Carroll Baker plays Martha, a woman struck mute after witnessing her parents' death in a train accident when she was 13. She is staying with her ailing uncle (giallo mainstay George Rigaud) at a villa in Montseny. Her cousin Jenny (Evelyn Stewart), a Cambridge chorus singer, comes home to visit after touring and is soon murdered. The inspector (Franco Fantasia, who also served as assistant director) informs them that another woman was discovered murdered nearby and he suspects a sex maniac. Martha keeps seeing a man with strange eyes (apparently a sign of drug addiction - a similar visual cue was used in Sergio Martino's THEY'RE COMING TO GET YOU) who everyone suspects as the killer. A satanic medallion and other signs of the devil suggest a devil worshipper (fortunately the uncle is knowledgeable enough to consult). Other suspects include the chauffeur (another giallo/western regular Eduardo Fajardo), family doctor (Alan Scott), and village priest (Jose Marco).
A departure from Lenzi's other jet-set thrillers (mostly with Baker) of the late sixties and early seventies, this one is more of an old dark house thriller with the mute Martha being stalked inside and outside of the villa (her muteness is the only thing taken from THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE for those wondering though there is a reversal of the motives from that film). The mountainous Spanish locations are attractive and the fog shrouded roads are suitably atmospheric. The scope photography isn't as inventive as in Lenzi's other scope gialli but its still effective. I have to admit that I didn't guess correctly who the killer was until just before the reveal. As usual, Marcello Giombini's score is bombastic but effective in the suspenseful scenes. The opening credits play over a bullfight which is disturbingly brutal and unpleasant and enough to convince me that to skip the arena if I ever end up in Spain.
The film is available on DVD in Japan from Trash Mountain Video. It is non-anamorphic but the 2.35:1 image is beautiful (an even better anamorphic master could probably be struck from the same materials) and the audio very clear. The Japanese subtitles are removable. As with other Japanese discs, the price is pretty steep (I got a burn through a trader). A trailer is included (I think its on YouTube).
