Mr_Ectoplasma "Who Saw her Die?" follows an artist in Venice whose daughter is murdered in cold blood. In his search for her killer, it is revealed that a young girl met a similar fate at a ski resort in the French Alps five years earlier. His search leads him to various suspects, including a pedophile lawyer, a priest, and others.Stylishly directed by Aldo Lado, who some credit as an auteur, "Who Saw her Die?" is a fairly standard giallo in that it doesn't offer its audience much in the way of innovation or newness—the narrative follows the giallo route through-and-through, hitting its marks along an intriguing (albeit sometimes slow) trajectory. It is at times dialogue-heavy with lots of "he said, she said" interactions and red herrings, and at times this grows tedious.The upshot here is the film contains some inventive and disturbing murder sequences, including a covert movie theater strangulation (predating 1980's "He Knows You're Alone" and 1997's infamous "Scream 2" scene), and the opening murder of the young girl in the Alps is palpable and disturbing. The killer in the film is also remarkably spooky, shrouded from head to toe in black garb and donning a funereal veil; the POV shots take advantage of this, as the veil is literally lifted over the audience's eyes. An eerie score by Ennio Morricone permeates through these scenes, sometimes over-played, but no less effective.The final reveal of the killer is rather bold given the time period and nation in which the film was made, although there is a slight twist that punctuates the last moments. All in all, this is a fairly routine giallo that is well-done in some regards, and a bit wonky in others. Fans of the genre will likely find something to be enjoyed in this mildly atmospheric outing. 6/10.

GL84 Arriving in Venice from a vacation, a separated couple finds that their daughters' death is a part of a larger conspiracy when their investigation into the incident brings them in contact with a seedy underground in the city and race to find the true killer before he strikes again.This was quite the enjoyable if slightly overrated Giallo. When this one works, it's in the details of the film's central premise involving the abduction and eventual discovery of their daughter. The sequence where it takes place, featuring her playing with the other children in town only to have the ominous figure watching all along and striking when she's alone, while his frantic search around the city to find her resulting in the exceptionally disturbing and shocking centerpiece sequence of the body being discovered in the middle of the canal. That is quite an impressive sequence and readily steals the show with its impact and grief, as well as their impending relationship that's brought out of the sequence as their clumsy and inelegant attempt at lovemaking following the requisite funeral makes for a nice completion to this arc of the story. Beyond this, it does go for a couple of impressive stalking scenes here which are quite thrilling, from the suspected sequence of the killer in their apartment bathroom before a nice false scare, a more thrilling stalking in a crowded movie theater where the striking killer appears during a showing and offs the suspect in the middle of the packed audience without anyone noticing and several frantic foot-chases through the city's underground buildings and streets that all ends with a fantastic encounter in an under-construction building. The fine finale, taking place in a large church full of differing corridors and floors is an endlessly chilling series of set-pieces full of nice interplay with the darker shadows revealing the killer coming after them and resorting to some fine attempts at hiding away before the final reveal is made which gives this quite the effective and startling finish. While these here are what give this one some of the more enjoyable and atmosphere elements, there's a pretty big and damaging flaw that does lower this one significantly. The biggest issue here is the fact that there's just not a whole lot of action within here where the film slows down considerably after the main strike occurs as this one becomes quite stilted featuring an endless series of scenes showing them first reconnecting before going into their investigations which are so dull and dragging that film sloughs through its middle portions. The body count is so low for these types of efforts that it really highlights the lack of action to be found here as so many of these scenes are brought up and then pushed aside without much effort in connecting the events to the central storyline, so not only is the pacing dull but there's just not all that coherent a storyline. Trying to piece out the killer's rationale and motive is next to impossible to piece out which does nothing to help the action here as it doesn't really make sense what's going on and it's not that interesting anyway so it does come down after that opening. While it does have some solid work here, there are some flaws to hold it back.Rated Unrated/R: Nudity, Violence, Language, sex scenes and the intense theme of violence-against-children.

Nigel P George Lazenby, in one of his first acting jobs since his solo stint as James Bond in 1969, here looks about ten years older, a lot thinner and less well-groomed. He is excellent as Franco, father to a little sweetheart called Roberta who is murdered. Lazenby has to share the spotlight with the sumptuously filmed streets of Venice, where most of the film is set, and Ennio Morricone's relentless and sinister chanting soundtrack. The detailed, ornate architecture and glistening misty streets (also used to such good effect in 'Don't Look Now (1973)' and 1989's 'Vampires in Venice') make this one of the most atmospheric of giallo films. The cast of eccentric characters also add to the sense of heightened reality.As a heterosexual male, I must point out Anita Strindberg (as Elizabeth Serpieri) and especially Dominique Boschero (as Genevra Storelli) as being stunning additions to the cast. It's difficult to express an opinion on physical appreciation in what is in many ways an exploitation film without being seen to condone such exploitation. I would argue (at tedious length) that exploitation has existed for some time in virtually every film – especially mainstream, where anyone under the age of, what, 40 is invited to at least partially undress without unduly bothering any plot-line. Whether or not the approach to displays of flesh differs 'now', as opposed to 'then', is probably subject for a discussion elsewhere. In 'Who Saw Her Die', amongst other films, I like it.This isn't flawless – as often happens with giallo films, the pace slackens in the middle, but Lazenby's increasing desperation keeps things ticking along. The unmasking towards the end and the reveal of the mysterious killer's identity is satisfying. Recommended.

Graham Greene Another film that uses Venice as a kind of infernal labyrinth of desolation and grief, pre-dating Nicholas Roeg's celebrated supernatural thriller Don't Look Now (1973), while simultaneously capturing the melancholy spirit of Visconti's near-iconic adaptation of Tomas Mann's Death in Venice (1971). Although somewhat rough around the edges, Aldo Lado's Who Saw Her Die? (1972) is nonetheless one of the more credible Giallo films of the post-Argento landscape; capturing that similar air of pervasive mystery, intrigue and suspense, alongside an evocative depiction of a Venice out of season - here used to convey the lost, hopeless confusion of the central character, as he attempts to find his daughter's murderer in this never-ending maze of wandering streets and endless canals - all the while offering a myriad of dark corners and empty, dilapidated storefronts for the killer (or killers) to lurk.With this in mind, the title becomes a self-reflexive comment on both the narrative and the voyeuristic nature of the thriller genre itself; as George Lazenby's character Franco poses the question, "who saw her die?", to which the answer is obviously us (the viewer). We may not have sees the killing itself, or indeed, the moment of death, however, as a collective audience, we are undoubtedly in a greater position of information than Franco, having literally witnessed the scene unfold through the eyes of the killer until the moment of capture, making us somewhat implicit within the eventual tragedy. "Who saw her die?" It is also important in stressing the significance of the investigation within the Giallo film genre, more so than the actual resolution. It has often be said about Argento's work, particularly a film like Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971) or his masterpiece Deep Red (1975), that the process of elimination, both in the sense of eliminating the potential suspects, as well as the supporting cast, is more enjoyable than the actual pay off."Who saw her die?" Not a confession, not an admission of guilt, nor a plea for the killer to come forward, but an urging for witnesses; someone who knows something (anything). "Who saw her die?" The implication of the title is used by the filmmaker throughout to establish this world in which the various characters seem to know more than they initially let on; continuing that idea of claustrophobia, of the world closing in on these characters as the net of information grows ever tighter. Again, "who saw her die?" The opening scene offers some information, with a chilling sequence taking place at a mountain resort near the French Alps, where a young girl, breaking away from her beleaguered nanny, is beaten and subsequently buried beneath a drift of snow; the entire sequence shot from the perspective of the killer, whose black veil covers the camera, obscuring the image and again, hinting at that same titular question.Once the story cuts ahead, picking up with Franco and his visiting daughter and the eventual reconciliation between separated husband and wife, reunited through tragedy, we get the formation of the typical Giallo set-up, wherein the amateur sleuth - who may or may not know more than they initially realise - begins a process of investigation. The resulting story offers a number of interesting twists and turns, including the spirit of corruption, blackmail, revenge and other unsavoury character traits, as that feeling of desolation and claustrophobia is expressed visually, with Lado using a series of eye-catching if unconventional locations, jarring camera angles and the fantastic score from Ennio Morricone to bolster the dramatic tension. The film is also notable for introducing a more human element to the story, implicating Franco's negligence as a father as a significant factor in his daughter's disappearance and eventual murder, as well as focusing on the emotional distance between the husband and wife/father and mother, who are brought together again through an act of cathartic lovemaking, in which - again, pre-dating the aforementioned Don't Look Now - with the reconciliation expressed physically, without words.Obviously we have the usual exploitation film shortcomings in abundance - including the post-synchronised sound, the sometimes obvious prosthetic effects, the uncomfortable misogyny, etc - but all of these factors are nicely balanced by the mannered central performances from Lazenby and his leading lady Anita Strindberg, the deft storytelling and subtle thematic complexities of the script, and the skillful direction from Aldo Lado; a vast improvement over the only other film of his that I have so far seen, the sleazy, post-Last House on the Left (1972) exploitation piece, The Night Train Murders (1975). Who Saw Her Die? is a competent and often engaging thriller that makes great use of its Gothic, highly depressing locations, the obvious pulling factor of the central mystery and the always alluring sense of audience participation that the Giallo genre seems to inspire.