Very twisty giallo that routinely subverted my expectations. The main strengths of the film are its knotty but well-constructed plot, serene locales, and great camerawork. Lots of nice music by Ennio Morricone as well. The film has a stronger focus on the mystery and plot rather than the murders themselves, and is largely populated by dialogue-driven intrigue scenes. I may have liked it a bit more if there had been a greater emphasis on style and atmosphere rather than plot, but that's more a matter of taste than a criticism of the film itself.Strong 3.5/5

After thinking he's witnessed a murder, the teacher at a posh London girls' school finds himself drawn into a savage murder spree involving the other girls at the school which forces him to start investigating the culprit while trying to stay out of his path.This here is one of the finest and most enjoyable Giallo's ever made. One of the more engaging and enjoyable elements within this one is the fact that there's an engaging sense of style over this one that's utterly pleasing. There's a strong and pronounced sense of Catholic-laced guilt and oppression running throughout this one, ranging from the slow-burning realization of the killers' disguise to the use of the sacred confessional which incidentally launches several rather chilling stalking scenes using that set-up, which is all quite fun as this one utilizes the strong sense of guilt from that binding and constricting set-up. That even extends beyond all the usual happenings to include the sense of voyeurism that's exceptionally pervasive throughout here, from the sleazy angles of spying on the girls in the shower to the scenes hidden from behind the point-of- view of other objects and obstructions in view of everything else makes for quite a strong, overwhelming connection here that makes for quite a thrilling set-piece to lay into that mind-frame as well as sets up the remainder of the film's strong themes of hiding behind the church for it's motivations. This is aided along nicely by the strong twist in the finale where it's all given quite ample coverage that there's a strong religious undercurrent running through here in regards to the attitude of the killer and how the victims are chosen. When that becomes apparent throughout here and the film embraces its Giallo mindset, there are some utterly incredible setups here from the opening stalking and chase through the woods that becomes the central starting point, the fantastic encounter in the bathroom where the victim is unaware of their visitor's true intentions and then is killed off through the killers' viewpoint and then features a mad-dash out of the room and out of the building which is a spectacular use of the camera-work utilized here and the frenetic finale works on so many levels which is what ends this one on a high note going from the abduction in the park to the final confrontation in the house and the revelations that come from that. It's all enough to work so well here in conjunction with the other religious motivations unearthed here from the striking investigation throughout this one. The manner of how this one brings out the clues and different identities of everyone who are wisely not overloaded with red herrings or useless trivia here which makes for a rather fun time here that gets into some really twisting times as there's a lengthy, involved mystery at the center of this one which is fun to watch play out. Covered with copious nudity and some nice deaths, there's plenty to really like with this one although it does have a minor problem here. Due to the film's insistence on driving through the investigation from the police inspector rather than the exploits of the killer which means the body-count is quite low for the genre. It really could've used a bigger one here with the exploits of the investigation taking up much more time here than the slashing, so even though it does have awesome work in that regard there's enough here to lower this one somewhat.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Full Nudity, Language, a sex scene, drug use and underage abortion.

Whilst enjoying an afternoon on the river, married teacher Enrico (Fabio Testi) is stoically attempting to coerce one of his young students Elizabeth (Christina Galbo) into having sex with him, when she notices on the bank, the glint of a knife in the sunshine. Dismissing this as an excuse not to give into his demands, Enrico is therefore stunned to later hear on the radio of a murder of a young girl in the area that very afternoon.Selfishly, Enrico initially forbids Elizabeth to report her suspicions to the police, for fear his liaison will be exposed. However, sympathies with Enrico begin to materialise when it seems his affair with Elizabeth isn't a whim. His wife Herta (Karin Baal) is cold hearted and unloving, and what Enrico and Elizabeth share might well be true love. As the murders continue, the film enters into proper horror territory, with nightmares and growing graphic atrocities conspiring to tighten the proverbial noose around Enrico's neck, as he appears to be the main suspect.In a further shock, Elizabeth herself is murdered, and this appears to bring Enrico and Herta closer – it is interesting that in softening her character, Herta takes to wearing make-up, as opposed to the harsh 'freshly scrubbed' appearance she had adopted earlier.(Spoiler) Solange, when at last she appears, is the character around whom the murders all centre. Her father posed as a Priest in order to obtain confessions from Solange's school-friends who arranged an illegal abortion for her against her will. The brutality destroyed her mind. The final frame of the film has her sobbing gently as her father shoots himself having at last been discovered.This has been billed as 'giallo' film, that is what Wikipedia describes as a '20th-century Italian slasher genre of literature and film, usually with mystery elements and often with either supernatural horror or crime fiction elements.' As such, it fits the description well. The flawed nature of Enrico fuels the story – he is far from perfect and a ready-made scapegoat for the murders. He is not given to passionately protesting his innocence, and it may well be that un-emotive nature that robbed his wife of her love for him; darkly poetic then, that such a harrowing tragedy should bring them back together.

Maybe it was inevitable that the German Edgar Wallace movie series found its end in the sleazy folds of the Italian giallo. Both of these whodunit/thriller subgenres share similar trademarks, such as rampant triviality, exploitative and sexist world views, voyeuristic touches, senseless plots and barely adequate acting. The German variant wasn't nearly as explicit and rather amusingly childish, but also lacked the gialli's stylistic flourishes.Here we've got good old reliable Blacky Fuchsberger and the Italian stud Fabio Testi to find out who the brutal girls' killer is and the comparatively tame proceedings are quite entertaining in their stupid fashion. The plot's not as ridiculous as other examples of the genre, but no great shakes either.The direction is rather boring.3 out of 10 peeping school teachers