Tombs that's chock full of insight into the feature presentation. With Tombs saliently bringing up points of discussion, Cozzi is prompted to give us plenty of great anecdotes about the production as well as noting some of the classic film scenes he references during the course of the movie.
Along with these spiffy Cozzi-specific extras comes the original trailer for The Killer Must Kill Again and a title sequence that accompanied the film upon its initial release - which is so much better than the one in the main event here that it makes one wonder why in the hell they changed it. Also included is a short but sweet documentary on giallos that previously appeared on the company's R2 disk of Death Walks at Midnight; this may not give all that much insight to those already familiar with the genre but acts as a great introduction for the uninitiated. Rounding out the DVD is the usual excellent collection of photos, posters, biographies, lobby cards and et cetera having to do with the feature as well as a pile of trailers representing other releases from the company.
With this valuable disk, Mondo Macabro has kicked off 2005 in good fashion — and as there may be plenty of other giallos that make it to DVD this year (like a box set of such work from Blue Underground and the rumors of a Four Flies on Grey Velvet release) hopefully this is a good omen that the year will be a solid one for Italian thrillers. While Luigi Cozzi's '70s setpiece may not quite be up to the level of the best efforts in the genre, its minority status as a neglected piece of cinema and its captivating characteristics as a film make for a meritorious release. Add in the usually generous helping of bonus material that accompanies nearly every bit of goods for this fine outfit, and what it all adds up to is yet another winner overall.
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