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TORSO
Uncensored
English Version
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Review
by
Brandon Tenold
Film:6
:
DVD:7
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| Enter...
if you dare, the bizarre world of the psychosexual mind. |
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So
goes the tagline for Torso, also
known as Carnal Violence or, if you want the full translation
of its original Italian title, The Bodies Bear Traces of Carnal
Violence. Directed and co-written by prolific Italian filmmaker
Sergio Martino, Torso is a solid
entry in the Italian giallo genre. During the '70s, Martino,
along with several other Italian horror directors, took what were
essentially murder-mystery thrillers and amped them up with previously
unimagined levels of sex and violence, helping to create the "slasher"
film genre that would soon dominate horror movies in North America.
While Torso can't stand toe to toe
with the best in its genre, it should still please both slasher
and grindhouse movie fans, especially in this "uncensored" version
that shows it in all its sleazy glory. |
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At
a multinational school in Perugia, Italy, a ski-mask wearing killer
suddenly begins stalking and killing the students who attend classes
there (usually busty and promiscuous young women). A scarf used
to strangle the victims is found after the first two murders,
but the police are still unable to apprehend the suspect. American
exchange student Jane (Suzy Kendall), decides to spend a few days
at a country villa with some of her friends so they can hide out
from the killer... as well as engage in some lesbian sex. Unfortunately,
Jane and her friends are not as safe as they hoped. |
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Along
with fellow Italian filmmakers like Dario Argento and Mario Bava,
Martino is considered one of the godfathers of the giallo. But
whereas filmmakers like Argento would often add an artistic, almost
dreamlike touch to his films to go along with the bloodshed, Torso
is pure exploitation sleaze through and through, with Martino
putting the emphasis firmly on the bodies of the film's comely
young female cast, whether they're in the middle of making love
or getting chopped up. Not that I'm complaining mind you, since
these are some of the loveliest ladies to ever be brutally murdered
on screen. Speaking of which, the murder scenes are quite gory
for the time, but overall they're not as creative as the kills
in, say, Deep Red
and are frequently let down by some less than convincing effects
— the scene where a man's head is crushed by a car probably being
the biggest example of this. Martino also throws several red herrings
around in an effort to make the identity of the killer a surprise,
but I was able to guess who it was pretty early on. Ultimately
though that doesn't really matter. What does matter is that Martino
gets the audience's attention early on (virtually the first image
in the film is a pair of naked breasts, and the initial kill occurs
less than 10 minutes in) and keeps the film moving at a good pace
until the very end, never allowing too much time to go by in between
the nudity and gore. Torso is a film
that knows exactly who it's audience is and what they're looking
for, and it ultimately delivers. |
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Torso is an enjoyable proto-slasher
that falls short of being a true classic, and it's best enjoyed
if one temper's their expectations a bit and doesn't demand that
it stand up to the best Italian horror films of the era. There's
better examples of the giallo genre for sure, but if you're in
the mood for a meat & potatoes slasher film (the meat & potatoes
in this case being blood and boobs), Torso
definitely delivers the goods in that regard. |
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| Much
like Blue Underground's recent DVD release of Deep
Red, this 2011 edition of Torso
features the "Uncensored English Version", which has all of the
gore and nudity intact but, unlike their Blu-ray
edition, does not also feature the Italian director's
cut. Video quality of the anamorphic 1.66:1 transfer is generally
excellent, with only a small amount of grain present. Some colors
looks a little washed out but that's likely the result of the
original film and not the transfer. There does appear to be a
bit of digital noise reduction, but it's never done to the point
where it looks distracting. Overall the movie looks great for
its age. The audio doesn't fare quite as well; the disc offering
only a mono track that, while hardly bad, doesn't exactly wow
the ears either. Still, this is probably the best the movie has
looked since it came out and the audio does its job even if it
doesn't really impress. |
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The
only truly substantial extra is an interview with director and
co-writer Sergio Martino, who talks briefly about how he got into
filmmaking and his experiences working on Torso.
Martino offers up some interesting tidbits, but at only 11 minutes,
it's a bit short. Be sure you keep watching after the credits
though. Other than that, the only other extras are a variety of
trailers for the film (in both English and Italian), a stills
gallery and an introduction to the film by Cabin
Fever and Hostel director
Eli Roth. It's a solid package, but those looking to own both
the English and Italian versions of the film may have found just
the excuse they need to get a Blu-ray player. 10/21/11 |
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