A gripping and surprising thriller, a mix of Hitchcock and splatter
There is a fair amount of Alfred Hitchcock in this thriller directed by Duccio Tessari with all his habitual skill: the turmoil of memory loss and the paranoia of conspiracy are two themes that regularly reoccur in the works of the “master of suspense”. In this film, the protagonist’s bewilderment reverberates strongly in an effective use of symbolism, with the alleyways of a Ligurian seaside resort becoming a labyrinthine maze. An oddly cerebral film, which comes to life with sudden lashings of splatter (worth a mention is the chainsaw scene, if only because it is destined to become a trope of the horror genre), the film also allows itself to be crossed by unexpected melodramatic complications. As fascinating and surprising today as when first released.
London. As a result of a car accident, a man loses his memory. A few months later, he starts receiving mysterious death threats. He returns to his wife in Portofino and the memories begin to resurface: it turns out he was an accomplice in the theft of a large quantity of heroin.
A gripping and surprising thriller, a mix of Hitchcock and splatter
There is a fair amount of Alfred Hitchcock in this thriller directed by Duccio Tessari with all his habitual skill: the turmoil of memory loss and the paranoia of conspiracy are two themes that regularly reoccur in the works of the “master of suspense”. In this film, the protagonist’s bewilderment reverberates strongly in an effective use of symbolism, with the alleyways of a Ligurian seaside resort becoming a labyrinthine maze. An oddly cerebral film, which comes to life with sudden lashings of splatter (worth a mention is the chainsaw scene, if only because it is destined to become a trope of the horror genre), the film also allows itself to be crossed by unexpected melodramatic complications. As fascinating and surprising today as when first released.
London. As a result of a car accident, a man loses his memory. A few months later, he starts receiving mysterious death threats. He returns to his wife in Portofino and the memories begin to resurface: it turns out he was an accomplice in the theft of a large quantity of heroin.
