That was an excellent one.

Absolutely Fantastic

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Knife of Ice is quite a strange movie in some respects. Released in 1972 at the tail end of the giallo craze, it could be expected that this would be an entry in the sub-genre that emphasised the sex and violence like most other entries from that year. When you also consider that its director is Umberto Lenzi who was responsible for several highly exploitative movies and who is to subtlety what Mr T is to Shakespearean acting, you would be forgiven for thinking Knife of Ice would be a classic style bloody and sleazy murder mystery. Well, as anyone who has seen this film can confirm that simply is not the case. This is a giallo in the late 60's style. All of the murders are committed off screen and there is no nudity whatsoever. The only bit of outrage is the opening credit sequence which shows a fairly graphic bull fight, so Umberto did at least incorporate one of his more notorious traits – animal slaughter - into this one at least.The film seems to be a reworking of the 1946 chiller The Spiral Staircase. It has a fairly similar basic plot-line. The central character is a mute woman who lives in a large affluent family home. There is a serial killer on the loose and a cast of red herrings to complicate matters. Caroll Baker (So Sweet, So Perverse) stars as the mute, while Evelyn Stewart (The Case of the Scorpion's Tail) appears too in a role that sadly has little screen-time. It's certainly a professional enough effort with some suspenseful moments but on the whole it is a little too restrained for its own good and it pales in comparison with other gialli released around the same time.

Soloist Jenny (Ida Galli) returns home to her sister, mute Martha (Carroll Baker), falling victim to a knife-murderer who could be a Devil worshiper with "crazy eyes". Martha's trauma derives from being thrown from a train by her father before it crashes; Martha watched as the train, carrying her parents, crashed killing them. The number of suspects emerge in Umberto Lenzi's intricately plotted giallo (convoluted as giallo fans come to expect) where a small Italian village is overtaken with fear as not only was Jenny killed but another "fair-haired girl" found not far from the château where Martha and her Uncle Ralph (George Rigaud) reside. Martha has a psycho-therapist, Dr. Laurent (Alan Scott), an eligible bachelor well known in the village nearby the Caldwell château. Eduardo Fajardo has another one of his customary creepy roles as the Caldwells' (in particular, Martha's) strange driver who seems to be hiding something. Fajardo's Marcos gives off a malevolent presence, which typical of the giallo standards, means he's a red herring. Silvia Monelli is the Caldwells' maid-servant, Annie Britton, who becomes another of the knife-maniac's many selected victims for execution. Franco Fantasia is Inspector Duran, becoming burdened by the inability to catch the psychopath. Uncle Ralph, with an interest in all things occult, is ill (his heart) and could die any day, which means that Martha could soon be alone, with only Marcos left to aid her. Lenzi's gialli have a tendency, more often than not, to bare more emphasis on the procedural, the plot details, than violence. There's even one scene where Inspector Durant has those present when a little girl—a Catholic school girl—was killed recreate their movements during the time of crime. Of course with a lot of Lenzi's giallo thrillers, there's a psychological angle at work: this movie concerns Baker's Martha who often experiences memories which trouble her. Whether it be of her sister or a matador killing a bull or the wicked eyes of a local Devil worshiper, Martha seems awestruck by each memory when it emerges. These memories could contribute somehow to the murders—that's obviously Lenzi's intention or they wouldn't be of such consequence to the overall character and story. Oh, and no true giallo would be complete without the wacky twist which feels like it was tacked on at the last minute, the reasons behind the murders explained extensively. Carroll Baker has practically no dialogue, until the very end that is, and when she does it's unfortunately a corny rhyme describing her future fate. Baker is still lovely, although the movie doesn't exploit her usual willingness to get naked—Baker's period in Italy was coming to a close, KNIFE OF ICE another collaboration between her and Lenzi. KNIFE OF ICE isn't overly violent or sleazy, more dependent on the plot, not exactly what a majority of the die-hard fanbase looks for, to tell you the truth. I'm not sure KNIFE OF ICE will be among any giallo enthusiast's top favorites, but we are a curious breed who seek to find even the most obscure, lesser known of the genre, so maybe this film is worth the pursuit if you can find it (unlike other Lenzi gialli in his oeuvre, KNIFE OF ICE has become accessible).

I agree that "Knife of Ice" is one of director Umberto Lenzi's classier movies, but I didn't find it one of his more interesting ones (it's certainly one of his least sexy). The mystery is well conceived, the editing well done, and Carroll Baker turns in a good performance, no doubt aided by the fact that since her character is a mute she's spared the stilted post dubbing suffered by the other actors. But the pacing is a bit sluggish and some of the devil worship symbols laughable (dig the cartoon goat head "medallion" found by the police). Personally, I found other Lenzi-Baker thrillers like "Paranoia" (a.k.a. "Orgasmo") and "A Quiet Place to Kill" (a.k.a. "Paranoia"--confused yet?) a lot more hopping. Guess I prefer my giallos on the trashy side. Still, for fans of the genre, "Knife of Ice" is worth a look.

Umberto Lenzi was a prolific director making more than some 70 films throughout his career. I guess he could be described as part of the B-grade Italian tradition where they would make numerous films in many different genres (Western, Horror, Giallo, Crime and even Cannibal films) with low budgets and heavy time constraints. Other than a couple of his Euro-Crime films (like 'Almost Human'), this is the best film of his I've seen.This film relies totally on its central mystery to keep you involved and intrigued....and what an excellent mystery it was. It certainly kept me guessing through the whole film. Basically, Carroll Baker place a mute women who suffered an horrific trauma in the past (the death of her parents). She now lives in Spain with her grandfather. Her sister comes to visit and dies at the hand of what the Police believe to be a sex maniac. Or is it? Lots of red herrings are thrown in along the way to help keep you guessing as well as numerous plot twists. The film is also helped by an unusual but effective score and some beautiful cinematography as well as a fine central performance by Baker.Those who are familiar with the 'giallo' genre should be warned that this film doesn't contain some of the more lurid trappings of the genre (nudity and violence) that other films like 'Torso' for example have. This film lives and dies solely on the central mystery and Baker's performance.I saw the film on the expensive but quite nice Japanese DVD which is the only official release I know of worldwide. If you are a 'giallo' fan then this one is definitely worth a look.