Red-Barracuda Reflections in Black is a good name for a movie. And this one has a tantalising poster too if you bother to seek it out. But you know that old saying about never judging a book by its cover… This is certainly one of the least impressive examples of the Italian giallo that I have seen. It was directed by Tano Cimorosa, who also plays the diminutive detective with the 'tache. Cimorosa will be familiar to a lot of you from his memorable appearance in Renato Polselli's brutally sleazy giallo Delirium (1972). Well this movie sure has its fair share of sleaze as well but it's a much less entertaining affair. On the one hand it certainly contains many of the giallo conventions such as a convoluted mystery, violent murders and a healthy amount of nudity; on the other hand it completely lacks any sense of style. As a result it merely comes off as rough edged and at best semi-interesting. It stars giallo regulars such as Dagmar Lassander and Giacomo Rossi-Stuart but they aren't really given a lot to do.It should be pointed out that the copy I saw was pan and scan and 72 minutes, with poor sound. Perhaps if I saw it in a better version my opinion would improve, as I do believe that there is a 90 minute cut out there. But my main feeling is that the basic ingredients of this one are not terrific no matter the version.

HumanoidOfFlesh A young woman nicknamed Nellie is murdered with a razor by a woman dressed in black.The next victim named Emma has her throat slashed in a park.The police begins their investigation and question lawyer Anselmi with whom Emma worked as a secretary.The third woman is slashed to death by enigmatic beauty in black.All the victims were friends of layer's wife Leonora Anselmi."Reflections in Black" aka "Vice Wears Black Hose" is a dreary and unremarkable Italian giallo with plenty of sleaze and some sexy Euro-exploitation starlets including Dagmar Lassander and Magda Konopka.My copy runs 74 minutes and I don't have any idea where to find fully uncut 90 minutes Italian version.If you like your gialli with sleaze and full-frontal nudity check this one out.6 out of 10.

The_Void Well, it's safe to say that Reflections in Black isn't the most interesting example of the Giallo genre, but it has more than its fair share of sleaze and the short running time ensures that the film doesn't really have time to run of steam. One of the most nauseating things about this film is the cinematography. Director Tano Cimarosa doesn't really seem to care about the sets and colour schemes that set Giallo apart from the thriller genre on the whole and goes for a grisly look and feel to the film. This does, of course, blend well with the film's sleazy nature...but it's not very easy on the eyes. The sleazy plot line focuses on the brutal slashing of a number of women. After interviewing a few suspects, it soon becomes apparent that the murderer is focusing on the friends of Leonora Anselmi. Leonora is married, but that doesn't stop her from having numerous relationships with other women… Director Tano Cimarosa seems keen to keep the focus on sleaze and savagery throughout, and if we're not witnessing a woman being slashed open with a razor blade, we're watching two of them getting it on. Normally, a film like this would get a high rating from me; but because the cinematography is so painful, none of it is pleasing to the eye and that ensures that it's all rather uninspiring. The cast features two recognisable names, those belonging to John Richardson, the star of a number of Italian films including Bava's Black Sunday and Lenzi's Eyeball, and Dagmar Lassander; who also appears on a number of cult cast lists. Neither really has room to impress here. Despite putting more focus on sleaze, the plot is actually quite complicated; and is made more so by the fact that all the characters are wafer thin and it can be difficult to work out their motives because of that. The ending doesn't come as much of a surprise, although I wasn't really expecting it to. Overall, Reflections in Black really isn't a good film; but I hesitate to completely condemn it as it's a great exercise in crappy film-making, and it does at least do some of the things that you want a Giallo to do.

Superwonderscope Very rare but highly improbable giallo, that's about it. This movie is part of the late entries into the giallo genre and obviously hasn't much to say.A lady in black (close shot on the black hose she wears)kills several young ladies (wearing undies, as usual) with no apparent motive (oh, really?). Except that the ladies are all related to a picture on which they appear altogether. The detective( John Richardson)penetrates the world of a very rich family where everything seems to be, well...mysterious.Oh well, very usual indeed. Vice always finds home in the italian haute-bourgeoisie, loads of lesbian scenes & female nudity, and murders scenes piling up in a very tired way (all razors except one strangulation). The resolution is completely absurd (and the explanation of the sole survivor is utterly funny as she doesn't seem to be convinced of what she says).The director has no sense of rythmn (essential in that genre) and lacks of strength when it comes to direct. The actors are like robots doing their thing over and over, lead by british actor John Richardson (and genre veteran)who was on the decline of his career.The suspense does work anyway and for those who know the Giallo tricks, it's nevertheless obvious who's doing what. The director although tries to give a different tone (a comic one) with John Rochardson's sidekick, as if he wasn't interested in the suspense : that's why maybe the murders scenes are so mechanical and uninteresting.For genre lovers only, IL VIZIO HA LE CALZE NERE has very few appeal on all levels even though the version I've seen is a 71 mn running time and appears to be heavily cut.has been shot in Techniscope 2.35:1. Watch out for the horrible pan and scan versionSuperwonderscope says : 4