First of all, this is an English language film, so the title "Pyro" is appropriate. The film was made in Spain, though; with generous location scenes, it's a lovely setting. But, back to the title. "Pyro" is short for "Pyromaniac", or someone who possesses a compulsive urge to start fires. The lead characters in this film - engineer "Vance Pierson" (Barry Sullivan) and beautiful widow "Laura Blanco" (Martha Hyer) are not pyromaniacs. The motives for starting fires in the story are not those of a pyromaniac. Only little "Isabella" shows a brief moment of "Pyro"-type behavior.Producer Sidney W. Pink's original title "The Phantom of the Ferris Wheel" was much better.In flashback… The story is "told" by carnival attendee Fernando Hilbeck (as Julio), who becomes an associate of Mr. Sullivan, an admirer of the "Ferris Wheel". Once introduced, we see Sullivan, who appears to be happily married, meet and succumb to Ms. Hyer's seductive charms. Hyer was a model for aging gracefully, looking better in her 40s than she did in her 20s; with her fiery red shirt and black leather pants, she is irresistible. When Sullivan won't give up his wife and daughter, Hyer decides to play with fire...The story boils down to one about infidelity and revenge, but there is a slight hint of supernatural possession in the script. Mr. Fink coordinates his "Spanish Gothic" story elements smoothly. Later on, the film adopts elements of horror. Sullivan and Hyer perform admirably, resisting the urge to overact. Mr. Hilbeck and the Spanish supporting cast are outstanding. Watch for a young Soledad Miranda (as Liz) to appear late in the third act. Beautiful women of all types can't seem to keep their hands off Barry Sullivan.****** Pyro (5/64) Sidney W. Pink : Julio Coll ~ Barry Sullivan, Martha Hyer, Fernando Hilbeck, Soledad Miranda

The really interesting thing about the horror films of the 50s and 60s is the amount of implicit kink and perversity that got through the censors of the time, proving that the censors were looking for visual elements to prohibit, not plot points or dialogue. If Pyro had been produced with the same sado-erotic fever as four of the most lurid and salacious horror films ever made around the same time (Psycho, Horrors of the Black Museum, Peeping Tom and Circus of Horrors), Pyro would be a classic today. The beginning of Pyro shows the climax, a huge mistake. Producer/writer Sydney Pink felt Pyro was his best film. There are several excellent flourishes throughout Pyro, a title Mr Pink felt was not commercial for the USA. He wanted to call it Phantom of the Ferris Wheel, which is not much better. (It was titled Phantom of the Ferris Wheel in England where it did good business.) An excellent actor, Barry Sullivan shows the signs of deterioration early in the film when he verbally jousts with firebug Hyer at their first meeting. Her criminal insanity and "hot" temper excites him--this is a woman who screws a total stranger within five minutes of meeting him. Half-way through their affair, she reveals to Sullivan that her daughter is the result of incest with her own father, a revelation dropped as fast as it is delivered. Hyer looks in her mid-30's and since the girl is about ten, the writers leave the door wide open for what actually happened. Very powerful stuff for a movie made in 1961, no matter the country of origin. (How did this get through the Franco-era Spanish censors?) That he has a super-hot wife drives home the point that he has a moral compass in need of repair. Little more than a soap opera, Pyro totally disintegrates in the final 20 minutes. Crazy nymphomaniac Hyer's death is perfunctory and shot in an anti-climatic style although the unmasking scene with Sullivan on top of her is both creepily erotic and horrifically effective. (The burn make-up was excellent.) The closing scene--Sullivan kidnapping the child and going on his Ferris Wheel with cops closing in--is beyond clichéd, boring and routine. The Ferris Wheel climax of Horrors of the Black Museum pre-dates Pyros' similar ending. (The writers must have seen Horrors.) Another mood killer is the horrible travelogue-style music, some of the worst music ever scored for a thriller. It's almost as if the music was lifted from a romantic light comedy and just dropped onto Pyro's audio track, without purpose or understanding. The fire effects were very well done--too bad the demented world of pyromania was never explored in any way. A young Soledad Miranda shows an incredible kittenish sexuality very reminiscent of Yvonne Monlaur in Circus of Horrors. Her inexplicable interest in the masked fugitive Sullivan, a man more than twice her age, is a full circle rotation pointing towards Hyer's involvement with her father. I'd like to see a remake of Pyro in the hands of Eli Roth or Brian Yunza but B-level films like this are just not produced anymore, at least not for theatrical release.

Pre-dating FATAL ATTRACTION by decades, this proto-giallo depicts the nightmare Vance Pierson free-falls into when he breaks off his extramarital affair with sizzling (and mentally unbalanced) Laura Blanco. Before he leaves for good, Laura asks him one fatal question: If you weren't committed, would you stay with me? He answers yes and all hell breaks loose...Barry Sullivan and Martha Hyer were durable contract players in Hollywood for well over a decade before filming FUEGO (aka PYRO) and their considerable talents add immeasurably to the tale. Vance and Laura are Americans living in Spain and find themselves immediately drawn to each other. Vance is an engineer, transferred to Galacia to build a dam, while Laura, her life at a dead-end, is ready to cut her losses and move on. Vance knows he's wrong to pursue a sexual affair with her, not only because it would devastate his wife (nicely played for sympathy by Sherry Moreland), but because he also knows exactly what she is. When she tells him she's never loved anyone, he sardonically asks "Have you ever tried?" She lets that slide because she thinks she's finally found "the one". Laura has the same sensuous sex appeal Hyer gave to her role of prostitute Jennie Denton in THE CARPETBAGGERS the previous year. All fire and ice, her Laura is a scorching pyromaniac, undulating in platinum hair, skin-tight black leather pants and hot-pink top. Vance first sees her this way when he catches her trying to torch her house for the insurance money and falls for her, right then and there, completely forgetting he's married with children. There's also an excellent supporting cast including a very young Soledad Miranda (as Liz) as a small-time carnival cookie who temporarily tempts Vance away from his macabre dance of death with Laura. Fernando Hilbeck plays Julio, a friend and co-worker of Vance's who tries to warn him about how dangerous Laura is. Julio ought to know because he was involved with her before Vance became ensnared in her web.PYRO is also very Eurotrashy ...the way most gialli are. There's lots of nasty little touches put in for apparently no good reason. When Vance admires a picture of her daughter, Laura turns away, saying "Her father was my father." Later, when she catches her daughter igniting matches in a field, her daughter cries out "I'm not doing anything wrong, mommy!" What are we to make of this? That Laura's special brand of insanity is genetic? This film has all the ingredients of a great giallo. There's a gloved killer (more than one actually) and obsessive love and vengeance as motive. When Vance, horribly scarred and near death from the burns he received from trying (and failing) to save his family from the fire Laura purposely set (in an especially chilling scene), he whispers to her from his hospital bed: "Run! Hide!! Take your family and HIDE!!!" An eye for an eye.... The convoluted voice-over in the beginning by Julio is an existential bit of mumbo-jumbo about fate and the ferris wheel. Vance has a special affinity for ferris wheels and gets, fittingly, a job with a traveling carnival once he escapes from the hospital to avenge himself on Laura. The film begins and ends atop one and the dam Vance and Julio are working on is built on it's revolving principals. There's even a little toy ferris wheel on the nightclub table when Vance breaks if off with Laura. It's not hard to get the symbolism: What goes around, comes around...With a little more care and effort, this film could have been amazing. If the (second) killer's identity had been hidden from the audience awhile longer and a few more grisly murders of Laura's friends and family had been added, director Julio Coll would have been in competition with Mario Bava (who just filmed BLOOD AND BLACK LACE) as to who really made the first giallo. As it stands, PYRO is atmospheric, involving, creepy and sick. Guaranteed to induce nightmares in the impressionable and well worth checking out. You'll flip for red-hot Martha Hyer. Just don't get too close...what a smokin' way to BURN!

A married man has a torrid affair with the previous owner of the house he has bought for his family. He tries to end the affair, but the woman will have none of that. She sets the house on fire killing his wife and child. Burned beyond recognition, the man vows revenge against his former lover.Overall, Pyro is a nice little horror/thriller. The plot, although predictable, is generally well paced and only gets bogged down by the love story on one or two brief occasions. It's the predictability that keeps me from rating Pyro much higher. There are a few chills to be had like the scene where the woman runs in fear down a deserted street at night, afraid that her disfigured lover is about the catch-up with her. The acting is a notch or two above what I have seen in other early Spanish horror films. Both Barry Sullivan and Martha Hyer give excellent performances in the lead roles. Hyer, in particular, is wonderful as the scheming, murderous ex-lover. Finally, the burn make-up is effectively creepy. It's the stuff of nightmares.A couple bits of trivia – first, apparently Pyro was the first horror/thriller movie to be filmed in Spain. Whether it's true or not, I don't know. I just thought it was interesting. Second, cult fans may be interested in catching Pyro to see a young, pre-Franco Soledad Miranda in a small role. She doesn't do much, but she has a presence about her that's unmistakable.