THE SCORPION WITH TWO TALES (1982)

  This is a pretty uneventful Eurotrash horror flick. I've seen it described as a giallo but it's really not. Rather than really being a mystery it's more of a case of some naughty Etruscan spirits killing off various people including John Saxon who has a pretty small role. Also dragging this down is the very low gore quotient since almost everyone gets killed by having their head turned quickly which is hardly the most exciting death sequence. Maybe the only highlights I found in this were the recycled soundtrack cues which borrowed from GATES OF HELL and NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIES and made me wish I was watching either one of those instead.

 There is an earlier actual giallo, directed by the same director as this, Sergio Martino, called THE CASE OF THE SCORPION'S TAIL which looks way better. I need to check that out at some point. 

Original way less artsy title of MURDER IN AN ETRUSCAN CEMETERY:

SHADOWS IN AN EMPTY ROOM (1976)

  So this Italian exploitation flick is a bit weird because it starts off like it's going to be one of those polizziotteschi movies where it's all about a tough cop kicking ass. The alternate title of BLAZING MAGNUM really makes you think this! Surprisingly though it turns into a more giallo-esque situation so I'll give this one extra credit for combining two genres. I'll also give it credit for having a scene where our main tough guy cop(Stuart Whitman) shoves a hot curling iron up the ass of a tranny the very same year as BLACK SHAMPOO which features a very similar sequence(in that case though it was a villain not the hero which makes this film even nuttier!). There must have been something in the air in '76! Loaded with sleaze, car chases and great character actors John Saxon, Martin Landau, Tisa Farrow etc. this one stands out from the pack despite some slow bits and monotony. AKA STRANGE SHADOWS IN AN EMPTY ROOM and .44 SPECIAL

Known in Spanish as THE LAW OF THE MAGNUM:

Known in Italian as A SPECIAL MAGNUM FOR TONY SAITTA:

NIGHTMARE BEACH (1989)

 This is a pretty entertaining slasher flick from late in the slasher game. There's actually not much slashing going on since the killer mostly uses an elaborately souped-up motorcycle to electrocute his victims but there's lots of burning/melty head gore to go around. Also doesn't skimp on the boobs since it takes place at Spring Break in Miami Beach(hence the alias WELCOME TO SPRING BREAK). My favorite aspect of this is the biker gang named THE DEMONS(complete with jackets emblazoned with their name in the same font as the classic Italian gorefest) who kinda go from being complete scumbags to accidentally becoming almost heroic by the films conclusion. John Saxon also puts in a great performance as a real shitty cop. To top things off we get a fairly metal soundtrack and a stupid surprise ending. 

 Strangely enough Italian director Umberto Lenzi was supposed to be the director of this(it is technically an Italian-produced film even though it seems very American) but he apparently had some problems with the producer. He still has a writer credit though. 

THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1963)

 Probably more interesting as a historical footnote than an entertaining film, this is the movie most film experts point to as having started the giallo sub-genre of Italian films. Since this is the first and it's the early 60's we don't get a lot of the staples of the later more slasher-movie type of films. There's nothing at all graphic here and it's really a more straightforward mystery/thriller than a horror film. It also feels a whole lot like director Mario Bava is more interested in imitating Alfred Hitchcock's style than mastering his own which he would go on to do with his more gothic flicks made around this same time. It is an interesting starting point though and worth a watch. Probably more fun for fans of Hitchcock suspense tales or anyone that wants to see a young John Saxon in action. This was retitled THE EVIL EYE by AIP in America and they tried to play up a supernatural angle which doesn't really exist in the film.