The Case of the Bloody Iris exemplifies the appeal of the giallo completely. Giallo is the Italian precursor to the American slasher film, where some homicidal maniac murders people (mostly nubile females) because of some psychotic justification. In the slasher film, the murderer is so much a freak that he’s basically a monster. Giallo’s have their roots in brutal mystery novels, so the murderer is generally a normal seeming weirdo. More Norman Bates than Freddy Kruger.
Buy The Case of the Bloody Iris 4K UHDReleased in 1972, The Case of the Bloody Iris has all the basic elements. Women brutally murdered. Copious female nudity. A convoluted plot. A quirky detective. So, what sets it apart? Well, it is kind of generic (for this very quirky genre.) But its generic parts are well executed.
First, and this is hard to discount, the females on display are of undisputed quality. Edwige French plays Jennifer (the original Italian title translates, clumsily, to What are Those Strange Drops of Blood Doing on Jennifer’s Body?). She’s a model, and formerly married to the leader of a hippie orgy cult, who wants her back. Avoiding her stalking ex-husband, she draws the attention of Andrea Antinori, an architect who is best friends with a creepy photographer. Jennifer is one of his models.
They come together because Andrea helps Jennifer find an apartment in a building which has recently had a couple of murders. That includes a model that Andrea was trying to hire. How did this come together? Don’t know. These giallo’s have needless contrivances and weird coincidences.
They also have quirky detectives, and the lead on these murder cases sure fits that bill. He seems more interested in collecting stamps than avenging dead girls. But he’s dogged enough to suspect Andrea, and even convinces Jennifer to stay in the new apartment even after she’s directly assaulted by some mystery man, and only saved by her roommate waking up.
The Case of the Bloody Iris is, like most giallo, a complete exercise in style. The story is mostly nonsense. The characters are broad or narrow. You sympathize with Jennifer because she’s gorgeous, not because of any character traits. It’s the style of filmmaking that is constantly inventive and engaging. There’s rarely a boring set-up. The camera is always in an unconventional place or making an interesting move. Bruno Nicolai’s score is well above average for this kind of film. It’s dynamic, and gory. It’s got beautiful women regularly taking their kits off. Unusually for an Italian film in this era, some of the humor is actually funny.
As a story, it’s less contrived than, say, most of Dario Argento’s early films. It’s also less stylishly inventive. In Dario’s films, like Deep Red, the murder scenes are incredibly effective. The murder mystery investigation is so boring I want to turn the film off. Bloody Iris finds more of a middle ground, with a more rational (and so interesting to follow) plot, but with murders that are less garish, and perhaps less shocking and entertaining.
But part of the appeal of any of these Italian films of the ’70s, however cheaply made, is that the crews are absolute consummate professionals. And so despite the age of the film and its low budget, this 4K release still shows off the absolute quality of the filmmaking. It’s vibrant and film-like, even if certain shots and sequences are of their time.
The Case of the Bloody Iris is, perhaps, a slightly above average giallo. It has the regular, dubious thrill of watching mostly women brutally murdered in various states of dress. Whatever social or psychosexual critiques of the genre that might be allayed, these movies are always beautifully shot, and stylishly directed. However dark the subjects, they’re a paean to the joy of filmmaking. Some folks like songs and dancing, some like boobs and blood. The Case of the Bloody Iris is for the latter crowd.
The Case of the Bloody Iris has been released on 4K UHD and Blu-ray by Celluloid Dreams. Extras on the disc include a commentary track by critic Guido Hinkel. Video extras include “Flowers of Blood” (21 min), an interview with actor George Hilton; “Marylin” (12 min), an interview with actress Paolo Quiattrini), and “Drops of Giallo” (30 min), an interview with director Giuliano Carnimeo and writer Ernesto Gastaldi; as well as trailers, outtake reel, and image galleries.
