A
priest (Craig Hill) witnesses a murder, but is unable to make out the
assailant. When he begins to investigate
the crime, the killer starts leaving him threatening notes warning him to back
off. The priest’s brother (Lino Capolicchio)
comes to stay with him and soon takes it upon himself to solve the murders.
The
Bloodstained Shadow is a middling and overlong giallo, but the great score by Stelvio
Cipriani keeps you from dozing off. It’s
easily the best thing about the movie.
Cipriani's score is all over the place, which gives him plenty of opportunity
to dabble in different musical styles. This
anything-goes approach makes even the smallest scene interesting. Not only that, but it’s just plain
groovy! You’re guaranteed to be tapping
your toes throughout the inflated running time.
The
murder set pieces leave something to be desired though. Most of the deaths are strangulations, which
offers up little variation. The one standout
murder involves a woman’s face being shoved into a fireplace, but that’s about
as gruesome as it gets.
Although
the film fails as a straight thriller, it works as sort of a warped soap
opera. As Hill investigates the murders,
he pulls back the curtain of his shady neighborhood. Since he is their priest and has listened to
all his neighbors’ confessions, he knows all their seedy secrets. I just wish there was more done with this
aspect of the picture.
The
ending is predictable and drawn out. There
are just too many flashbacks and red herrings here that spoil the fun. It’s also way too long. At 110 minutes, there’s so much filler that
it drags the whole movie down.
AKA: Only Blackness.
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