SLAUGHTER HOTEL

In a luxurious psychiatric clinic run by Professor Osterman (John Karlsen) and his assistant, Dr. Clay (Klaus Kinski), several young women suffering from various mental disorders are hospitalized. The patients are: Anna (Rosalba Neri), suffering from nymphomania and incestuously linked to her brother, Ruth (Gioia Desideri), victim of aggressive raptus, Cheryl (Margaret Lee), depressed and in love with Dr. Clay, and finally the agoraphobic Claire (Jane Garret), sapphically linked to the nurse Hilde (Monica Strabel). In this murky atmosphere, a mysterious killer begins to sow death within the clinic... A mediocre erotic thriller written and directed by Fernando Di Leo (director of fundamental Italian police films like "I ragazzi del massacro" and "Milano calibro 9"), the film fits, as the title suggests, into the vein of "Dario Argento-style" thrillers, a genre that does not actually belong to the director's strengths, who therefore produces a rather questionable product. This is a commissioned work that producer Ermanno Curti requested solely to capitalize on the "Argento" craze while it was still hot, thus obtaining good profits with minimal expense. To realize how little the project inspired Di Leo, it is enough to note how absolutely implausible the story is, reduced to a mere pretext for some cheap thrills. The only truly brilliant idea was to have Klaus Kinski, that madman, play the role of the psychiatrist. Otherwise, we are faced with actresses showing off their charms and some bloody scenes. The key to correctly approaching the work is provided by the director himself, who, without mincing words, defined "La bestia uccide a sangue freddo" as a "mishmash of clichés and banality pushed to cretinism, redeemed by a rhythm that does not give the spectator the chance to reflect." Only in this way can we digest a psychiatric hospital (where there are some patients with suicidal or murderous raptus) furnished with a rich assortment of weapons, such as axes, daggers, swords and broadswords; but also crossbows, morning stars, and even a virgin of Nuremberg (!?). Each of these weapons will of course be used by the killer, whom we will see in a couple of sequences undecided in front of all that lethal good stuff! Not being minimally interested in the contents, Di Leo shows his professionalism solely in the formal aspect and in the visual choices. He tries everything to distract us from the pseudo-plot he has put together: he envelops us in the photography of the trusty Franco Villa, he feeds our eyes with the scantily clad actresses, he puts a doctor's coat on Kinski instead of the more appropriate straitjacket. Between atrocious crimes and various prurient moments, we arrive at the hyperbolic finale where the killer, after being unmasked, massacres nurses with a morning star (a very effective scene shot with a handheld camera, in which we progressively see the wall and the maniac covered in blood, until the cathartic intervention of the police that riddles the monster with bullets). The film is considered a cult by many, but the evidence of its flaws makes it impossible to give it a passing grade. Until recently, "La Bestia uccide a sangue freddo" was available in an uncut version only for foreign editions, while the Italian counterpart was more "censored" (especially in the erotic scenes). Recently, however, Raro Video has published the DVD in its uncut version, so if you want to give a slap to narrative logic and feast your eyes on Rosalba Neri or the lesbian performances of Jane Garret and Monica Strebel, you will have plenty to sink your teeth into.