jadavix "Perversion Story", as it is hilariously known, is an extremely entertaining stroll through the psychedelic, kinky '60s with some negligible giallo properties.'69 must have been the height of the whole 'porno chic' thing where strippers and nude photo shoots were not considered sleazy in the least. Rather they had merged with the sex positive, flower power sixties, so when the characters visit a strip club, along with improbably beautiful models, they get girls dancing in front of psychedelic projections and multi coloured balloons everywhere. The photo shoot is weird in the stupidest way, with private parts covered with miscellaneous stickers for no reason other than it was the sixties, man.The movie is only nominally a giallo. There's barely any violence, and certainly no black gloved killer stalking the beautiful, nearly naked model. It's less of a whodunit than a "did he do it" - the movie's protagonist ends up on death row. I was surprised that I actually cared about the conclusion: the movie is a triumph of style; you don't care what it's about, you're enjoying the ride too much. This is Fulci at the height of his powers of direction. He didn't need a story when it looked this good.

Joseph Brando While my preference in Giallo films lies in the ones that play out in a more Horror or Gothic kind of way, One On Top Of The Other (Perversion Story) sits at the other end of the spectrum which is more of a Crime Detective Thriller. So no groovy music. No trippy scenes. No creepy castle. No grisly murders. However the convoluted plot and naked boobs are both present. Jean Sorel and Marissa Mell are both great but this is my least favorite film I've seen either in so far. Nothing new plotwise: dead spouse, extramarital affairs, insurance policy, brown trenchcoat wearing detective ... zzzzzzz ... Somebody put some cheese on this salt-free stale cracker! Where's Sergio Martino when you need him?

happyendingrocks Lucio Fulci's stamp on this meandering and largely forgettable soft-boiled thriller is pretty much limited to his name in the credits. Though Perversion Story pre-dates Fulci's emergence as one of the most beloved Italian horror directors of all time, most genre fans who take a look at this early experiment will end up wishing that he had found his dark muse sooner.Granted, Perversion Story isn't unwatchable, and as a fairly standard twist-driven caper there are times when the film works quite well. Fulci certainly takes a stylish approach to the affair, and manages to wring a fair amount of suspense out of the often-incomprehensible plot. But the absurd denouement falls resoundingly flat, and any steam Fulci builds along the way is abruptly quelled when the film unravels in the final act.The story centers around the womanizing Dr. Dumurrier, his shady mistress, and a stripper/prostitute who bears a striking resemblance to the physician's dead wife, Susan. When police discover that Mrs. Dumurrier was poisoned, suspicion naturally falls upon the doctor, who finds himself $2-million richer thanks to a particularly generous life insurance policy. As the plot unfolds, we discover that Dr. Dumurrier may be being framed for the murder, and more startlingly, that Susan may not actually be dead at all.Despite the alternate titles' emphasis on the carnal components of the story, Fulci's reliance on soft-core sex to drive the movie is actually notably restrained. Only a couple of sequences venture into that territory, and the flat, mechanical nature of the performers' congress strips these sequences of much of their eroticism. However, Fulci does a fine job of using artistic lighting and angles to heighten the sensuality of these scenes, and thanks to nifty touches like a camera shot looking up through the mattress at the writhing bodies above, even if the actors look bored while they explore each other, you won't be bored watching them.Elsewhere, the acting is decidedly above par, with excellent performances from Jean Sorel and the sultry Marisa Mell as Dr. Dumurrier and exotic dancer Monica Weston, respectively. The strongest moments of the film revolve around the sparring between these two characters, and the film doesn't really veer off track until the grander scheme takes center stage.Some of the intricacies of the plot are a bit muddled and hard to digest, and the film errs by spending too much time forcing us to follow ultimately inconsequential characters in an attempt to plant red herrings. The basic story is sturdy enough on its own, and a more tidy presentation would probably have served it much better.The climactic reveal by the character responsible for the machinations plaguing Dr. Dumurrier's life plays out like a James Bond super-criminal confessing their entire nefarious plot, and brings the dangling threads together in a lazy and unsatisfying fashion. The final fate that befalls the villains of the piece likewise fails to pack a punch, and when you really sit down and ponder the logistics of their comeuppance, it ends up being the most absurd element in the film. Worse, by the time this allegedly shocking finale arrives, things have become so tedious and dull that you probably won't really care what happens anyway.Regardless of the more interesting elements at work here, even the most ardent Fulci completist isn't likely to visit this entry on his resume very often. However, if you simply need this in your library, I'd advise you to seek out the Severin DVD edition, which includes a CD of the solid musical score as a bonus. But my most sincere recommendation is to skip this entire fiasco and use the time to watch Zombie again instead.

Battledragon Una sull'altra, which is more likely better known as One on the top the other is hard movie to categorize to a single genre. It has as much erotic and exploitative elements as it has elements from pre-giallos like Mario Bava's excellent Blood and black lace and his older work, Girl who knew too much. It isn't as psychedelic as Fulci's other giallos like Lizard in a woman's skin or as tense as his Don't torture a duckling or Sette notes in nero. Una sull'altra doesn't contain any gore or splatter either. Still, however, I found it very entertaining and I would even say it's one of the best non-gore movies from Fulci I've seen (and trust me on this one, I've seen lots of them too).Movie follows a basic giallo structure, even though it was made in the same year with "the first actual giallo", Dario Argento's fabulous L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo, and in the way that it doesn't rip-off that movie as many other giallos does. That's why I cannot really say honestly that I found this one to be real giallo, but more like pre-giallo.What comes to the plot of the movie, it's not really as simple as it might seem, but has many twists and misleads when police are trying to find out how the things really are (who is lying, who is telling the truth). Really nice twists and turns, I couldn't tell at the whole time how did what (and what comes to that matter, even who was who). Ending was really nicely surprising too, I really enjoyed it.So, if you are bored with Fulci's not as good non-gore movies or if you just want a quick peak to the fantastic world of pre-giallos, One on top of other is highly recommended. At the scale of 1 to 10, I would give it 9, this movie really deserves it.