Quote:
Originally Posted by Bub the Zombie
To me, Fulci as a filmmaker held a lot of potential. His early gialli, Una Lucertola con la Pelle di Donna (A Lizard in a Woman's Skin) and Non si Sevizia un Paperino (Don't Torture The Duckling) showed intelligence, eyes for details and a swarthy outlook for the plots he constructed.
Even when he achieved much critical and popular success for Zombi 2, E tu Vivrai nel Terrore - L'aldila (The Beyond) and Lo Squartatore di New York (The New York Ripper), his vapid sense of adding sensationalism to gore affected his genius in film-making. He was great at utilising a film budget, and often got the best out of the meagre resources at hand, but overall, Fulci remains a pale shadow of a brilliant self - much like Dr Freudstein of his trademark film, Quella villa accanto al cimitero (The House by the Cemetery). He will always be remembered as someone who delivered much lesser than what he had potential for.
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So I just saw
Lizard in a Woman's Skin and I have to say that I agree with Bub - I thought that Fulci's direction and eye for detail and color was absolutely stunning. The dubbing was significantly better than Zombie, and I thought that his use of sound was both interesting and successful at creating mood (the detective's eerie whistle was well-placed and not annoying, as I worried it would be at first). I also thought that he handled the Acid House aspect to the film quite well, without letting it get too overwrought or too distracting.
HOWEVER, I ultimately thought that the film was a little flat and dry. I felt as though there should have been...
more to it , either through gore or horror or emotion... But something felt flat to me. Of course, that could have been the
point (this was, after all more of an investigative thriller than a horror/slasher movie), but I honestly felt, at the end that something was ultimately missing.
My favorite set of scenes was most definitely the chase in the old Church. It felt obviously reminiscent of Vertigo and successfully built mood and suspense (though the end I thought was rather anticlimactic and too much deus ex machina).
Overall, while I felt the movie was flat, it was absolutely compelling. There wasn't a single moment that I wanted to turn it off and give up, which was impressive. I actually cared about the characters, was impressed by direction, and wanted to know what would happen next... And that, afterall, is part of
The Point.
I give it 3 out of 5 stars.
Any other thoughts on Lizard in Woman's Skin?