I'm not as well-versed about giallo as the popular Italian genre's more fervent fans, so it's fun to run across a choice selection such as THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARDH (Severin Films, 1971) and enjoy it to its fullest while discovering even more reasons why the best of these films are so much fun in the first place.
Lovely cult favorite Edwige Fenech (ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK) stars as Julie, a sadly-neglected wife returning to Austria from America because her wealthy Wall Street tycoon husband Neil (Alberto de Mendoza, HORROR EXPRESS) has business there.
Julie, it turns out, has some business of her own, which is mainly to hesitantly fall sideways into a romantic tryst with persistent suitor George (George Hilton, ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK) while avoiding former lover Jean (Ivan Rassimov, EATEN ALIVE), a first-class creep who had a sick relationship with Julie years ago and who may or may not be the razor-wielding, throat-slashing psycho killer currently terrorizing the city.
Julie's sassy best friend Carol (Cristina Airoldi) just happens to be George's cousin and is about to share with George a windfall inheritance from a recently-deceased uncle.
Not only is Carol a fun character who gets to speak her mind about everything, but she also throws a fun party (where Julie first runs into Jean again) which embodies the late 60s-early 70s ambience of the film right down to two party girls in paper dresses having a catfight in which they claw each other's clothes off. (Carol will also play a key role in one of the film's finest sequences, an eerie rendezvous with someone who may be the killer.)
What really gets the giallo juices flowing is when the mysterious killer suddenly and for no apparent reason takes a distressingly keen interest in Julie, right down to peering through the window during one of her naked romps with George and sending her flowers along with creepy, cryptic messages. Julie and husband Neil are convinced that the culprit is the already scary Jean. But is he too obvious a suspect?
Director Sergio Martino (ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK) and co-writer Ernesto Gastaldi keep us guessing for the film's entire running time as we ponder the guilt or innocence of just about every main character besides Julie as evidence shifts back and forth and red herrings abound.
Meanwhile, we're treated to some murder setpieces that are both genuinely creepy and unsettling but also manage to generate Hitchcock-level suspense for sustained periods of time.
One in particular takes great pictorial advantage of a terrific outdoor location to present a stalking scene that is deeply nerve-wracking. And in each case, that gleaming straight razor is always poised for bloody carnage.
With Julie's guilt over cheating on her husband compounded by fear of her elusive stalker, even the story's romance elements have a queasy decadence that keeps us on edge. This includes a flashback of Julie's sick affair with Jean, a beautifully shot, dreamlike passage with him slapping her repeatedly by the side of the road in slow-motion during a driving rainstorm.
Director Martino is the equal to fellow Italian giallo maestro Dario Argento in such matters, perhaps not with as fine a degree of photographic artistry but driven by the same surehanded directorial finesse that creates memorably effective scenes.
The Blu-ray from Severin Films is "newly scanned in 4k from the internegative" and boasts their usual well-stocked bonus menu including interviews with director Martino, co-writer Gastaldi, actor George Hilton, and, in archival footage, Edwige Fenech. There's also an audio commentary with Kat Ellinger, author of ‘All The Colors Of Sergio Martino’, a trailer, and last but not least a bonus CD of the film's lush, lively soundtrack music.
After putting us through the mill for the entire length of the film, THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARDH ends on a shocking note, then pulls a fast one on us that's even more shocking and, ultimately, delightfully satisfying. It left me happy and content that once again a really good giallo had worked its magic on me.
Buy it from Severin Films
Special Features:
Of Vice and Virtue: Interview with Director Sergio Martino
Cold As Ice: Interview with Screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi
Vienna Vice: Interview with Actor George Hilton and Italian Genre Historian Antonio Bruschini
Archive Interview with Actress Edwige Fenech
Introduction by Actor George Hilton
Audio Commentary with Kat Ellinger, Author of ‘All The Colors Of Sergio Martino’
Trailer
CD Soundtrack [Limited to 3000 Units]
The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh Comic Book [WEBSTORE EXCLUSIVE]
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