Spasmo

Giallo movie starring Robert Hoffman, Ivan Rassimov & the incredibly beautiful Suzy Kendall & directed by Umberto Lenzi, who is perhaps best known for his cannibal movies. This one mixes up murder, love & insanity, focusing on the relationship between two brothers. I first viewed this in Italian & under the influence of a few beers and to be honest I totally lost what was going on. So I have just viewed it again but sober & in English. Thankfully it all made sense! Not the best giallo by any means but its well shot, has a nice musical score, packs in some suspense & has a good cast. Pretty tame on the sex & violence front. Rated 15 in the UK.Strange title though!

SPASMO is a gem, and possibly THE most preposterous, infinitely quotable, bafflingly ridiculous film i have ever seen! The first half hour provides more belly laughs and crazy soundbites than most comedies, and this is supposed to be a deadly serious psychological horror film. Find SPASMO. But first: watch the trailer! It's got to be the best trailer in the history of trailers; with a ranting, fevered italian bloke panting/groaning the word "SPASMO" at least ten times, ending in a final uttering of "SPASMO!" that sounds like he's constipated on the toilet, desperately trying to squeeze one out! Wonderful, wonderful stuff. A joy to behold....

Quite possibly the weirdest 'Giallo' movie I've ever seen is this Umberto Lenzi Spasmo. I'll try to give you a glimpse of the plot. It's about love dolls, wait, no. It's about two brothers. Hmmm.. let me start over. It's about a killing that wasn't a killing. Oh, I give up Spasmo is Spasmo. There that should tell you enough. It's not something one would care to sit through more then once as the surprising lack of blood and sex, makes one focus on the plot more closer. And that's the problem right there. what IS the plot of Spasmo?? It's driving me mad I tell you MAD.. spasmo..SPASMO!!! It does have a vaguely hypnotizing effect to it though. My Grade: C- DVD Extras: An Umberto Lenzi interview (which helped me try to decipher it); Stills gallery; Theatrical trailer; Trailers for "Eaten Alive", "Seven Bloodstained Orchids", and "What have you done to Solange?"

Umberto Lenzi's "Spasmo" is not really a horror movie as much as a psychological thriller. There's minimal violence, instead focusing on the main character's (Robert Hoffmann) descent into confusion. But as Lenzi explained in an interview, he had the flick turn out as it does to demonstrate how sick Italy's elites are. Like Lenzi's earlier "Orgasmo" (retitled "Paranoia" in the US), "Spasmo" shows that all is not what it seems in this supposedly nice group of people. Still, the sequence of events leading up to that have some pretty neat occurrences. I will say that I liked "Orgasmo" better (partially for the scene of Carroll Baker in the shower), but this one is definitely worth seeing. Also starring Suzy Kendall, Ivan Rassimov and Guido Alberti.

We feel the Argento influence all along the viewing,but "spasmo" in spite of a low budget and mediocre actors -with the eventual exception of Ivan Rassimov- is a good thriller,absorbing ,nay original: I dare you to guess what the hero is really up to.When he appears he seems to be a handsome young man ,sure of himself and of his charm but little by little,cracks appear in the mirror.The character's evolution is anything but predictable.There's also his brother who is widely talked about,but who only appears after one hour.The traditional flashbacks are replaced by a home-made movie where Lenzi films the looks -sometimes we do not know whose look it is anymore:Christian?Fritz?.And the last picture is really scary ,without any blood at that.Some of its scenes predate "fight club" and the industrial landscape with its sinister factory gives goose flesh. Perhaps in the first minutes ,you may feel like giving up.Don't.It's a film which grows on you.