DELIRIUM

Herbert Lyutak, a respected psychologist who often collaborates with the police, is actually a sexual maniac, impotent within the walls of his home and forced to vent his sadistic impulses by attacking young strangers. One night, however, Lyutak, after raping her, kills a girl he just met in a bar. The police immediately begin searching for the killer and initially suspect the so-called "Croquette", a small criminal with a record for violence and exploitation of prostitution. During the period when thrillers were popular in Italy, Renato Polselli also decided to try his hand at the genre. Known primarily for his gothic/sexy horror films and frequent forays into erotica, Polselli (who here, as elsewhere, signs as Ralph Brown) uses his unmistakable style to craft "Delirio Caldo", an Italian giallo that shows the strong influences of the erotic cinema habitual to the Ciociaro director. "Delirio Caldo" is a title fitting the work, because it is mainly the "delirious" that holds together a story that, as the minutes pass, becomes increasingly confused and crazy, up to a finale so over the top that it seems almost parodic. Technically speaking, Polselli crafts a very valid film, with beautiful, bright photography by the faithful Ugo Brunelli and a very beat soundtrack entrusted to Gianfranco Reverberi. The direction itself fully convinces, with details and close-ups as preferred choices, but also unusual and original angles that give the film a very 1970s charm. What does not convince, however, is the editing by Otello Colangeli, with sudden and unflattering cuts. According to many, "Delirio Caldo" is Polselli's best film. A thriller that is certainly fascinating and capable of entertaining and amusing with the madness of some choices, but certainly not a must-see film. If we go to the bottom, this film presents many more defects than qualities, which reside primarily in the screenplay written by the director himself. The film begins in a bizarre and original way, showing us immediately the identity of the killer and asking us to identify with him, since he is in fact the protagonist of the story. An unusual choice for cinema of the time and certainly winning because it is able to surprise the viewer. Then, when the story becomes more articulated and the possibility arises that the murders are committed by someone else, the giallo mechanism begins to engage and the subsequent "Tenebre" by Dario Argento comes to mind. Problems arise at the end, there where there is the tangle to untangle, since Polselli was clearly having difficulty giving a solution to the story. At this point the film becomes really delirious, loses that shred of logical thread it had and acquires trash. But perhaps it is better this way, at least "Delirio caldo" manages to differentiate itself from the myriad of pseudo-argentine gialli that in the early 1970s were often made with the same mold. Today this thriller by Polselli is remembered above all for its oddities, for incomprehensible jokes like the one uttered by the protagonist to the head of the police regarding the fantastic "investigations of a metereopsychic character", or for the sadomaso-lesbian nightmares of Calderoni. Touches of class that have given immortality to an otherwise forgettable work. The cast unfortunately does not help to raise the quality of the work. Dr. Lyutak is played by Mickey Hargitay, unforgettable "Boia Scarlatto" in the eponymous film by Massimo Pupillo, who along with co-star Rita Calderoni (beautiful protagonist of cults like "Nuda per Satana" and "Riti, magie nere e segrete orge nel trecento") are certainly not the pinnacle of expressiveness, although it is noted that the two put in all the effort possible. In the role of Croquette is Tano Cimarosa, legendary character actor of Italian cinema, perpetually engaged in the role of the Sicilian criminal and who here perhaps gives the best performance of the entire cast. I finally note Christa Barrymore (whom we will see again directed by Polselli in "Riti, magie nere e segrete orge nel trecento" to end up in absolute anonymity), fascinating and undressed in the role of Calderoni's niece. "Delirio caldo" is a ramshackle giallo that exudes a malsano charm from every frame. Technically valid, it collapses under all other aspects... but this is part of the game. C'est la vie!