The Cat O' Nine Tails

Italian horrormeister Dario Argento's The Cat O' Nine Tails (1971) is a convoluted giallo featuring a string of gory murders set within a larger plot involving genetic research. Making its Blu-ray debut, the lush, brilliantly-colored images here nicely showcase the director's flamboyant, operatic style, although the performances of American stars James Franciscus as intrepid reporter Carlo and Karl Malden as blind puzzle-maker Franco—who work together to unmask the villain—are relatively flat (the supporting Italian cast takes a more histrionic approach). The film's narrative mimics the sort of labyrinthine nonsense characteristic of the genre, abounding in red herrings that ultimately lead nowhere. But Argento's facility in choreographing elaborate, usually gruesome set-pieces—often involving prolonged garroting—and ratcheting up tension (as in a spooky sequence set inside a mausoleum) is amply apparent. And while the revealed motivation for all the mayhem will likely strike most viewers as silly, the sheer exuberance of the filmmaking is sure to carry aficionados past any lapses in logic. Extras include interviews (with Argento, composer Ennio Morricone, and co-writer Dardano Sacchetti), archival radio interviews with Franciscus and Malden, and vintage promo spots. Recommended. (F. Swietek)