MovieChat Forums > Il rosso segno della follia (1974) Discussion > Not one of Bava's best, but entertaining...

Not one of Bava's best, but entertaining enough


Mario Bava giallo about a guy who runs a wedding dress design and manufacturing company in Paris - whilst having a sideline in murdering young brides whilst they're wearing their wedding dresses. That's not a spoiler; unlike most gialli, in this one we know who the killer is right from the start. The mystery is more involved with his motivation. We know that each killing helps him piece together some long-forgotten childhood trauma, and that he's compelled to keep killing until he's got the whole picture - but exactly what that trauma is we don't know until the end. Canadian actor Stephen Forsyth plays the killer, who in character feels like a cross between Norman Bates and Patrick Bateman, whilst looking like a cross between Clint Eastwood and Timothy Dalton (Forsyth only made 10 movies for some reason, of which this was his last). It's a bit lighter on blood than you'd expect from the title, and there aren't too many onscreen kills. But it does have a real switch-up halfway through when it becomes a ghost story! It's not as gripping as some of Bava's stuff, but it's still fun. 6.5/10

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I like to call this one Italian Psycho.

The opening to this movie is very similar to the opening of American Psycho, where Patrick Bateman has a monologue whilst exercising and grooming.

If memory serves me right he also tells someone in this movie that he's a killer and they laugh it of thinking it's a joke. That happens regularly in American Psycho.

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'If memory serves me right he also tells someone in this movie that he's a killer and they laugh it of thinking it's a joke.'

Yes, he does.

Italian Psycho is a great name for it.

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