Written by: Michael Den Boer on October 6th, 2008
Theatrical Release Date: Italy, February 3rd, 1972
Director: Tonino Valerii
Writers: Franco Bucceri, José Gutiérrez Maesso, Roberto Leoni, Tonino Valerii
Cast: George Hilton, Salvo Randone, William Berger, Marilù Tolo
DVD released: May 26th, 2008
Approximate running time: 94 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Rating: 18
Sound: Dolby Digital Mono English
Subtitles: N/A
DVD Release: Shameless Films
Region Coding: Region 0 PAL (UK)
Retail Price: £12.99
Synopsis: Paradisi (Piero Lulli) an ex-insurance investigator is murder while excavating a recently flooded quarry. Inspector Luca Peretti (George Hilton) assigned to find out who killed Paradisi and what was he doing at that quarry. Inspector Peretti finds out that Paradisi was investigating the deaths of a wealthy industrialist and his young daughter. In true giallo fashion the killer stays a step ahead of Inspector Peretti by disposing of clues and witnesses.
Tonino Valerii began his career directing spaghetti westerns and he is best remembered for directing such classics like Day of Anger and My Name is Nobody. In 1972 he would direct My Dear Killer his only attempt at a giallo. George Hilton is no stranger to the giallo genre starring several classic’s like Case of the Scorpion’s Tail, The Case of the Bloody Iris, All the Colors of the Dark, The Killer Must Strike Again and Next! My Dear Killer has a straight forward linear plot that focuses more on police procedure and the overall tone isn’t as violent or sleazy as most giallo made in the early 1970’s. Tonino Valerii keeps the pacing tight while keeping the film within the traditional giallo standards and rules. He even delivers a few brutal set pieces like the scene when the school teacher is murder with a circular saw. Twelve years later in Body Double Brian de Palma would use a power drill to similar effect.
The ever reliable George Hilton gives an adequate performance as Inspector Peretti. The film has a strong supporting cast and Tonino Valerii uses them to their fullest potential. Ennio Morricone’s scores are an integral part to every film he works on success and with My Dear Killer he uses sorrowful coral vocals to accentuate one of his more restrained scores. Overall My Dear Killer is a classic giallo that was made at the height of the genre’s popularity before the onslaught of imitators that help kill the genre off by the late 1970’s.
The DVD:
Shameless Films presents My Dear Killer in an anamorphic widescreen that preserves the film’s original aspect ratio. Colors look strong and the image looks detailed and remains stable throughout. Edge enhancement and print damage is minimal. Overall Shameless films have done a good job with this transfer that improves upon the region 1 DVD release from Shriek Show.
This release comes with one audio option a Dolby Digital mono mix in English. The audio mix has some minor background and distortion issues. Even though the audio sounds tiny at times, the dialog is easy enough to follow and the music sounds evenly balanced. Overall the audio is on par with the region 1 Shriek Show DVD release.
Extras for this release include trailers for My Dear Killer. Night Train Murders, Torso, Baba Yaga, Ratman, The Black Cat and What Have They Done to Your Daughters? A reversible covert art has been included with this release of the film’s original poster art. Overall My Dear Killer gets its first uncut DVD release in the UK via Shameless Films well rounded DVD release that comes with a stronger transfer than the transfer for the region 1 DVD release from Shriek Show.