Torso
Jennifer Reeder Selects
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1h 33m
1973 • Italy • Directed by Sergio Martino
A talented and versatile journeyman, director Sergio Martino (The Case of the Scorpion's Tail, Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key) lent his talents to multiple genres across his long and varied career, but is undoubtedly best known for his giallo thrillers from the early 70s. Among the most highly acclaimed of these, 1973's Torso revels in the genre's time-honored traditions while simultaneously laying the groundwork for the modern slasher movie.
A sex maniac is prowling the streets of Perugia, targeting the picturesque university town's female students. Alarmed at the plummeting life expectancy of the student body, Jane (Suzy Kendall, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) and her three friends elope to a secluded country villa - only to discover that, far from having left the terror behind, they've brought it with them!
Also known as Carnal Violence, Torso was released in Italy towards the end of the giallo boom before enjoying a second life on the American grindhouse circuit. Co-starring Tina Aumont (Salon Kitty) and Luc Merenda (The Violent Professionals), the film finds its director at the top of his game, delivering copious levels of violence, sleaze, and one of the tensest cat-and-mouse games ever committed to celluloid!
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