Venomous Beauty

This film (do not confuse it with Carol Baker's other work "Kiss Me, Kill Me" aka "Baba Yaga - Witch") is another work by Umberto Lenzi following his groundbreaking classic "Paranoia". It premiered in the same year as Dario Argento's "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage" (which opened the floodgates for Italian gialli) and was produced by the Martino brothers, who later made many interesting giallo films (often starring the charming mistress of Eugenio Martino, Edwige Fenech). The film stars Carol Baker, whose character is a stark contrast to the innocent victim she portrayed in "Paranoia", showcasing her acting chops, and it also features two excellent European native actors - Jean-Louis Trintignant and the beautiful Erika Blank. The script is remarkably well-written, full of suspense and true surprises. It is a clever adaptation of the French classic "Les Diaboliques", involving a decadent upper-class husband (Trintignant), a wife (Blank), and a mistress (Baker), who betray and deceit each other. It cleverly plays with the audience's awareness of earlier films before adding an unexpected twist. The film also seems to be shot very well. (It’s hard to believe that years later Lenzi would make a repulsive and clumsy cannibal film like "Cannibal Ferox", or such a poorly done American horror film as "The Hitcher"). However, I say "seems" because this film was only released on second- or third-generation Greek videotapes, which were not only poorly transferred and scanned, but the transfer and scan were so bad that the characters often appeared half off the screen. Watching this film is like appreciating a beautiful painting that has both sides cut off and is covered with very blurry cellophane (with Greek subtitles embossed). If Lenzi's bad films like "Ferox", "Hitcher", or even the God help us all "Eaten Alive" can receive star DVD treatment, why can’t "Paranoia" or this little gem? Oh, but I almost forgot - despite its title, there is not much deviant behavior here. Baker has more nude scenes in "Paranoia." There are some nude shots related to Blank (though I believe one can never get tired of them), but unfortunately, their lesbian relationship is merely implied. Of course, it may have just been cut...