"Torso", or to use the more interesting literal translation of the Italian title, "The Bodies Presented Traces of Carnal Violence", is certainly one of the most entertaining gialli ever made. The movie wastes not a scene and is never boring, has style to spare and boasts some fabulous T 'n A.
I enjoy Sergio Martino movies, but Torso disappointed. It's not a strong contender in the Giallo sub genre, a painfully slow pace and generally weak plot failing to match the promise of the inspired title.
'Enter, if you dare, the wickedly warped world of the psycho-sexual mind'...Murder-Maestro, Sergio Martino's gruesomely gaudy, gleefully gut-gashing, alpha dog, Giallo, 'Torso!
Following a spate of brutal murders, a group of college students fear they're being targeted by the killer and retreat to a nearby mountain-top villa to relax only to learn the killer has followed them there and must stop his deadly blood-soaked rampage.This here is quite the enjoyable giallo and remains one of the best of the style.
Despite having read a huge amount of praise for his work in the Giallo film sub-genre,I've found myself constantly putting director Sergio Martino's work to the bottom of my 'must watch' pile,due to having found his 1978 title The Mountain of the Cannonball God to be a rather disappointing film.With a poll for the best titles of 1973 being held on IMDb's Classic Film board,I felt that it was the best time to start afresh with Martino,and to take a look at his Giallo world for the first time.
Is the translation of the original title in Italian and, though it doesn't fall trippingly off the tongue, is a much better description of the film's theme than the vague and not really a propos "Torso", as big boobs and long legs extending forever from micro-minis and hot pants fashions of 1973 are most in evidence here. Psycho killer in a distinctive scarf is killing coeds, and the scarf is key to finding the killer--or is it?
No scares to be had with this old school horror/slasher film but it is a lot of fun to watch. Considering many other similar films from Italy in the era this one is really well put together.
Better known to English speaking audiences as 'Torso', it centres on a group of friends who are studying art at a university in Rome. Two of them, Sean and Florence (Patrizia Adiutori) are having steamy sex in the back of a red mini, under a bridge somewhere in Rome.
A killer is killing coeds and Jane (Suzy Kendall) gets stuck in a rented house with him in this VERY unjustly under-rated thriller giallo. The last third of the film when Suzy is trying to hide from the killer is worth the price of admission alone, not to say what comes before that isn't good as well.