Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971)
There's no faceless or black-gloved maniac on the loose, so the body count is absurdly low compared to other 'typical' giallo. But it’s a fantastic stylish Giallo from Fulci. The vivid colors, a chase through the catacombs of a church, a lounge soundtrack, bat attack, tits, lesbian love, madness…all masterfully worked in this bit complicated but fascinating plot. The film also takes its time establishing the outline of its central puzzle and where the various characters fit into it. Fortunately that puzzle happens to be a good, engaging mystery. Despite a relatively small pool of suspects, one's guesses as to whodunit will have to be reevaluated with each new twist in the plot. Fulci fabricated the whole thing by employing a host of stunning visual techniques.
There's one disturbing scene, in which Caron (the lead) somehow stumbles across a lab in a hospital, with eviscerated but still-living dogs hanging over buckets. Fulci made it eerily realistic.
>>: A-
Second Coming (2009)
>>: D+