Lizard in a Woman's Skin

Directed by: Lucio Fulci

Starring: Florinda Bolkan, Stanley Baker, Jean Sorel, Silvia Monti

Synopsis:

Carol Hammond (Bolkan) lives in her upper Belgrave Square apartment with her husband Frank and step-daughter Deborah. She is plagued by strange lurid dreams in which she is having an affair with her decadent downstairs neighbour, the alluring Julia Durer. When she dreams of killing Julia, Carol’s dreamworld and reality collide, as soon Julia’s body is discovered, stabbed just like in Carol’s dream. Could she be responsible? Or is someone trying to frame her?

Review:

Lucio Fulci is best known for the gory horror movies he made during the late 70’s and early 80’s, but his body of work is much more eclectic than that, as this nifty psycho-thriller shows.Set during the cultural upheaval of the 1970s, Lizard In A Woman’s Skin exploits the social divide. One the one hand, there is the very stifled and stilted social lives of the Hammonds, revolving around reading and holding dinner parties. Downstairs, their hippy neighbour is throwing all-night, drug fuelled orgies. The Hammonds and their guests try to pretend that they can’t hear anything and the whole scenario is completely alien to them (although step-daughter Deborah is caught tapping her feet along to the rhythms coming up through the floorboards).

Obviously it has gotten to Carol, whose surreal dreams cast her into a narrow corridor packed full of naked men and women, and then into the satin bed of Julia Durer. Her psycho-analyst tells her that part of her subconscious is curious about Julia and wants something to happen between them. When Carol dreams of killing her, he tells her that her subconscious is trying to come to terms with those feelings, and her sense of decency and moral rectitude had won out.

Unfortunately for Carol, not only is Julia really dead, but she has been killed exactly as Carol had imagined doing it and certain items were left at the scene of the crime- Carol’s fur coat, her letter-opener (the murder weapon) and her scarf. Did Carol leave them there, or were they planted?

Investigating the murder is Inspector Corvin (Stanley Baker, of Zulu fame), an intuitive detective at odds with the police commissioner who believe the case is a lot simpler than he does.

A funny scene occurs when one of his subordinates, in a move to curry favour with the commissioner, brings in one of Durer’s party guests, who while still high has confessed to the crime. It doesn’t take many questions to show that the guy didn’t do it, and the commissioner walks out in disgust, leaving Corvin to tell the detective that he’ll be going back to Animal Control division. The guy just kind of nods, sheepishly.

The plot is quite twisty-turny. There are a number of people who could be trying to frame her, including her husband, who’s having an affair, and her father, who’s about to enter politics. Even when you think you have things pegged, it takes another turn. The final solution to the mystery is quite good and doesn’t feel too outstretched, nor does Inspector Corvin’s deduction and explanation.

The quality of the print is superb, especially considering the film was originally released in 1973. Ennio Morricone provides a rhythmic, jazzy bass-line score which I can still hear in my head as I write this review.

For fans of Fulci’s latter gorefests, there are a couple of moments which will be of high interest. In particular there is a notorious scene in which Carol, while temporarily institutionalised, stumbles upon a room containing a horrific scene. Three dogs – still alive – have been strung up and eviscerated, their stomachs slit open and their organs exposed, including their still-beating hearts. This scene got Lucio Fulci in a lot of hot water as it was thought at the time that the dogs were real, and Fulci and his fx team had to prove in court that it was just a model. I’m not sure if this scene would have previously been included in UK versions of the film, but it’s there in all it’s gory glory now!

Verdict

A very satisfying whodunit, made all the more interesting by being made by the master of Italian Gore. The set up is very lurid and trippy, the plot full of red herrings, and a couple of crazy stand-out scenes ensure the film sticks in the mind.

7 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)

For more Fulci, check out Wayfarer's in-depth review of City of the Living Dead.

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