I actually had really high hopes going into this thriller as the fact that it was made in Italy made me expect a Giallo, and because I'd heard good things about it; I was expected a quality modern example of one. This film is not a Giallo; there's police and a hunt for a killer, but it's clear that director Alex Infascelli wanted the focus more on the 'psychological' elements of the story; but instead of coming off like 'Seven', the film is more like the Seven rip-off 'Taking Lives' - just not as good. I guess the killer's name - 'The Iguana' should have made me guess that this film was going to be crap as the last Italian film I saw that mentions an iguana was Riccardo Freda's awful 'The Iguana With the Tongue of Fire' - but actually, said film is better than this one! The plot is entirely mundane and simply follows a string of brutal killings. The cops can't seem to find the killer, because unbeknownst to them he constantly changes his identity. Blah blah blah, the only lead is some blind kid who likes a song called 'Almost Blue'.
The film actually gets off to a decent start as we see the killer typing on a keyboard smeared with blood while his unfortunate victim sits chocking in the same room. it's all downhill from there, however, as the mundane and routine plot is almost completely devoid of interest; the part that sees the main character work out why The Iguana is so difficult to catch is the only real moment of intrigue, and director Alex Infascelli seems keen on spoiling the atmosphere at every turn by using lots of dreary rock music. A psychological thriller really needs a good atmosphere for the story to flourish...it's a shame that Infascelli didn't realise this. The only thing I liked about this film was the lead actress. Lorenza Indovina is always nice to look at, and if it wasn't for her, I'm not sure I'd have been able to make it all the way through the short, but boring, running time. It's always obvious where the film is going, and indeed the ending contains no surprises, which is yet another shame. Overall, I'm not sure why this film has gotten positive write-ups, but it certainly doesn't deserve them and Almost Blue is not worth tracking down.
The film actually gets off to a decent start as we see the killer typing on a keyboard smeared with blood while his unfortunate victim sits chocking in the same room. it's all downhill from there, however, as the mundane and routine plot is almost completely devoid of interest; the part that sees the main character work out why The Iguana is so difficult to catch is the only real moment of intrigue, and director Alex Infascelli seems keen on spoiling the atmosphere at every turn by using lots of dreary rock music. A psychological thriller really needs a good atmosphere for the story to flourish...it's a shame that Infascelli didn't realise this. The only thing I liked about this film was the lead actress. Lorenza Indovina is always nice to look at, and if it wasn't for her, I'm not sure I'd have been able to make it all the way through the short, but boring, running time. It's always obvious where the film is going, and indeed the ending contains no surprises, which is yet another shame. Overall, I'm not sure why this film has gotten positive write-ups, but it certainly doesn't deserve them and Almost Blue is not worth tracking down.