Review - Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971 - Dir. Lucio Fulci)

Lucio Fulci is better known for his gore masterpieces but I was pleasantly surprised by this 60s set giallo. 

Mrs evilkeith wondered what I'd bought because the film does start with some cheeky scenes involving two ladies. I claimed not to have been aware of this and we carried on with the film. 

The middle of the film contains a sequence involving the heroine  Carol Hammond (Florinda Bolkan) being chased that would not have looked out of place in a Hitchcock film. Almost, anyway. I would even argue that where Fulci uses fast cuts between zooms of her face and a lock being smashed open actually surpass Hitchcock's controlled style.

The fashions and dialogue date the film, which is not too much of an issue, but it has got a mildly disappointing ending. There is very little of Fulci's trademark gore but Lizard in a Woman's Skin shows that he is very capable of other genres not just festivals of gore. I wish I could get my hands on Beatrice Cenci. (That's not a lady from down the road, it's another Fulci film, if you weren't sure.) Definitely worth a watch.
5/10
evlkeith




If you like this you could also try:
Tenebrae, Suspiria, Blood and Black Lace, Deep Red, Amer, A Bay of Blood.