Perfume of the Lady in Black [Import]

(1974 - Italian with English subtitles / optional dubbed English audio). Finally in a Region 1 / NTSC release, it's time to toss out the old wretched copies of this much-lauded and impossible to find gaillo, comfortably sit back and enjoy this classy retro-artifact by director/writer Francesco Barilli (who also penned 1972's 'Who Saw Her Die?').

Starring Mimsy Farmer ('4 Flies On Grey Velvet','Autopsy','More'), who portrays a chemist as well as a psychologically fragile main character who finds herself sinking slowly into a kaleidoscope of hallucinations and past nightmares - or are they? Are these disturbing visions of her childhood with her mother just sediments of a past that are now being subconsciously re-evaluated, or do they conceal some dark machination of a trauma she once suffered and buried? The slow progression from successful scientist to a disturbed woman on the edge of insanity details the in-depth intricacies of the haunted mind, one that weaves fantasy, reality and memory into one seamless fabric. With a cast of interesting characters (especially Mario Scaccia, who stands out as the eccentric elderly next door neighbor) and threads of murder, black magic, blind psychics, flesh-eating, Alice in Wonderland and 'Rosemary's Baby' all tossed into a salad of sanguinary psychosis, all fans of gailli, cult and Eurohorror should stay well-entertained.

Unlike most gailli, there's no real sleaze involved (nudity, yes, that's a given in European films from the 70's, but it's there as part of the plot and not random titillation); this one's more of an arthouse/horror hybrid than most - the sets are gorgeous, the cinematography wondrous to behold, the soundtrack is hauntingly beautiful, the director's eye is awash in artistry (Barilli was first a painter before becoming a writer and director) and the digital transfer of this RaroVideo release is absolutely glowing. Colors are rich and vibrant, contrasts are deep, and audio is crisp. (I hope they continue to release Euro-artifacts from their PAL vaults in NTSC for the rest of us to enjoy). Special features include the documentary 'Portrait in Black', the director's bio and filmography, and a small booklet.
4 solid stars for both the flick and the print we're treated to - take a whiff of 'The Perfume of the Lady in Black'.

Although most of the reviews for this film seem to rave about it, I can't be so positive. "Perfume of a Lady in Black" is dressed up as a giallo (the title alone is typical), but it doesn't seem to fit into that genre very comfortable. Basically the tale of a woman who is slowly going insane, the film echoes other films in several ways, so you could compare it to "Rosemary's Baby", as it features a woman in an apartment block with strange neighbours and a boyfriend who isn't much help, "Images", which features a similar case of the central character seeing phantoms and hallucinations, and "The Haunting of Julia", which also features a heroine tortured by guilt because of a past tragedy in her family. So with all these comparisons, I guess I was feeling that not much in this movie was original...the litle ghost blonde girl in a white party dress has REALLY been done to death.

I also found the film very fragmented, with scenes just cut together with no flow or sense of progression: you couldn't tell if a change of shot meant another view of the same action or the passing of time. Some of the imagery is very nice, and Mimsy Farmer looks good, but it was like watching a film that was all montage and no real progression.

The acting is also pretty lame. I've always found Mimsy Farmer a bit unfathomable, but she is the best actor here, it's the rest of them that let things down, Mimsy's boyfriend is terribly wooden, as are all the neighbours and supporting cast. Doesn't add any mystery when you don't know if behaviour is supposed to be weird or if it's just not been acted properly! The crappy dubbing doesn't help and as usual I could recognise the voices of the post production dubbing cast, as they seem to use the same people over and over again in any number of Italian movies from the 70s and 80s

What really confused me was the ending - after 90 minutes of spooky drifting mindplay, the film suddenly delivers 3 minutes of unexpected gore that seems to bear no relation to anything else in the film. I have to say I was pretty furious as I watched this final scene as I felt it was completely the wrong payoff for the attention I had paid to what proceeded it, and it leaves a whole host of unanswered questions.

I honestly would not say this was a rediscovered gem, although the picture quality is very good, and there were some nice shots, the end result is unsatisfying.

This isn't a giallo in the traditional sense. Those looking for a movie like DEEP RED or WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE? will be disappointed.

What we have is a movie like Polanski's REPULSION. This is a movie about psychosis. I didn't think I was going to like this one because I generally enjoy the more straight-forward killer-with-a-razor type of Italian thriller. But this was really good. It's probably more of a 3.5 out of 5 instead of 4 but I think that one-starred review is uncalled for. Though THE PERFUME OF THE LADY IN BLACK is not a classic, it's still creepy and unsettling.. especially the ending.

Recommended for Italian horror fans.

-Jordan Krall, author of the spaghetti western/giallo FISTFUL OF FEET