There are three things to admire about this film. The cinematography by Gianlorenzo Battaglia which makes fine use of widescreen and colour. The music score by the prolific Francesco De Masi, going from sweeping charm to suspenseful. And the luminous and physical performance by Christina Nagy as Joanna.Apart from that it is a standard story of trying to murder someone by scaring them to death. The rest of the cast are adequate, the kills moderate and the twists foreseeable the proverbial mile away. The penultimate scene goes on and on ridiculously and the last scene is annoyingly ambiguous. Some of the credits are Anglicised so the director Alberto De Martino becomes Martin Herbert, the editor Vincenzo Tomassi becomes Vincent P. Thomas and producer Fabrizio De Angelis becomes David Colby. Francesco De Masi stays Francesco De Masi. Perhaps it was in his contract.

FORMULA FOR A MURDER is a late-stage '80s giallo from director Albert De Martino, who had previously helmed such diverse works as THE PUMA MAN, HOLOCAUST 2000, and THE BLANCHEVILLE MONSTER. His competent handling of the directorial chores means that this is a film where style often wins out over substance, but that's no bad thing in my book.In many ways, FORMULA FOR A MURDER feels a lot more old-fashioned than your typical giallo. There's a small-scale, low key feel to the nature of the action, and the plot has many twists and turns so that sometimes you feel like you're watching a Hitchcock thriller. The genre it most reminded me of was of the old Hammer psycho thrillers, themselves indebted to PSYCHO, and particular stuff like A TASTE OF FEAR.The film features fan favourite David Warbeck as a guy who falls in love with a disabled athlete, played by Christina Nagy. Nagy does very well in the unusual lead role; disability isn't often touched in the cinema but it seems to work well when it does pop up, and her character is completely sympathetic as a result. There isn't much in the way of gore here, but there are some great twists, harrowing dream sequences, and a wonderfully extended stalk 'n' slash climax. You could do worse.

The last film by underrated director Alberto De Martino ("The Antichrist", "The Killer is on the Phone") is a truly suspenseful but incomprehensibly neglected giallo, containing pretty much all the trademarks that makes this Italian horror sub genre so magnificent and addictive to the fans. There are some very disturbing themes (child abuse, phony priests…), loads of creepy moments, plot twists left & right, outstanding music and – last but not least – a handful of really sadistic murder scenes! Especially the opening sequence, which is some kind of prologue, is a powerful piece of horror! What is it about ordinary child dolls that make them so creepy? When the anonymous man, dressed up like a priest, assaulted a little girl and the broken head of her doll bounced down a flight of stairs, it really sent cold shivers through my spine! Years later, the young girl from the prologue is an adult woman bound to a wheelchair. She inherited a lot of money but uses her fortune to stimulate fellow handicapped people to practice sports and to remain positive-minded. She – Joanna – falls in love with her personal coach and they get married right away. Naturally, he's only after her money and starts terrorizing Joanna by making her relive the childhood trauma that crippled her. The repeated images of a sinister looking priest, guided by eerie tunes and a nursery rhyme, provide "Formula for a Murder" with a ton of genuine scares and Alberto De Martino's directing is very resolute. The acting is quite competent, with David Warbeck ("The Beyond", "The Black Cat") in a glorious greedy villain role. Due some plot holes and a lack of originality, this movie might not be able to compete with Italy's best horror efforts, but it definitely deserves more attention. Many formerly obscure and unknown Italian gialli received marvelous DVD-releases and, hopefully, "Formula for a Murder" will be given the same treatment really soon. In the meantime, good luck tracking this baby down!

A very suspenseful giallo from the director of "L'Anticristo"(1974),this one begins with a brilliantly-handled sequence involving a priest,a little girl,and a broken doll.However the main story is about maniac(David Warbeck)marrying a traumatized cripple to kill her for her money.The plot,whilst not original,is really suspenseful,the acting is good and there are several skillful and gory murders.The score by Francesco de Massi is quite effective,some of which can also be heard in Lucio Fulci's "The New York Ripper"(1982).Highly recommended for fans of Italian cinema!