This movie seems interesting on paper: it's directed by the infamous Aristide Massacessi (aka Joe D'Amato) and it features overly intense German actor Klaus Kinski and Swedish nymphet Ewe "Candy" Aulin. But fans may find D'Amato being a little too classy, Kinski being a little too subdued, and Aulin being a little too dressed. This movie is a latter-day Italian Gothic but it was made at a time when those films, which had been big in the 60's, were in decline and the more delirious Italian gialli were ascendant. This film is a strange hybrid of the two--it has the period trappings of a Gothic horror but makes even less sense than your average giallo. A haunting and dreamlike gothic horror/giallo hybrid, Death Smiles on a Murderer is a compelling early work from the legendary sleaze and horror film director Joe D Amato (Anthropophagus, Emanuelle in America), here billed under his real name Aristide Massaccesi. Meanwhile, Doctor Sturges is working in his underground laboratory. The medallion's symbols contain a formula for the creation of life. Just as Sturges succeeds in bringing one of his corpses to life, he is strangled by an unseen assailant, who also kills the corpse and the doctor's deaf lab assistant.

D'Amato Smiles on Death (5:57, HD/SD) – An archival interview with D'Amato recorded in 1998 as part of the documentary Joe D'Amato: Totally Uncut (directed by Roger A. Fratter, 1999) in which the normally incredibly modest director discusses his affection for Death Smiles on a Murderer. There is a modicum of more meaningful story development in the second half, perhaps. But by that point we've endured entirely too much tedium to feel compensated for our patience by anything but the greatest of payoffs, and that just doesn't happen. And still the same flaws persist, testing our fortitude. While D'amato is best known for his exploitation work and occasional outright pornography, this film is rather tame. The gore is no worse than your standard horror film of the era, and while there is some nudity and romantic elements, it is fairly restrained, nothing remotely as blatant as we might see from Jean Rollin. A very interesting Italian horror indeed which may baffle but which will certainly not bore, along with some fine special features – the Doc has to recommend this release from Arrow Video to all lovers of the bizarre and the creepy!

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Then the film moves three years later (though you can only note that time gap if paying attention whilst Klaus Kinski's doctor is looking at the amulet Greta is wearing which has her name and 1906 on it, with him saying that it was three years ago) with a girl looking similar to the dead girl in the opening getting involved in a carriage accident outside the home of Walter and Eva. She is left with amnesia and after Klaus Kinski's putative doctor puts a pin directly into her eyeball without providing the courtesy of taking it out again to test her reaction to pain (?!?), and finds out her name is Greta she stays with the family for a while. Though the maid immediately quits (and has her own, never explained, visions of Franz) and gets shotgunned in the face as she tries to escape through the woods. Joe D'Amato is often said to have directed nothing but worthless sleaze, but this reputation is certainly not (completely) justified. I have personally been a fan of the prolific Exploitation filmmaker for years, and though it is true that his repertoire includes a wide range of crap, he is also responsible for several downright great films, and for many vastly entertaining ones. Such as the ultra-gruesome video nasties "Antropophagus" (1980) and "Buio Omega" (1979). Or this stylish little film, in which D'Amato dabbles in the great sub-genre of Gothic Horror. "La Morte Ha Sorisso All Assasino" aka. "Death Smiled At Murder" of 1973 is a stylish, obscure and incredibly atmospheric Gothic tale that is incredibly creepy at times. Even though this is not as nauseating as "Antropophagus" or "Buio Omega", the film is genuinely nasty at times, with a wide range sexual intrigue and perversions as well as a bunch of very gory scenes. The film's arguably greatest aspect is the mesmerizing score by Berto Bisano, which contributes a lot to the film's uncanny atmosphere. The casting of the always-sinister Klaus Kinski in the (sadly small) role of a mad scientist is another highlight that makes this a must for my fellow Italian Horror lovers.

Commentary with Tim Lucas – The Video Watchdog editor and author of Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark (2007, Video Watchdog) does typically good work on this solo commentary. He comes well-prepped with extensive factoids about the cast, crew, context, and production, as well as plenty of his own critical slant on the subject matter. Smiling on the Taboo: Sex, Death and Transgression in the horror films of Joe D'Amato, new video essay by critic Kat Ellinger As an early feature for Massaccesi, the film shows glimmers of what was to come as the director doesn’t shy away from the blood. A cat shreds a man’s face, pulling his eyeball out, a coachman is disemboweled in graphic detail during an accident, someone is shot in the face while another character is repeatedly slashed by a razor blade, and Greta is just getting started. But while there is plenty of gore and grue, the effects are generally primitive enough to be unrealistic and generally inoffensive.

Recommendations

With five words I describe the overall plot, the scene writing, the acting, the sequencing, love scenes, violent scenes, special effects, music, and all else and everything in between. The halfway mark rolls around and whatever advancement there has been in the narrative up to that point has been not just minimal in the first place, but further feels flat, hollow, and flimsy in light of the film's craft from all angles.

Death Smiles on a Murderer was released in Italy on 11 July 1973. [1] Film historian Roberto Curti referred to this box office as "scarce business" noting its unimportant distributor Florida Cinematografica. [1] [9] In Italy, the film grossed a total of 70,990,000 Italian lire. [1] It was released in the United States as Death Smiles on a Murderer and Death Smiles at Murder. [1]

Ewa Aulin as Greta is really perfect for the role of the strange girl who continues to suffer ill fate even after her death. Aulin has a unique look—pretty, but not the classic beauty of an Barbara Bouchet or an Edwige Fenech. It’s a strange look, perfectly suited to this strange character. Luciano Rossi also has a strange look. Indeed, it is so strange as to stretch one’s imagination that he would be able to carry on a love affair with a pretty girl, sister or not. Then there is the ancient Incan ritual, completed by the use of an amulet to raise Greta from the dead. But Klaus Kinski, as Dr. Sturges, who looks after Greta until her death, discovers an alternate method via mysterious chemical concoction, as opposed to needing the mystical amulet. Actress Ewa Aulin was well-known at the time, though has strangely fallen into obscurity. Klaus Kinski is still widely known today, though perhaps more for his madness and depravity than his acting. He became involved purely for the money and had no real opinion of the material one way or the other. Smiling on the Taboo: Sex, Death and Transgression in the Horror Films of Joe D Amato (21:34, HD) – A new video essay about D’Amato by critic, Diabolique Magazine contributor, and editor of Daughters of Darkness (pub: 2018), Kat Ellinger. Ellinger specifically explores the director’s work in horror and where his films fit in the larger context of Italian genre filmmaking, but also covers his earlier erotic work and, most importantly, cinematography. Death Smiles on a Murderer (aka La morte ha sorriso all’assassino) is a complicated film. With one foot in expressionistic storytelling and the other in straight narrative (however broken it may be), the two don’t necessarily mix all that well. It’s an interesting film in that you spend much of your viewing time trying to make heads or tails of the plot with one curve ball after another being thrown at you, but it takes some time to try and piece together, even requiring multiple watches to do so.