Critic Reviews
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Sean Axmaker, Turner Classic Movies Online
The motivation is right out of the Psycho playbook, only not quite as convincing.
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James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
a gory giallo that pushes all the right buttons, but never quite works until the final third
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Budd Wilkins, Slant Magazine
At the risk of going out on a limb, let me suggest that Torso is much more than simply hackwork.
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Bill Gibron, PopMatters
So overloaded with red herrings that even Scandinavians would find it excessive, Torso is not the most complicated of whodunits.
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Fernando F. Croce, Slant Magazine
Though not without voyeuristic subtext and sleazy kicks, Torso makes for a pretty anemic bloodfest.
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Fernando F. Croce, Slant Magazine
Pales next to director Sergio Martino's more inventive sleaze-thrillers.
Read all 6 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Torso is a stunning, well crafted Giallo film that is one of the best of the genre. Sergio Martino crafts a violent, psycho sexual tale with enough shocks and chills to keep you on the edge of your seat til the very end. This is a brilliant Giallo that matches some of the best in the… More
Torso is a stunning, well crafted Giallo film that is one of the best of the genre. Sergio Martino crafts a violent, psycho sexual tale with enough shocks and chills to keep you on the edge of your seat til the very end. This is a brilliant Giallo that matches some of the best in the genre. The film relies on effective suspense, and like many other films of this genre, delivers the gore, the gruesome kills and everything else you'd expect from a Giallo, This film is a well crafted horror flick that has a good cast. Director Sergio Martino knows how to use the necessary ingredients to create a film that is chilling, perverse and above all memorable. I've seen a lot of the Giallo's and Torso ranks among the best. Dario Argento may be the master of the genre, but other Italian directors have made their mark as well. Torso is a stunning Giallo which has its faults, but has all the tension that is expected from a Giallo. The acting is pretty good and the film has good atmosphere that keeps the viewer on the edge of your seat. The film is a must see for genre fans, and it is a classic of the genre. Torso is well crafted, and has everything that you'd expect from a great Giallo. Sergio Martino directs a powerful,. atmospheric film The film boasts an interesting killer that keeps you interested till the very end/. Also the score is brilliant, and adds a lot to the atmosphere of the overall picture. A fine Giallo that proves that Dario Argento isn't the only one able to make solid films in this sub genre of Italian horror.
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I thought the second half of this film was amazing, and very tense. The first half contains just as many titties as a soft core porno, but adds very little to the overall plot. Sure, the killer does some business in the first half, but once we're locked inside the house with… More
I thought the second half of this film was amazing, and very tense. The first half contains just as many titties as a soft core porno, but adds very little to the overall plot. Sure, the killer does some business in the first half, but once we're locked inside the house with the killer and his "captive," the real terror of the film begins. This may not be as gratuitously violent or as explicit with the gore as other giallos, but you can cut the tension in it with a knife. :) Very well made and definitely worth a watch. BTW, the US trailer for this is amazing! The announcer saying "Torso: it saturates the screen with terror," along with the guitar lick and hacksaw artwork...oh, man. It all combined and blew my mind. Great stuff...seek this one out!
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"Torso" is a simply stunning giallo. Sergio Martino's movie has some genuine edge-of-the-seat moments, a very attractive female cast, a superb score by Guido and Maurizio De Angelis and beautiful cinematography.
While some of the special effects are a little on the… More
"Torso" is a simply stunning giallo. Sergio Martino's movie has some genuine edge-of-the-seat moments, a very attractive female cast, a superb score by Guido and Maurizio De Angelis and beautiful cinematography.
While some of the special effects are a little on the poor side, the film succeeds in keeping the viewer enthralled in the plot and its strong points far outweigh any minor criticisms.
I really enjoyed this movie. It's not often that a film can keep me in suspense like this one did. Stylish, thrilling, erotic and gripping, "Torso" gives most other giallo films a real run for their money.
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Another solid murder/mystery slasher from Sergio Martino featuring all the usual ingrediants for a successful Giallo: lots of nudity, graphic violence and a perverse brutal killer who's identity is concealed right up until the end. Well made by Martino, but the only thing that… More
Another solid murder/mystery slasher from Sergio Martino featuring all the usual ingrediants for a successful Giallo: lots of nudity, graphic violence and a perverse brutal killer who's identity is concealed right up until the end. Well made by Martino, but the only thing that bothered me was that the camera cuts away too sharply from the violent detail... it's still brutal enough though.
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Really, Torso is a lot more than it's reputation of being little more than a porno horror movie. Sure there is some nudity, but for the subject matter and 70s time period, it doesn't feel out of place. I actually really like the unpredictability of this, the multiple… More
Really, Torso is a lot more than it's reputation of being little more than a porno horror movie. Sure there is some nudity, but for the subject matter and 70s time period, it doesn't feel out of place. I actually really like the unpredictability of this, the multiple protagonists make it seem like anyone is vulnerable to the mystery killer. The killing scenes aren't exactly top of the line when it comes to realism, but they are extremely creative and interesting. I love the way it is shot, you really get a great build up. It's incredibly enjoyable and truly suspenseful.
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Hmmm. This isn't the worst <I>giallo</I> I've ever seen but it's probably the sleaziest. It's one of those movies in which a beautiful young woman's odds of being violently murdered are inversely proportional to the amount of clothing she wears; if… More
Hmmm. This isn't the worst <I>giallo</I> I've ever seen but it's probably the sleaziest. It's one of those movies in which a beautiful young woman's odds of being violently murdered are inversely proportional to the amount of clothing she wears; if she wants to get out alive, she should follow Suzy Kendall's example and keep 'em covered! As much as I'd like to dismiss this film as a worthless piece of crap, it does have a couple of good ideas. The first two thirds of the movie are par for the shitty course, but the last half hour - in which Kendall finds herself trapped in a secluded villa with a killer who, for the time being at least, is too busy dismembering her friends to realise she's there - contains some decent suspense. Clichéd suspense, perhaps, but well executed and boosted by Kendall's above average performance. As usual with this sort of thing, it's not difficult to spot the killer; he's the one guy the script isn't straining furiously to make a suspect out of. Everybody else gets this sort of treatment: "Oh, it's you, uncle... But where are you? Paris?!?!? It sounds as if you're calling from the next room!" *groan*
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Following the murder of several classmates by a frenzied sex-killer, a group of female students retire to an isolated villa until police have apprehended a viable suspect. But the maniac is wise to their deception, and he/she follows them...
This is a soild but not great… More
Following the murder of several classmates by a frenzied sex-killer, a group of female students retire to an isolated villa until police have apprehended a viable suspect. But the maniac is wise to their deception, and he/she follows them...
This is a soild but not great giallo-thriller Despite bland performances from an unremarkable cast - including Euro stalwarts Suzy Kendall (THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE), John Richardson (THE MASK OF Satan) and Luc Merenda (COSÌ SIA) - and some pretty obvious red herrings amongst the supporting players, TORSO is augmented by a number of beautifully crafted set-pieces - most notably the stalking of a young woman (Cristina Airoldi) - through desolate marshland by the masked maniac.
The second half of the movie, during which Kendall becomes enmeshed in a nightmarish situation at a remote but picturesque country villa, is staged with cat-and-mouse efficiency by director Sergio Martino at his most inspired. Spiced with audience-pleasing elements of sex and violence which tested the limits of censorship in 1973, TORSO is a minor gem.
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An under-rated Italian giallo thriller. The gore effects are not too convincing at all, apart from this there are a few atmospheric scenes, tense moments and good photography and script. There are some elements from the giallo (specially the third part of this movie) format that the… More
An under-rated Italian giallo thriller. The gore effects are not too convincing at all, apart from this there are a few atmospheric scenes, tense moments and good photography and script. There are some elements from the giallo (specially the third part of this movie) format that the slasher genre has yet to pick up.
Fans of this genre (like me) will appreciate this film.
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The regular Giallo needs a certain kind of adjusted attention but even for a Giallo, the first half, although important (I think) for establishment, was a little snore inducing. It's in the last half that the film kicks it up, and rather intelligently so. I mean it spends more of… More
The regular Giallo needs a certain kind of adjusted attention but even for a Giallo, the first half, although important (I think) for establishment, was a little snore inducing. It's in the last half that the film kicks it up, and rather intelligently so. I mean it spends more of its time showing women's bodies in a ogling way. So what does the killer do? Takes it to the next level, in the checking out ladies as objects and fragments and actually cuts up their parts.
It's rather sexist, but almost comments on that with the killer.
Read all 9 featured audience ratings
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