VividSimon Simply Perfect

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

enosfenton Seems boring for just a while, as the plot builds, then WOW! The ending is twisted just like all Giallos, and you can't figure out who did it. This one has plenty of skulduggery, but it's not the "psycho" style like many Giallos. I don't want to spoil it,but it is well worth the watch. I was delighted. Like almost all Giallos- this would have been banned in the USA in 1971, or at least X rated. This is a WHO DONE IT mystery, and a good one. It satisfied my itch for the classic mystery.

Mark Turner (This review is of the box set of two Luciano Ercoli films, DEATH WALKS ON HIGH HEELS and DEATH WALKS AT MIDNIGHT) This box set from Arrow Film combines two films by director Luciano Ercoli, an Italian director with little output in that role and only double that as a producer. While his output wasn't significant the quality of these two films shows much potential and the fact that had he chosen to do more he would have left a larger legacy behind for others to follow. As it is, both films offer well-made giallo films that fans of the genre will want to add to their collections.The first of the two is DEATH WALKS ON HIGH HEELS and is the better of the two films. The film stars the director's wife Nieves Navarro as Nicole Rochard, a well-known and much sought after striptease artists in France. Nicole's father was a renowned jewel thief and when he's killed someone calls her asking if she has his last score, something she knows nothing about.A fan of Nicole's, Dr. Robert Matthews, attends nearly every performance she has no matter where she's working. After Nicole has an argument with her boyfriend over his drinking due being jealous of her success, she finds friendship and love in the arms of Matthews. After a quick romance heads home to England and she accompanies him. He sets her up in a house in the country, a place his wife knows nothing about. With promises of leaving her to set up his own practice, things begin to happen.Murders of various side characters occur with startling frequency. An attack on Matthews happens, his wife the main suspect. Nicole's boyfriend shows in England trying to find her. And a twist near the middle of the film comes completely out of nowhere and sends the film off in a new direction. While this may seem like a brief synopsis to reveal any more would be to spoil the surprises the film has in store.The movie works best as a mystery with clues being presented for the viewer to decipher but all doesn't become clear until the end of the film. What makes it work is that they all make sense and were there for the most part to be seen throughout the film. What makes it even better is the fact that even the most jaded mystery fan might have a difficult time knowing who did what to whom, something few mysteries can accomplish these days.The second film, DEATH WALKS AT MIDNIGHT, once again stars Navarro this time as super model Valentina. Valentina tries an experimental drug in the presence of a reporter friend and while on the drug sees images of a murder taking place. The fact she took the drug ends up in his article and she loses work because of it. It also discusses her visions and suddenly she begins seeing the murderer tracking her. When he makes an attempt on her life, only she has seen him. Is there someone out to kill her or is she simply hallucinating it all? Characters appear for no reason with no background only to take center stage at various parts of the film. As viewers even we aren't sure of Valentina's mental state at first. While the film starts with a decent premise it becomes a "are you kidding me" film as stupid decisions are made from start to finish. An example is, after having been attacked by someone she doesn't see, Valentina is asked to get in the car of a woman she has never met to talk and go for a drive. Not the smartest thing to do. When the woman abandons her in a mental institution where the convicted killer of the victim she saw in her drugged state is at (who is also supposed to be the sister of this woman), Valentina leaves only to go with the same woman to another location later on. With enough moments like this the movie became frustrating for me as a viewer.But good or bad the main thing here is that two movies that may have been lost to the world have been rediscovered and brought out in the best possible transfer possible. Arrow once again goes above and beyond to deliver a package that fans will clamor to and others may want to see to get a taste of what giallo is all about, if for no other reason than the first film. Both display great cinematography that I've not come to expect in Italian made films from the time. Another plus.Keeping in mind that this is an Arrow Films release you know there will be plenty of extras on hand for those that enjoy them. Included in the box set is a limited edition 60 page booklet with writings from authors Danny Shipka, Troy Howarth and Leonard Jacobs, all non-fiction writers about the giallo genre, that includes stills and posters for both films. For the first film you'll find extras like an introduction by screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi, an archive interview with Ercoli and Navarro, an interview with Gastaldi, an interview with composer Stelvio Cipriani, the original Italian trailer and an English trailer. On the second film you'll find another introduction by Gastaldi, an audio commentary track by film critic Tim Lucas, and extended TV version, an interview with Gastaldi and a visual essay by Michael Mackenzie discussing the collaborations between Ercoli and Navarro.Fans of giallo will find this a must have. The same for collectors of Italian cinema of that time period. Fortunately for both, Arrow Film has done a marvelous job on this one, making it one worth owning as well as worth watching for those new to the genre.

adriangr "Death Walks on High Heels" is a giallo style thriller that features Susan Scott as a stripper named Nicole who gets caught up in a murder mystery. The complicated plot involves a missing hoard of stolen diamonds that is being sought after by various greedy people. Nicole is the daughter of one of the original criminals responsible for the theft, so she soon finds herself threatened over the phone and then again in person by a masked attacker, who is sure that she can lead him to the jewels, even though she says she knows nothing. She flees Paris and makes her way to England with a rich admirer who promises to protect her - even her French boyfriend is one of the suspects in this mystery where no-one can be trusted. From here on, the plot becomes even more tangled and you'll need your wits about you to make it to the end knowing exactly what's going on. It's a credit to the writers that they are able to carry on pulling new surprises out of thin air right up to the very last moments of the story, and Ercoli is able to keep you hooked due to the marvellous cinematography, and of course the beautiful women who populate the film, namely Susan Scott and Claudie Lange. Scott is able to carry the film effortlessly, especially in a couple of pretty loopy striptease numbers, as well as the many changes of costume and wigs she sports throughout. And it makes a great change to see a strong female lead as although often in peril, Nicole is a character tough enough to take what's thrown at her with panache.While the film is fairly low on action and long on conversations, it does dish up one particularly vicious murder in which the female victim is repeatedly sliced with a switchblade knife (This idea was taken to a far more nauseating extreme much later by Lucio Fulci in "The New York Ripper"). Ercoli also stages another spectacular punch up towards the end, in a similar vein to the roof top climax in "Death Walks at Midnight" ...when Ercoli films a fist- fight, his men hit HARD!Speaking of those conversations, I watched the film in English, and the dubbing probably does the atmosphere a real dis-service, as none of the English script seems to adequately match the emotions the actors are trying to portray. Luckily both this and the other "Death Walks..." movie are out as a double bill by No Shame, and on this release the discs allow you to choose the Italian soundtrack with subtitles and I have a feeling that the translation might be quite a lot better in the subtitles than in the English dub, which probably robs the films of some of the subtler script nuances, and also makes the twists and turns harder to keep up with.Giallo fans will be happy with the sleek violence on display, and retro fans will revel in the lurid fashions of the era and the sumptuous lounge/kitsch musical soundtracks of both films. Susan Scott is a statuesque beauty who throws herself into the proceedings with vigour, and I enjoyed the film on account of her performance, without which it would probably be only half as entertaining.

Witchfinder General 666 "La Morte Cammina Con I Tracci Alti" aka "Death Walks With High Heels" was my first venture into the world of Luciano Ercoli, and I have to say that this gripping 1971 film is a terrific example of Horror's finest sub-genre, the wonderful Giallo. I have not yet seen Ercoli's directorial debut film, "Forbidden Photos Of A Lady Above Suspicion" ("Le Foto Proibite Di Una Signora Per Bene", 1970), but if it is anywhere near as good as this film, I am more than looking forward to it. "Death Walks On High Heels" is an intelligently scripted and excellently executed Giallo that focuses on the mystery elements of the sub-genre, more than on the Horror elements. And what a mystery it is! Nicole (Nieves Navarro), a sexy Paris exotic dancer and daughter of an infamous Jewel thief, is being threatened with murder by an unrecognizably masked assailant. In order to save her own life, Nicole goes to England with Robert Matthews (Frank Wolff), a rich doctor who has fallen for her. But the danger does not cease to exist across the pond... I do not want to give away any of the marvelous plot twists in this gem, which is why my plot description is only quite vague. What I can say, however, is that this is an excellent specimen of the Italian Giallo, which all the desirable trademark ingredients. Stunning suspense and genuine creepiness are present from the first minute, all coming along with an excellent score and on beautiful settings. The film is not very gory, especially not by Giallo-standards, but it includes more than one moment of delightful sleaze. Sexy Nieves Navarro was a delight to cult-cinema fans in several genres, most frequently in Spaghetti Westerns and in Gialli, and she is once again great here. This is the third-to-last film starring the great Frank Wolff, the last ones being the brilliant "Milano Calibro 9", which ranks among the greatest crime flicks ever made, and a presumably trashy film called "When The Women Lost Their Tails". Wolff, an American, who had become one of the greatest regulars in Italian genre cinema after starring in Spaghetti Westerns including such masterpieces as "Once Upon A Time In The West" and "The Great Silence", sadly committed suicide in 1971 - a great loss for Italian cinema. This is one of the many films that prove what a great actor he was. Simon Andreu is also good in the role of Nicole's Parisian macho boyfriend. The supporting cast includes many familiar faces for fans of Italian cinema, such as the weird-looking Luciano Rossi and George Rigaud. All said, "Death Walks With High Heels" is a terrific Giallo that comes with my highest recommendations. A must-see for all suspense-fans!