That was an excellent one.

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

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

After witnessing a violent murder, a photographer tries to convince her boyfriend of the incident but gets nowhere until the killer starts killing off a series of regular interlopers in the case and forces the two to try to figure out the killer's identity before he targets them.This was a decent enough if flawed genre effort. What really tends to push this one along is the actual murder mystery that plays out which is a rather intriguing and engaging storyline. Initially appearing to be centered around the incidental tourist, the gradual reveal of the killers' vendetta against the ballerina company through the use of the mannequins being supplied by the boyfriend that ties everything together and brings them their involvement into the rampage. The build-up to this isn't that bad, from the discovery of the bodies and the revelation of the handicap that spurs the interest in the two and provides this with some decent red herrings. That also leads this one into some enjoyable stalking moments that have a lot to like, from the opening sequence involving the murderer striking which is seen through a telescope lens that runs out of time before the face can be seen, the stalking of a witness through a darkened hallway where the killer again strikes out of nowhere and the tense chase on city streets to get away from a location containing clues to their identity as they race to find a phone from which to call and report on their findings. The finale in the house where the killer appears is exceptionally fun as well with the blackout and misidentification of the killer and the resultant chase through the grounds out to the backyard which has a shockingly tense confrontation in the greenhouse to finally resolve matters. Alongside the nicely frequent nudity present here from the capable performers, these here are enough to hold it up over the problems present. The main issue at hand here is the fact that this one never really manages to offer any kind of enjoyable twist on the formulaic story presented. Once again this presents a film in which someone commits a murder seen only by the main character who has nobody else believe their story which is a rather flimsy pretext to start it off but it just dives into numerous cliches after that point. Rather than just dismiss the outrageous story as the ramblings of a deranged woman, erring on the side of caution with someone reporting such an incident would've generated a far more interesting story here due to plainly going around the familiar plotline that comes along. The other big problem is that this leaves the film rather bland during the investigation here without too many bodies to knock off which is what leaves the film to feel dragged-out in points that don't really need it. These here are what really hold this one down.Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Nudity, Language and several sex scenes.

This is a remarkably silly giallo that begins with Susan Scott messing with a coin operated telescope in Rome and randomly witnessing a woman being stabbed to death in a house. At first she tries to get help from a policeman passing by with his family, but he refuses, pointing out he's actually a fireman, and that he can't help anyway as his wife will get him into trouble. This daftness will continue!Susan remembers that the murderer had a limp and was dressed in black, and it looked like several people witnesses him leave. Susan's boyfriend also has a limp, plus he's an artist who uses fabric dummies to stab to death as some sort of crappy art project. These dummies are made by Susan, and according to him "It's the only thing she does well...apart from making love." This he tells to policeman George Martin, who doesn't believe she witnessed anything...until they actually find the corpse, to which Susan exclaims happily "Hey! They found my corpse!"Susan is also friends with journalist Kitty, who is going out with a composer who can't get it up. Indeed, it's the first thing Kitty tells Susan when she calls! Now it took me a while to figure it out but Kitty also has a sister played by the same actress who is going out with Luciano Rossi, and the sister also has a limp and needs a cane to get around. Seeing Luciano, who always plays weirdos or perverts, actually having a normal relationship was the biggest shock of the film. You'd think he'd be shagging a crocodile while dressed as Ghandi. With a chair stuck up his arse.Of course the killer has a few witness to stab and the cops start finding cane marks everywhere, which makes them suspect Susan's boyfriend. This leads the remaining characters on a journey to the truth, broken only by Susan having to stop the action to go for a pee - twice! For no reason! Plus, they have Luciano Rossi stare into a shop window full of razors, just to confirm that he's definitely the film's red herring, and Sal Borghese as the designer of a bag held by a witness who wants to link his fashion house to the murders for publicity.Not only is the film daft as hell, but director Pradeuax packs it with wall to wall nudity as well, including a lesbian flashback bit that someone else flashes back to later in the film. There was so much nudity that my mind started drifting to be honest, but still, I love films that are as mad as this.

"Passi di danza su una lama di rasoio" (Death carries a cane) is not what one would call a plot-driven film (like "My dear killer", for instance, with its very intricate plot). Anyway, "Death carries a cane" tells a story that managed to keep my attention till the end, but the highlights of the film are the images and the soundtrack.I think of cinema as a conjunction of images, sounds and words used to tell a story. In this way a film can reach dimensions far beyond the reach of literature - the images/sounds should not be just servants of the words (or story), they should also be active agents in the film. From the sixties onward, under the influence of the nouvelle vague, the camera became much freer. Godard was one of the icons of that era - his creative use of images, music, lighting and words, was a shining light for many filmmakers that came after.In "Death carries a cane" one can feel this freedom of creation. The story is simple enough: Kitty (Susan Scott), a fashion photographer, witnesses a murder. She sees indistinctly through a telescope a man all dressed in black, crowned with a black hat (typical giallo!) stabbing a girl to death. She warns the police but no one takes her seriously - Kitty didn't know where exactly the killing had taken place, and where was the body? The body is at last found and the investigations begin. More killings occur and with each killing the killer seems to be getting nearer Kitty..."Death carries a cane" offers everything one can expect from a giallo - intelligent cameras, lighting and editing, pretty women and sensuality galore. And one can say that Maurizio Pradeaux has learnt his Argento. The staging of the killings is creatively done - sounds, cameras, soundtrack and lighting are effectively used to create a suspenseful atmosphere. Many red herrings are thrown around to confuse the viewer and enhance the fun.There are many pretty women: "Scream Queen" Susan Scott (Nieves Navarro), Anuska Borova (playing two different roles!), Cristina Tamborra etc...This is a hard-to-find film, but years ago "Death carries a cane" was released in Germany under the title "Die Nacht der rollenden Köpfe" with audio versions in English and German. As a matter of fact "Die Nacht der rollenden Köpfe" was rereleased this year (2008), but unfortunately only in the German version.

Susan Scott of "Death walks at midnight" and "Orgasmo Nero" fame stars in this fairly unremarkable entry into the giallo genre directed by Maurizio Pradeaux. She witnesses a murder of a girl through a telescope, but fails to see the killer's face (who's dressed in typical giallo fashion). With the help of her boyfriend (Robert Hoffman from Umberto Lenzi's "Spasmo") she starts her investigation, while the killer proceeds to cut the witnesses' throats with a straight razor. There's nothing special about 'Death Walks With a Cane', it's a routine giallo with little originality about it. You've got all the usual stuff here: violent murders, weird characters,crazy plot twists, but there's still something missing. Firstly - suspense, the movie is pretty damn low on thrills. Secondly - sense of style. What kind of giallo is this without stylish locations? The story is supposed to be taking place in Rome, but the action mainly revolves in some un-photogeic back streets. No gorgeous architecture,just old shacks. The most upsetting thing about the film is the camera-work: flat and uninspired, with lots of pointless zooms and occasionally out of focus. Only during the murder scenes do the proceedings look a little more lively with some nice camera angles. The murders are gory and quite well executed. The score for the film composed by Roberto Pregadio isn't progressive or groovy or pounding or anything at all. Merely generic. There's a good deal of nudity in 'Death Walks With a Cane'. Robert Hoffman (who was just excellent in "Spasmo") and Scott do what they can with the material they're given, battling through some hysterically funny dialogue. The supporting cast includes Simon Andreu and Luciano Rossi who's always played demented creeps in westerns and police films. Sadly, this time Luciano Rossi is wasted as just one more red herring. The film isn't great, still worth a look for giallo fans but had a potential to be a lot better. If you want to see the same cast in a decent film, watch "Death walks at midnight".