Diagonaldi Very well executed

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

bensonmum2 As a train passes through a tunnel, a woman is murdered in a seating compartment. There are five other passengers in the compartment, so the police have several suspects. The police seem to be focusing on one man – a photographer named Luciano Morelli (Leonard Mann). It was his letter opener / bookmark used in the murder. To clear his name, he decides to try to unmask the killer. Also, the murderer dropped a pair of gloves on the train and one of the passengers decides to blackmail the killer. Not a wise move. As the gloves change hands, the body count goes up. Let's take Death Steps in the Dark and compare it with a standard giallo checklist: a black gloved killer – yes, straight razor – yes, nudity – yes, copious amounts of blood – yes, violent deaths – yes, someone other than the police doing most of the investigation – yes, close-ups of eyeballs – yes (what's up with all the eyeballs in these films), J&B – yes, European locations – yes, comedy – huh? Death Steps in the Dark is the only purposefully comedic giallo that I can remember seeing. From what I've read around the internet, I know the comedy elements put some people off. Initially, I thought I'd dislike it too, but, it started to grow on me. The scenes with the ditsy model, Ingrid, or the safe-cracking in the finale were very funny. For me, the contrast between the comedy and the brutal murders really made the movie that much more effective. I'm not saying that I want comedy in all my gialli, but it did make for an interesting change of pace. Other than the strange, but interesting, inclusion of comedy, the rest is what you'd expect from an above average giallo. The acting is good. Both Mann and American actor Robert Webber give solid performances. The film has a nice flow to it thanks in large part to director Maurizio Pradeaux. For me, Death Steps in the Dark is a much better, more enjoyable film than Pradeaux's better known Death Carries a Cane. The cinematography is quite nice, with everything from vibrant colors and to well shot night scenes. The deaths are as brutal as any you'll see in a giallo. The blood has that unrealistic bright red tone to it that I always associate with these films. Finally, the locations are gorgeous. Here, we're treated to Greece instead of the usual Italy. My biggest complaint is with the ending. Like a lot of gialli, it's rushed and doesn't really feel well thought out. If you're paying attention, it's not hard to spot the real killer among the five suspects. Hint: Focus on the one you learn the least about.

Darkling_Zeist 'Death Steps In The Dark' finally has a pristine transfer, sound and picture are crystal clear. Excellent giallo from Maurizio Pradeaux. While his 'death carries a cane' is better known, I found this 1977 outing to be far more entertaining than the latter. Not only do you get the requisite full-frontal nudity ubiquitous in the genre (inc. a splendidly gratuitous Sapphic montage near the opening of the film!) the film has a light, comedic touch not generally found within the idiom; so among all the black-gloved, razor-wielding frenzy (the murders are considerably full-blooded) the film is leavened by a clearly sardonic tone, which, while admittedly far-from subtle, adds a viable quirky sheen to the generally humorless genre. graphic razor-slashings, gratuitous nudity, plentiful guzzles of j&b (the veritable elixir of Italian exploitation!) and a mesmerizing, booty-humpin' jazz-funk score by Riz Ortolani makes 'death steps in the dark' one of the more memorable and re-watchable gialli. Whether or not the film was specifically designed as a giallo parody certainly doesn't detract from the more lurid pleasures gialli are infamous for; since 'death steps in the dark' makes for such a serviceable, briskly-paced, sanguineous whodunit.

christopher-underwood Quite ludicrous but bright and breezy enough to be likable this is, wait for it - a comic giallo. I know, obviously, we are on dangerous territory straight away because, what with all the twists and turns and often daft denouements, gialli, are sometimes laughable enough. Yet here we have a particularly complicated one, albeit with simple enough start, Agatha Christie style with six people in a railway carriage, light goes out, one dies, who dunnit? But this is complicated by the fact that one gets involved in blackmail and then maybe another and there are characters chasing characters, we are struggling to keep up only for the characters to start making jokes (sometimes amusing, sometimes not). On the positive side, it looks tremendous, great costumes and furnishings with the girls not afraid to slip off their clothes, the killings are fairly gory and the score keeps things bobbing along as the cast seem to be genuinely enjoying themselves. Just wish I had as much fun watching.

andrabem Many people have trashed this film on account of it being a strange mixture of thriller and comedy. "Passi di morte perduti nel buio" (Death steps in the dark) has all the ingredients of a good giallo and I think that the comic moments don't spoil the suspenseful ones."Death steps in the dark" starts as an homage to Agatha Christie. In a compartment of the Istanbul-Athens express train, a girl is fumbling nervously with her necklace. The train passes under a tunnel. When it emerges from the tunnel this girl has a letter opener sticking in her chest. The letter opener belongs to Luciano Morelli (Leonard Mann), a fashion photographer. He'll be one of the main suspects of the police. Luciano along with his naive girlfriend Ingrid (Vera Krouska) will investigate on his own the murder(s) and try to find out the killer - this is the only way to clear himself. Luciano (and Ingrid) will live many adventures and so will the killer (someone - maybe more than one person - is trying to blackmail him/her!). But beware! The film has many surprises in store."Death steps in the dark" was shot in Athens - It's very colourful and it has, as it's usual in many gialli, pretty girls (and some nice lesbian touches), stylish camera work and editing, very well-staged killing scenes and a wonderful soundtrack. It also features a very beautiful romantic scene. All in all, "Death steps in the dark" is full of "joie de vivre" - the actors are very natural and seem to be enjoying themselves.The comic moments are provided mostly by Luciano and his naive and beautiful girlfriend Ingrid, and also by the Detective Inspector in charge of the case (Robert Webber), with his eternal stomach problems.If you don't take the film too seriously you might enjoy it like I did.I've seen the film twice already.