| Who Saw Her Die? (1972) 94 min |
| aka - Chi L'ha Vista Morire The Child |
| Who Saw Her Die? is a great example of the giallo films that were being churned out of the Eurohorror scene at the time. It is far from being either the best or the worst of these films, but it eccentuates all of their strengths and weaknesses rather effectively. To begin with, it has beautiful cinematography and music. They come together perfectly to drive the unmistakable feel of a giallo home. The common and uncomfortable themes are also here in spades. The violence towards children and the shear perversity (here they are kept seperate for the most part, rarely intermingling) guarantee that this isn't one for the whole family. Director Aldo Lado (Last Stop on the Night Train) refrains from being excessively explicit in this outing. The violence isn't as extreme as the ideas presented behind them. Along with the positive aspects of the giallo, come a few of the negatives. For fans of the style, these probably won't detract from viewing pleasure. For the rest though, I feel they should be noted briefly. The dubbing is at times extremely distracting. This is particularly the case with the lead character Franco, played by George Lazenby (James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service and sharing the screen with the Barbarian Brothers in Twin Sitters!) and his young daughter Roberta (Nicoletta Elmi, more on her a little later). Roberta sounds like she was dubbed by the same person that did the annoying voice for little Bob in Fulci's House by the Cemetery. Dubbing aside, there also some problems with the story structure. At times this is slow, and risks losing viewers' interest. This probably won't apply to giallo fans who have grown accustomed to this though. Less forgivable is the fact that the killers identity is pretty evident before it is revealed. These relatively small faults in no way sink the entire movie, they just keep it a notch below such top of the line gialli such as Solange and Bird with the Crystal Plumage. |
| The film opens with the murder of a young child playing in the snow, commited by a veiled killer. We then cut to Venice where a well known sculptor (Franco) is taking care of his daughter (Roberta). After several events unfold to establish the film's pessimistc view of human nature, Roberta is missing. Franco goes on a frusterating and fruitless search. Her dead body is eventually found floating in the river. Roberta's mother flies in when she finds out what happens and Franco starts his own search for the killer. He doesn't receive much help from the detective assigned to the case, who seems hopelessly inept at his job. As he digs deeper into the case he further entangled in the web of perversity that has ensnared virtually every character involved. As these revelations keep coming, the film has a dirtier and dirtier feel as we also get killer POV shots from behind the veil. Various perverse themes such as pedophelia and masochism are hinted at to various degrees. All in all, Lado does a great job at conveying this disturbing feel without using as explicit visuals as he later would with Last Stop on the Night Train. |
| Like I said earlier, the film was beautifully photographed by Franco Di Giacomo. He works well with Lado to make the cinematography work for the film, instead of being the centerpiece. Ennio Morricone provides a great score, the children choir that is frequently heard is unforgettable. Lazenby plays his character very straightfaced, but that works quite well considering all the detective style work he does throughout. Young Nicloetta Elmi is a great visual asset for the film. Despit having her voice dubbed by a completely obnoxious actor, she pulls off a great amount of personality and sympathy for the imperriled child. Elmi was quite a common face on the Italian horror scene for a while, appearing in several films such as Twitch of the Death Nerve, Baron Blood, Deep Red, Flesh For Frankenstien, and grew up to play the super attractive Ingrid in Demons. |
| The film was recently released on DVD from Anchor Bay as part of the Giallo Collection (also containing Lado's Short Night of Glass Dolls, The Bloodstained Shadow, and The Case of the Bloody Iris - which is only available as part of the box. The print doesn't look as beautiful as some of the Argento discs, but there is nothing here to complain about. The disc contains a nice widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and a clear mono soundtrack. I would honestly hate to see what an old full frame video print of this film looks like. Many of the indoor locations are quite dark and would probably be very difficult to make out. Also included is the usual insert that includes chapter stops, the reason I mention it here is because it also contains the original poster artwork which is much nicer than what was used for the cover. There's also a trailer, a bio-less Lado filmography, and an 11 minute interview with Lado titled Death in Venice. The interview is short but insightful and makes a great addition to the disc. Interestingly enough, Anchor Bay also included a disclaimer before the interview warning the audience that it contains spoilers. They also refrain from using any spoilers on the back of the disc. I'm hoping that this is something that will continue and wasn't just because of the obscure nature of the film. I had not seen A Blade in the Dark before their release, but had the end spoiled prematurely. I would know better than to watch a documentary before watching the film, but I would at least like to count on the back cover being safe. |
| I give this one 4 black gloved kiddie killers out of 5 |
| reviewe by Joe Canistro 06/15/2002 |
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