THE POLICE ARE BLUNDERING IN THE DARK starts out with the brutal scissor stabbing of a woman who's car breaks down and continues with the murder of a model stranded at an inn on the outskirts of Rome. Just before she's stabbed to death -and buried in a lettuce patch- the girl calls her boyfriend to come and get her -but he's in bed with another woman and says he'll pick her up in the morning. These gruesome events occur near the villa of a famous artist who has just invented a device that can photograph a person's thoughts and the lackadaisical Lothario sets out to discover what happened to his girlfriend. More murders occur and among the suspects are the wheelchair-bound artist, his imperious wife (who suffers from "erotomania"), his devoted niece (who may or may not be his prisoner), the village doctor, a sinister butler, and a lusty maid. One of them is also an undercover Inspector but it's the contraption that catches the killer before being donated to science -hence the title. As in most gialli, the murderer's motive means nothing -but it's the movie's lack of set-piece style, suspense, and common sense that will probably disappoint hard core aficionados of the genre. On the other hand, connoisseurs of odd-ball Eurotrash should find it irresistible.
