Delirio caldo (1972)

Delirio caldo (1972). 1h 42m | R

“Our good friends over at the Wikipedia website define the term u0026quot;Deliriumu0026quot; as follows: an acute and relatively sudden decline in attention-focus, perception, and cognition. It is commonly associated with a disturbance of consciousness. Fair enough! That appropriately describes both the main charactersu0026#39; behavior in this film and the spontaneous reactions of us, the viewers! The least you can say about u0026quot;Deliriumu0026quot; is that it is one strange movie. Not just the plot lines and character drawings are demented and – oh yeah – delirious), but even the cut, edit and release treatment it received back in the early 70u0026#39;s was highly unusual and peculiar. There exist two principal version of this film, which both feature on the fancy Anchor Bay release, namely the original Italian u0026quot;Directoru0026#39;s Cutu0026quot; and the heavily altered American version. Most of the reviews and user-comments I encountered avidly discourage people to watch the American version, but I on the other hand, feel that BOTH versions are essential viewing. If possible, you should even watch one straight after the other, filter different aspects u0026amp; sub plots of both versions together and mentally edit them back together in order to make up your very own final cut! Granted, the American version opens and finishes with a completely goofy and irrelevant Vietnam-trauma sub plot (illustrated through ancient recovered footage with Dutch subtitles!), but it also contains at least one supplementary and highly engrossing killing sequence and – in my humble opinion – the grand finale twists make much more sense here than in the original version. The directoru0026#39;s cut is far gloomier and digs deeper into the main characters mental background, but it only just becomes a true Giallo highlight when mixed with elements of the American cut.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNow, donu0026#39;t immediately fear that u0026quot;Deliriumu0026quot; is an overly complex and inaccessible Giallo because of all this driveling about versions, because itu0026#39;s not! Itu0026#39;s your basic and wondrously demented early 70u0026#39;s Giallo, rich on perverted themes, nudity u0026amp; sleaze, sadistic killings and far-fetched red herrings. The story opens promising with a hunky middle-aged guy (real-life body building champ Mickey Hargitay) picking up a teenage girl in a bar and savagely murdering her in the middle of a mudflat river. Usually the purpose of a Giallo is to keep the killeru0026#39;s identity secret until the climax, but Renato Polselli clearly doesnu0026#39;t bother to do this. The first and highly ingenious twist promptly comes after the intro, however, as the same guy who we just witnessed committing a murder turns out to be a criminology psychologist. He, Herbert Lyutak, cooperates with the police regarding the series of disturbing murders, which naturally puts him above all suspicion. We also meet his wife Marcia, who loves him to death, and his horny housemaid who not so secretly craves for his body. We also learn a bit about Herbertu0026#39;s sexual-related issues that clarify his murderous tendencies. More gruesome murders of sexy young coeds follow; only now Herbert always has indisputable alibis. Is there suddenly a copycat killer? Does Herbert have an evil twin brother? The outcome of this riddle is fairly logic and easy to predict, but Polselli nevertheless maintains an admirably high level of tension and involvement. He inserts inventive sub plots (like vivid hallucinations of lesbian-laughter orgies and the innocent prime suspectu0026#39;s private investigation) and you undeniably look forward to each next gory murder that waits just around the corner. The soundtrack in this particular Giallo is slightly below average, but the photography is beautiful and surprisingly artsy considering the low budget, with an imaginative use of colors and POV shots. Even after starring in numerous low-keyed Italian smut movies (including the decadent u0026quot;Bloody Pit of Horroru0026quot;), Hargitay remains a horrible actor, but at least u0026quot;Deliriumu0026quot; stars a series of indescribably hot wenches, and they all willingly takes their clothes of in front of the camera. This is a fabulously sensational piece of Italian cult cinema and comes highly recommended to fans with a healthy sense for adventure.”