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“You don't understand, the dreams I have are like
horror stories.” Could there be a better team in the history of the
giallo film than Director Sergio Martino (Torso), Writer Ernesto
Gastaldi (The Case of the Scorpion's Tail), and stars Edwige
Fenech (The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh) and George Hilton (My Dear Killer)? Arguably not. Striking out during the most productive years for gialli,
All The Colours of the Dark sidesteps traditional murder mystery
territory in favour of kaleidoscopic psycho-sexual thrills, trading black
leather for black magic, and outward terror for inner turmoil...
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screenshots…
“The one problem you might be fighting is loneliness,
but do remember you're quite sane.” Beginning with a quiet and relaxed
lakeside sunset scene, the birdsong and lapping water belies the nightmarish
visions that follow. A toothless old hag laughing hysterically, an extremely
pregnant woman with accusing eyes, and a bloodied victim are some of the
curious sights within a strange world of black and white. An aged killer with
exceptional blue eyes stalks among them, his movements fractured by … the
warped logic of a dream.
“If you begin that therapy business you'll never
stop.” Jane (Edwige Fenech) is suffering from the mental scars
of a traumatic car accident that lead to a miscarriage, a tragedy not of her
making, but one that she nevertheless feels guilty for. She's hopelessly
trapped within her grief and habitually incapable of choosing a path to follow.
Devoted to her distant workaholic husband Richard (George Hilton) and in
thrall to the influences of her sister Barbara (Nieves Navarro, Death
Walks At Midnight, as Susan Scott), she's torn between medicine and
psychotherapy.
“Strange men have been following women since the stone
age, Jane, or hadn't you realised?” The drugs don't work and, despite
the childhood trauma of her mother being murdered, Dr Burton (George
Rigaud, The Case of the Bloody Iris) can do little to soothe Jane's
trouble with keeping dreams and reality separated. Everywhere she treads in
this Autumnal London she sees the mysterious Mark Cogan (Ivan Rassimov, Super Bitch); in a waiting room, in the park, on the tube, outside her window
… who is he? What does he want? Does he even exist? Mercifully, a third way
presents itself in the form of new neighbour Mary (Marina Malfatti, Seven Blood-Stained Orchids) and a black magic ceremony that she assures will
free Jane of her problems.
“These people don't like being questioned my dear,
you've only to trust them and they'll do the rest.” Deep within the
bowels of a gothic manor house, surrounded by robed cultists and under the gaze
of their master (Julian Ugarte), Jane succumbs to the intimidating lure
of blood sacrifice and orgiastic pleasure. Tumbling down the rabbit hole, with
her perception fracturing, Jane finds herself lost within the murky world of
black magic. Is she capable of killing? Can she trust those around her? Is any
of this real and are is escape impossible?
“You have crossed every barrier to reality, you are
beyond its limits, and you'll never see it again.” Inspired by Rosemary's
Baby, Sergio Martino's delirious descent into a dream-like madness proves
to be an elusive masterpiece. Defying strict classification, and with a plot (co-written
by Sauro Scavolini, story by Santiago Moncada) mired in a pervasive lack of
trust and a disrupted sense of reality, All The Colours Of The Dark is a
bizarre slice of Italian cinema. Bruno (Your Vice Is A Locked Room And Only I Have The Key) Nicolai's influential score combines beautiful
dreams with unsettling nightmares, off-setting scatter gun visuals with soothing
tones in one scene before diving into the grief-stricken soul of Fenech's Jane
in the next. Using whip pans and wide angle lens photography to disorientate,
Miguel Fernandez Mila and Giancarlo Fernando's cinematography goes hand-in-hand
with Eugenio Alabiso's hair trigger editing. Mirrored reflections,
image-shattering bars, skewed compositions, and hazy lighting combine to
produce one of the most visually sensational works of the period.
“No, this can't be true, it's too disgusting.”
Otherwise known as 'They're Coming To Get You', 'Day of the Maniac',
and even 'The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh No.2', Martino's All The
Colours Of The Dark is a strange and twisted highlight of 1970s Italian
thrillers. Hilton and Fenech were the golden duo of gialli - handsome and gorgeous in equal measure - while the
combination of Martino and Gastaldi were sure to produce thrills, chills, and
satirical bite. Boasting some brilliantly tense sequences, boldly creative lighting, and a consistent sense of mystery, this is a prime example of the glorious cinematic heights of the genre. More psychedelic than psychotic, more bizarre than bloody, it
stands as a profoundly unique film on the outskirts of the hugely popular
giallo movement.
“Beauty should be shown, why hide yours under all this
clothing?” Shriek Show's DVD presentation (from 2004, now out of
print) provides solid widescreen visuals, but occasionally indistinct
dialogue on the audio track. Extras wise there is an extensive picture gallery,
alternative opening and closing credit sequences, various trailers and radio
spots, previews for other features, and interviews with Sergio Martino (20 minutes) and
George Hilton (6 minutes). On a personal note, I had been chasing a copy of this movie for at least two years until I finally got my mits on it, and I'm pleased to say it didn't disappoint.
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