Five Dolls For An August Moon (1970; 5 bambole per la luna d’agosto) feels like you’ve been invited to a swanky party at a cool pad resting on a hill by the coast of an island. The guests are all glamorous, the music on the stereo system is groovy (score by Piero Umiliani). And then they start getting killed one by one and – in the film’s best ghoulish punchline – get stored in a freezer wrapped in plastic for whenever the authorities arrive. Directed by Mario Bava (Blood And Black Lace, Black Sabbath), this giallo thriller has the trademark double crosses and confusing plot, which doesn’t seem to mean much by the end. So it’s a real case of style over substance, and it’s all about luxuriating with the clothes, the architecture, the camera moves. I had fun, though Bava’s later, more influential slasher Bay Of Blood is a better version. Then again that film doesn’t have Edwige Fenech in the first five minutes dancing on a table like it’s the end of La Dolce Vita. Also starring Ira von Furstenberg and Howard Berger – and some other recognisable faces from Italian genre cinema, Maurice Poli and Howard Ross. Streamed a high quality copy on YouTube. Also available on Blu-ray from Arrow Video. Recommended, if you’re into giallo.
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