A man is decapitated by a dredger when trying to find an unspecified item from a swamp. The victim, Paradisi, worked as an insurance investigator on 'the Moroni Case' – an unsolved crime where a little girl was abducted and held to ransom. Her father delivered the ransom but he and the child were subsequently killed. The swamp murder sets off a series of killings as the killer feels the law getting too close. Inspector Luca Peretti is called in to get to the bottom of the mystery.
My Dear Killer is a very good classic-style giallo. It has a very convoluted plot, even by the genre's standards. So it demands that the viewer pays close attention. Director Tonino Valerii has managed to put together a quite gripping mystery-thriller here, where the various twists and turns are incorporated into the narrative very effectively indeed. The film has the occasional giallo theme of child-killing. This ensures that there is an especially uncomfortable undercurrent to proceedings. Indeed, one of the suspects appears to be a paedophile and there does appear to be a very young naked girl in his apartment – this scene is extremely shocking to be honest. More typical of the genre is the usual array of violent murder scenes, the most famous of which involves a circular saw. The stalk and kill sequences are all well-handled and quite tense and scary; although, overall, the focus is far more on the police procedural mystery than the more gory violent aspects.
George Hilton puts in a very good performance as Peretti and really holds things together well. His character is fairly rounded with a home life too, which adds to the overall depth. Adding to the atmosphere immeasurably too is Ennio Morricone. Il Maestro provides yet another nice score that fits the tone very well, especially good is the creepy lullaby theme that echoes the child-killing background to the story.
As I said this is a giallo with a much more pronounced whodunit angle, with the mystery always given precedence. Sometimes this can make a film a little tedious but not in this case. The Agatha Christie side of the story lends itself well to a central police figure and the final scene with all the characters gathered is in particular from the Christie mould. In any case it seems like the best way to present this particular story. In fairness, this isn't one of the more visually striking gialli out there - it was director Valerii's only entry in the genre and maybe because he was more used to making westerns this reflects the grittier look and feel. But, this aside, My Dear Killer is certainly a consummate giallo that does not disappoint at all.
My Dear Killer is a very good classic-style giallo. It has a very convoluted plot, even by the genre's standards. So it demands that the viewer pays close attention. Director Tonino Valerii has managed to put together a quite gripping mystery-thriller here, where the various twists and turns are incorporated into the narrative very effectively indeed. The film has the occasional giallo theme of child-killing. This ensures that there is an especially uncomfortable undercurrent to proceedings. Indeed, one of the suspects appears to be a paedophile and there does appear to be a very young naked girl in his apartment – this scene is extremely shocking to be honest. More typical of the genre is the usual array of violent murder scenes, the most famous of which involves a circular saw. The stalk and kill sequences are all well-handled and quite tense and scary; although, overall, the focus is far more on the police procedural mystery than the more gory violent aspects.
George Hilton puts in a very good performance as Peretti and really holds things together well. His character is fairly rounded with a home life too, which adds to the overall depth. Adding to the atmosphere immeasurably too is Ennio Morricone. Il Maestro provides yet another nice score that fits the tone very well, especially good is the creepy lullaby theme that echoes the child-killing background to the story.
As I said this is a giallo with a much more pronounced whodunit angle, with the mystery always given precedence. Sometimes this can make a film a little tedious but not in this case. The Agatha Christie side of the story lends itself well to a central police figure and the final scene with all the characters gathered is in particular from the Christie mould. In any case it seems like the best way to present this particular story. In fairness, this isn't one of the more visually striking gialli out there - it was director Valerii's only entry in the genre and maybe because he was more used to making westerns this reflects the grittier look and feel. But, this aside, My Dear Killer is certainly a consummate giallo that does not disappoint at all.