Sergio Martino Fest: All the Colors of the Dark

Sergio Martino Fest Part 1:



All the Colors of the Dark / a.k.a. Day of the Maniac / They're Coming to Get You (1972) released by Shriek Show, 2004.


Key:


SH

G

N

T

FFF


Sergio Martino's first giallo entry (the ultra violent/stylish Italian murder mysteries made famous by Dario Argento) is an effective exercise in early '70s Satanic horror and proto-slasher doings.


Young Englishwoman Jane (portrayed by the stunning Edwige Fenech) is plagued nightmares after enduring a miscarriage suffered during an automobile accident. Her dreams are truly WTF highlighted by the appearance of a sinister man (the brilliant Ivan Rassimov) who kills with a stiletto blade.

Jane's husband Richard (the perpetuately yawn-inducing George Hilton) insists she take her vitamins to quell these awful dreams. Meanwhile, Jane's sister Barbara (Susan Scott) has other ideas. Jane should see Barbara's boss (a psychiatrist) to help the young wife get through the loss of a baby.

All fine and dandy right? Not.

As Jane is waiting for the psychiatrist, Stiletto man is in the office waiting room with her. She is whisked away by Barbara for her appointment before anything can happen. Prodding the psychiatrist to come see the awful man from her dreams results in nada.

This is where the film really begins to pick up. A frustrated Jane attempts to get home using the London Underground. What results is one of the scariest and most unnerving stalkings I've watched: Jane watches as the subway car she's in becomes progressively more empty until only she and another passenger remain. I'm sure you can guess who that second passenger is.



Narrowly escaping, Jane is let into her apartment complex by the mysterious tenant Mary. The two become friendly, particularly when Mary explains that she, too, is troubled but took a different route in banishing her nightmares. Mary asks Jane to join her for the meetings she goes to. With no support from Richard, Jane agrees to this arrangement.


Let it be said that you should never trust a mysterious woman who goes to 'meetings.' Jane finds out that Mary's group are Satanists. Jane joins them (!!!) in order to find peace. 


Yet before Jane can politely leave, she's forced into killing Mary. And, yes, the Stiletto man is a member. 


Hearing Rassimov's 'british' dub of "It's impossible to renounce us" as he grips Miss Fenech still freaks me out.

I'll stop here, but watching Jane try to escape her increasingly dangerous predicament is a lot of fun.


Sergio Martino's occult flavored giallo is very moody, with a few scares and a brilliant set piece (the tube stalking). I still can't understand why the boring George Hilton was always the star of these films when Rassimov's charisma (even with fake contact lenses) was always so much more prominent.


Outside of Hilton, everyone else plays their parts with a sense of urgency and menace.


As for Mister Martino, he's my second favorite giallo director. Sergio's care about characters is the key. There's also something more vibrant about Martino's work than that of Dario Argento.


And like every good giallo, Martino's films are full of interesting and unnerving killers.


I wish Shriek Show would start releasing blu rays. This needs the deluxe treatment. 


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