Exploring further the world of giallo – 1970s-era Italian thrillers with plenty of eroticism, style and violence – I watched Lucio Fulci’s A Lizard In A Woman’s Skin (1971; Una lucertola con la pelle di donna), a title that is more of a metaphor than a creature feature thing. Bored glamorous Carol (Florinda Bolkan) is tired of uptight dinners with her drip husband (Jean Sorel) and her banker father. Next door, their bohemian neighbour Julia (Anita Strindberg) throws wild parties with loud music that turn into orgies. Carol continually dreams about Julia and fantasizes about making love to her as well as killing her. When a dead body turns up, Carol is horrified – was it a dream or was it real? Is there a conspiracy and who is the killer? Plenty of red herrings and chases through the London locations ensue. The whistling detective played by British character actor Stanley Baker is also on the case. This was enjoyably stylish, particularly the psychedelic dream sequences, the Blow Up influenced interest in hippies and acid-taking, and the gorgeous Ennio Morricone score. Though the climax is more like Agatha Christie or Columbo where the case is laid out without much in the way of stakes or tension. Apparently Fulci had to go to court to prove that a scene with howling dog carcasses was just special effects!
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