Murder Obsession starts right off the bat with an excellent
topless strangulation scene. Turns out,
it's only a movie. The lead actor Michael
(Stefano Patrizi) just got a little too carried away and almost killed his
leading lady (Laura Gemser). (Those method actors are such a pain in the ass.) Shaken by the incident, Michael runs off to
see his mamma (Anita Strindberg) with his girlfriend Deborah (Silvia Dioniso) in
tow. (Maybe they should have called this
Mother Obsession.) He tells his mom Deborah
is really his secretary, but she sees right though that. Soon, more of his moviemaking friends show up
to the house where they are picked off one by one by an unseen killer.
Directed by Riccardo (Caltiki, the Immortal Monster) Freda, Murder Obsession is
a hoot from start to finish. Any director
who gets Laura Gemser naked in the first minute of their movie knows what the
hell they’re doing. Later, she gets a
great scene where she’s attacked in the bathtub.
Freda handles the stalking sequences stylishly enough, but
he really outdoes himself during the extended nightmare scene where Dioniso is
subjected to numerous outrageous perils in rapid succession. First, she’s chased down a hallway while
wearing a flimsy, haphazardly-tied nightgown.
During the chase, she runs smack dab into a giant spider web, complete
with huge rubbery looking spider. She’s
next attacked by a horde of rubber bats before running through the forest where
blood drips down on her from some bloody skulls hanging in the trees. Zombie monks eventually catch her, string her
up, tear her nightgown off, and force her to drink the blood of a chicken.
The best part is when she's menaced by the giant spider. Sometimes, they use the giant prop rubber
spider. Other times, it's clearly a
regular sized spider attacking a Barbie doll. Folks, I live for shit like this.
This sequence, taken on its own exemplary merits, is a
wonderful example of genre filmmaking. It’s atmospheric with equal
measures of cheese, sleaze, and genuine ghoulish thrills. I especially loved the close-ups of the
drooling monks with rotten faces.
The thrills don’t end there.
There’s a hilarious axe-to-the-head scene that features even worse
special effects than the spider. I mean,
the dummy head doesn't even have any eyeballs!
Fortunately, the chainsaw-to-the-throat effect is much better.
Some would label Murder Obsession incomprehensible. I prefer to think of it as unpredictable. Sure, there might be great lapses in logic,
but I guarantee you, you're never sure where it's going next. I can understand being underwhelmed by the
ending. All I can is getting there is
half the fun.
AKA: Murder
Syndrome. AKA: Satan’s Altar. AKA:
Unconscious. AKA: Fear.
AKA: The Wailing.
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