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Strip Nude For Your Killer (1975)

Studio: Blue Underground

Theatrical Release: August 26, 1975 (Italy)

Blu Ray Release: March 27, 2012

Director: Andrea Bianchi

Not Rated

Review by James Klein

In 2005, Blue Underground released Strip Nude For Your Killer on DVD which was significantly better than old VHS bootleg copies. The blu ray make the old DVD look like those VHS copies. For fans of this giallo, this blu ray is a must buy. However, as much as I enjoy parts of the film, this is not one of my favorite giallos. In fact, once the shocking nude scenes and hilarious dialog started to get old, I got bored. I have seen the film a few times now and each time I hope to enjoy it more but I always get the same feeling that this could have been much better.

This misogynistic thriller starts with a woman having an illegal abortion but dies on the operating table. The doctors quickly cover it up by making it look like a drowning. Years later, at a model agency where the woman who had died worked at, each person who may have been involved with her murder or cover up is knocked off one by one. Our heroine Magda (the gorgeous Edwige French) looks for clues when she isn't getting naked or having sex with the brash asshole photographer Carlo (Nino Castelnuvovo). The killer is dressed in a motorcycle outfit with a back helmet that one can't see thru. Judging by the body size, the viewer knows the killer is a woman but since the entire cast is mostly made up with women, the mystery isn't revealed until the end.

Strip Nude For Your Killer does have its moments. What is it about 1970's Italian women that is so attractive? I would take one of these beauties any day of the week before any of our current starlets. It's so refreshing to see these women have some meat on their bones for one thing, not looking like some skinny twig. Their bodies are natural (boobs and bush galore) which makes them even more attractive. And this film shows just about every one of them in full frontal beauty. I also couldn't help but laugh at the character of Carlo. He is such a sleazebag and a complete misogynist. He cheats on every woman, he lies to them, verbally and physically abuses them and yet he is suppose to be the good guy. When he gets done having sex with Magda and she offers him coffee as he lays in bed, he asks if she has milk to put in the coffee. When she doesn't, he berates her for not knowing the science behind having milk in your coffee. What???

Oh, there are plenty of "What?" moments in Strip Nude For Your Killer. There is one police officer on the trail of the killer who mumbles his lines and acts literally retarded. There is one fat man who tries to rape one of his wife's colleagues. When she refuses but soon allows him to get on with it, he can't get it up and starts to cry. When she comforts him and leaves, he goes and grabs a blow up doll saying that she is the only one that can get him off. And the very climax of the film shows Carlos not trusting his lover with being on the pill so he turns her over to have anal sex "just to be safe" much to her dismay. The credits start on a freeze frame of him turning her over!

If only Strip Nude had more moments like this in the film. It gets downright boring by the middle of the movie. Maybe by then the shock of all the nudity has worn off or that the killings are not as gory as previous giallo films. Characters walk around looking in and behind every door for the killer, thus leaving the viewer bored as hell. Much editing could have been used during these moments. I also still don't quite understand the plot of the film on how the woman who died in the beginning really linked with everyone at the agency. If you are going to make a horror film and have complete apeshit "What the fuck?" moments, then go all out and have these moments throughout the film.  

Like I said before, the blu ray looks great and the special features from the old DVD have been brought over to this blu ray. This includes a short interview with the screenwriter and one of the actresses. There are also a few trailers for the film as well. While it would have been nice to see new special features, one really can't complain with this upgrade.

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