Scalps (1987)

Scalps (1987). 1h 42m

“Iu0026#39;m a big fan of the late Bruno, and had been looking forward to seeing this film for ages. I was hoping for a crazy, no-holds-barred sleaze and violence-filled Western along the lines of the u0026#39;Edgeu0026#39; novels put out by New English Library in the 70s and 80s, of which Iu0026#39;m also a big fan. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI think the problem here is I was expecting too much. I may have seen a cut version, Iu0026#39;m not sure, but the violence wasnu0026#39;t anywhere as strong as some of Matteiu0026#39;s other films – a couple of scalpings, a quick bloodless decapitation and the torture scene with the hooks. The version I saw ran at 96 minutes. Having heard how violent this movie was, I was a tad disappointed.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut I wouldnu0026#39;t like you to think Iu0026#39;m just some uncouth gorehound, so what of the rest of the movie? Well, itu0026#39;s a very thinly plotted revenge movie, performances are very hammy and the dubbing, as always, doesnu0026#39;t really help matters. Thereu0026#39;s a few bits of dialogue that will make you chuckle, but nowhere near as much as u0026#39;Rats: Night Of Terroru0026#39; or u0026#39;Hell Of The Living Deadu0026#39;. I was bored in places – the movie falls between two stools, not really funny enough for true camp value but not striking or brutal enough to shock. The whole feel of the film, apart from a few gory moments and a bit of rough dialogue, seems like something from the 50s or 60s rather than 1987. The score is more akin to a 50s American Western rather than anything Morricone-inspired – indeed, the whole thing doesnu0026#39;t feel that u0026#39;spaghettiu0026#39; to me.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNot bad, worth seeing, but I was disappointed. In its favour, thereu0026#39;s a couple of decent twists right at the end and Mapi Galanu0026#39;s a pretty girl. I think I should seek out u0026#39;Cut Throats Nineu0026#39; for something a bit harder-edged, perhaps.”