Strip Nude For Your Killer BluRay review
From The Grindhouse Cinema Database
Review of Strip Nude For Your Killer (Nude Per L'assassino, 1975 / directed by Andrea Bianchi).
Strip Nude For Your Killer
Carlo (Nino Castelnuovo) is a photographer with a very bohemian life style. In between his regular affairs he also has an eye for his colleague Magda (Edwige Fenech). Then one of his new discoveries gets slaughtered just a day after Mario, another photographer, is found dead in his apartment. A key suspect seems to be Gisella, the owner of the studio, and a police detective (Lucio Como) is starting to get mighty suspicious about the lifestyle of the model business he gets to known, and the statements by Carlo, Gisella and the others are hardly helpful, as they all have something to hide. In the meantime, the killer strikes again, as before, clad in a leather motor cycle suit. While Gisela's husband who had an eye on model Doris, dies next at the hand of the killer's knife, Magda tries to piece the case together.
There are relatively high-brow artsy Gialli, and then there is Strip Nude for Your Killer. The film's notoriety comes from the fact that it is an almost stereotypical Giallo - unfortunately at the expense of some other properties. The movie starts out with an abortion gone wrong and doesn't waste time showing blood, nudity and a healthy dose of 70s chauvinism. The Giallo genre has its name from the infamous yellow-cover pulp novels that were popular in the 50s and 60s, promising lurid subject matter, cheap thrills and a good dose of the old perverse. Taking a good scoop out of the Giallo rule book, director Andrea Bianchi summons a barrage of boobs, booze, gore and perversity. And yes, it's a good thing. You've got your typical leather clad slasher in a motorcycle helmet, scream queens of various (naked) shapes and hair color, 70s gender relations, the overly stereotypical depraved fat dude, and atmospheric funky jazz music to underline the wickedly inviting 70s set pieces.
Giallo vixen Edwige Fenech co-stars in her typical manner of a mischievous Audrey Hepburn twin, and turns heads. Her Magda is the curious type, interested in resolving the murder mystery, while her so-so boyfriend Carlos, played by playboy Nino Castelnuovo, is more interested in screwing her - along with everyone else with a pair of boobs. The movie closes with insinuated anal sex, how's that for one of the most over the top exploitation Giallo exercises! This isn't the subtle Four Flies on Grey Velvet or an over-artsy 80s Opera, no this one is a Giallo paperback come to life. It manages to entertain from start to finish, although the clumsy script at times makes you wonder, especially towards the end. The twists and turns are obvious, the dialogue mostly masquerading a lack of ideas. Bianchi delves on the genre feats he exploits, and not too much budget seems to have been wasted on good looks. There are some decent compositions in the movie, but for the most part it doesn't look as expertly crafted as some other rather famous entries, like, say Hatchet For The Honeymoon.
All in all, Strip Nude for your Killer is great sleazy entertainment that illustrates what the Giallo genre is all about. It's definitely not the most lurid one, thankfully there is even wilder representatives of the genre, but among the famous, this one's as exploitative as it gets. A decent cast, great music and tons of nudity and gore to go around, the flick doesn't waste any bullets. A mediocre script helps turn the mediocre looking exercise along, but with all the scotch being poured, blood spilt and photo models deflowered, you will hardly notice.
The BluRay release
This Blue Underground disc was released in 2012, so it is not the very latest, and it shows in some aspects. So the bad news first. The film's darker scenes (of which there are plenty) are sometimes hard to even make out what is going on. Contrast and black levels of this transfer are unfortunately pretty bad, it's a mess of gray and it takes away from the power of the film, as some essential moments are reduced to almost unrecognizeable guesswork. But depending on your setup it might not be as bad as I am making this sound. The transfer overall looks pretty decent. It's not the most hi res transfer, for that there's too much noise reduction and partial edge enhancement, it looks a bit smushed. Maybe a future release will be struck from a more expensive re-scan of original negatives? One can only hope. In the mean time, the image is relatively free of bothersome effects, colors are alright and it's a decent experience all in all.
Sound wise, you're left with a choice of watching either the Italian or English dub, the quality difference being minor, both tracks sound pretty good in their DTS mono representations. I chose to watch the Italian track, for which you in turn have a choice of two English subtitles, one modeled more after the English dub, the other a more literal translation of the Italian audio. Neither are perfect, and as is the case with these movies, it's almost impossible to know which audio track is the most accurate in the first place short of digging out an original script.
As for bonus materials, aside from the international and the original Italian trailer, you'll find some poster and still gallery stuff along with a 12min feature titled "Strip Nude For Your Giallo" which is mostly an interview with actress Solvi Stubing, who came to fame with a beer commercial in the 60s and is now a film journalist and local politician in Italy, and co-writer Massimo Felisatti. A very interesting insight into the film, its commercial context, working with the director and the film's lurid aspects.
Conclusion
Strip Nude For Your Killer is is pretty much exactly what you think and hope it is. A slightly sleazy 70s slasher flick with all the right ingredients promised by its promotional material. Bianchi must have had fun filming both gore and tame sex and packaging it in a mediocre Giallo crime story with a whole bunch of minor characters and cringeworthy dialogue - from today's standpoint.
The BluRay is a great way to see this flick, if you were unfamiliar with it before. For those already on good terms with it, and for those expecting a top notch restoration job, a mild disappointment lingers, as the transfer shows considerable weaknesses on screen. Overall however, the disc offers a great viewing experience with multiple language options and an interesting, if small, selection of bonus features.
Thanks to Blue Underground for providing us with a review copy of this BluRay disc.
Sebastian, co-founder and admin of the Grindhouse Cinema Database (GCDb). He also started The Spaghetti Western Database (SWDb), The Quentin Tarantino Archives, The Robert Rodriguez Archives, Nischenkino and Furious Cinema. Outside of movies, he works on the intersection of technology and policy. He lives in Berlin, Germany.
