What Have You Done to Solange?

An Italian thriller set at a private girls school in Britain where teenage girls are being brutally killed in a sexually violent manner, this cult film stars Fabio Testi as Enrico “Henry” Rosseni, an Italian physical education teacher (engaged in an affair with one of the students) who becomes a prime suspect and is forced to turn detective with his wife (Karin Baal) to find the real killer. This 1972 film is considered a classic of the Italian horror genre known as giallo, which distinctively combined brutal murders (mostly against women), mysterious killers (usually in disguise), and (at its best) creatively choreographed spectacles of violence. For all the characteristic sloppiness of the screenplay, this film remains unusual and surprising, with some well-directed murder scenes and startling imagery. It is also shamelessly salacious in its exploitation of girls as sexual objects and unsavory in that these minors are assaulted in a vicious, sadistic, and hateful manner by (no spoiler here) an adult male. The film ultimately explains the motivation for this particular brand of murder (which is terribly distasteful), but the extreme violence against young women makes it hard to enjoy. Extras include an audio commentary by film critics Alan Jones and Kim Newman, cast and crew interviews, and a video essay by giallo expert Michael Mackenzie. Optional. (S. Axmaker)