Strip Nude For Your Killer (1975) ***
You kind of have to expect it with a title like Strip Nude For Your Killer (1975), but it's a sleazy film. I've seen sleazier, for sure, and Strip Nude isn't a particularly great film, but it has a certain...shall we say...trashy charm. I've seen it three times now and despite its flaws, it's very enjoyable.
As gialli go, it's not top tier—the plot is thin (that of a fashion house falling victim to a serial killer), the characterizations are inconsequential (the killer wears a motorcycle helmet but I'm fairly certain is never once seen riding a motorcycle), the misogyny is thick (the male gaze is heavy), and the nudity is aplenty. As a character the male lead is also a gigantic douchebuckle. But there is a definite sense that the filmmakers, to a certain extent, were satirizing the genre. Or maybe they just preferred the more salacious aspects of it—the gore in a few scenes is particularly grisly, specifically when it comes to genital harm.
Despite its flaws, Strip Nude works largely because it embraces the sleaze, and it still has a "fun" quality to it. The women—in particular, of course, Edwige Fenech—are very beautiful, and the cinematography, production design, and fashion are all quite good. Plus, there's an earworm of a main theme, and the ending is both a winking joke to the audience (a la They Live (1988)) and perhaps the film's most awkward moment—a perfect ending to the type of film that could never get made today.
You can find my Giallo Feature Films Ranked list here.
As gialli go, it's not top tier—the plot is thin (that of a fashion house falling victim to a serial killer), the characterizations are inconsequential (the killer wears a motorcycle helmet but I'm fairly certain is never once seen riding a motorcycle), the misogyny is thick (the male gaze is heavy), and the nudity is aplenty. As a character the male lead is also a gigantic douchebuckle. But there is a definite sense that the filmmakers, to a certain extent, were satirizing the genre. Or maybe they just preferred the more salacious aspects of it—the gore in a few scenes is particularly grisly, specifically when it comes to genital harm.
Despite its flaws, Strip Nude works largely because it embraces the sleaze, and it still has a "fun" quality to it. The women—in particular, of course, Edwige Fenech—are very beautiful, and the cinematography, production design, and fashion are all quite good. Plus, there's an earworm of a main theme, and the ending is both a winking joke to the audience (a la They Live (1988)) and perhaps the film's most awkward moment—a perfect ending to the type of film that could never get made today.
You can find my Giallo Feature Films Ranked list here.
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