NAKED YOU DIE

Suspense thrillers that stress grandiose style, exploitative violence, and complex plots, Giallos evoke physical and emotional terror by emphasizing not only the act of violence but the warped reasons behind such. The more successful examples hang their thrills on the plot structure of investigation as characters attempt to decipher the 'who' and 'what' of crime. As the focus is on creative murder, sexual perversions, and psychosis, Giallo are more exploitative than the stories of classic detection or 'closed room' mysteries upon which the genre was built. Gialli has courted controversy for its unapologetic worship of violence and emphasis on approach over content. Many evoke the physical horror of corrupted/damaged flesh while celebrating psychosis and fetishism, merging terrors of the body with conflicts of the mind, particularly the problem of perception, which is often a central plot point. As emotionally intensive as they are graphic, these Italian thrillers explore such distinctly modern themes as alienation, loneliness, outrage, and amorality, using such elements both as powerful aspects of story and as symbols. This is particularly true in Die Naked, the newest thriller from Dark Sky Film. Albeit the surface thrills of dementia and violence are placed in the background, sacrificed for characterization and subtlety, this rare piece of horror history is nevertheless an interesting addition to the Giallo cannon. Directed with style and subversive humor by the underappreciated Antonio Margheriti, this bleeding piece of sexual suggestion and emotional distortion reinterprets both the genre and its director's approach. Originally shown as The Young, the Evil, and the Savage, the film was cut 15 minutes by AIP to fit a double bill alongside The Witchfinder General. This is the first time that the restored version has been given an official release in the States.

A troubled history surrounded the conception of this picture. Initially written by Mario Bava and Tudor Gates, the film was envisioned as an homage to/parody of the thriller form that Bava had been instrumental in creating. Originally entitled Cry Nightmare, the script was a refreshing departure from form, and would certainly have proved an interesting experiment. Unfortunately Bava and the producer clashed heads and the project was suspended. Antonio Margheriti took the reins, and with the help of Giovanni Simonelli reworked the material. While it will always be intriguing to wonder how Bava would have handled the project, Naked You Die stands as an intriguing symbiosis of genre conventions, easily worth viewing for its unique approach to worn out story tropes. Not as ironic or well assured as Bava, Margheretti's vision is still capable of investing depth in his characterizations and suspense in set-pieces. His directorial style imbued a somewhat repetitive structure with strong emotion and just enough narrative surprises to intrigue. The story revolves around Lorenza Guerrini, a girl, with a nose for intrigue, who becomes embroiled in a game of cat and mouse as an inept killer murder goes on a killing rampage in her all girl's school.

The term Giallo initially referred to yellow paperbacks in post-fascist Italy, which re-printed such mystery writers as Agatha Christie, Cornell Woolrich, and Arthur Conan Doyle. Applied to cinema, the genre is a hybrid of the German Krimis (pulp thrillers based on Edgar Lee Wallace novels), mystery fiction, and grand guignol sensibilities. While many of the film's ancestors were notable for extravagant style and a willingness to explore sex and violence up close and personal, Naked You Die attempts to blend humor with pathos, intrigue with drama. If it doesn't always succeed, the meticulous pacing, sureness of direction, and believable performances evoke enjoyable moments of laughter and empathy (albeit they have weathered somewhat over the years, with some character interactions feeling silly in our nihilistic world). Most importantly, this film is an important historical document, an indirect pairing of two genre specialists. Amidst shadowy corridors, posh interiors, and gorgeous forest settings, attractive and naïve girls are slaughtered. Whereas many films would focus on physical cruelty, Marghetti emphasizes character's reaction to carnage. He also emphasizes the sickness of human motivation and both the mistrust and pettiness inherent in our species. Giallo with a philosophy! Thematic undercurrents of self identity, the illusion of appearances, and the inability of the human mind to decipher external events also play crucial roles in both the raw materials of the story and its development. Marghetti explores the motivations of characters and relies on the process of detection, bringing the Giallo in an indirect way back full circle to its origins.

Naked You Die is presented by Dark Sky in a clear, vivid 2.35:1 widescreen print. Very little can be said against the clarity of the picture, as the colors are bold, the skin tones realistic. The scenery is sumptuous. A brief few spots of grain are barely worth mentioning. 2.0 Mono audio in Italian is crisp, and the accompanying English subs intelligent and realistic, mirroring the flow of real conversation. Extras are the only real disappointment here -- and then only when compared to some of the company's other releases -- consisting only of a trailer and still gallery. Overall, this is a respectful presentation of horror history, impressive in its dedication to suggestive storytelling.

Review by William P. Simmons