Enigma rosso (1978)

Director:

Alberto Negrin

Writers:

Peter Berling (writer)
Marcello Coscia (writer)

Release Date:

19 August 1978 (Italy)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Sweet sixteen ... they'll lose more than just their lives.

Plot:

A detective investigating the murder of a teenage girl begins to focus his suspicions on the three girlfriends of the victim, who call themselves "The Inseparables." |

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Teenage Girl | Suspicion | Detective | Caress

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Fabio Testi	...	Inspector Gianni Di Salvo
Christine Kaufmann	...	Christina
Ivan Desny	...	Chief Inspector Louis Roccaglio
Jack Taylor	...	Michael Parravicini
Fausta Avelli	...	Emily Russo
Bruno Alessandro	...	Di Salvo's Assistant
Carolin Ohrner	...	Paola (as Caroline Ohrner)
Silvia Aguilar	...	Virginia Nardini
Taida Urruzola	...	Franca

Also Known As:

Das Phantom im Mädchenpensionat (West Germany)
Nemesis (West Germany) (working title)
Orgie des Todes
Red Rings of Fear (USA) (dubbed version)
Rings of Fear (UK)
Tráfico de menores (Spain)
Trauma (USA) (video title)
Virgin Killer (International: English title)
Virgin Terror (Australia) (video title)
Warum mußte Angela sterben? (West Germany) (working title)

Runtime:

Germany:85 min | Italy:85 min

Country:

Italy | West Germany | Spain

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:16 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Company:

CIPI Cinematografica S.A.

Quotes:

Inspector Gianni Di Salvo: [holds up hands to depict size] Someone with a cock this big raped Angela Russo and threw her in the river!

Ok giallo

I like giallos a lot, and this one was pretty good, but in some ways it could have been better. I still need to see "What Have They Done To Your Daughters" and "What Have They Done To Solange", as I've heard those two entries are a lot better than this concluding entry, which is also known as "Trauma", "Rings of Fear", and "Virgin Terror". It starts out pretty good, with the mutilated body of a teen girl named Angelo being discovered, and Inspector Di Salvo (Fabio Testi) is assigned to find her killer, before he "carves up someone else". Basically, it goes on with him questioning Angelo's friends and family and finding strange clues, such as a diary, a strange cat sketch, a lot of money, as well as many secrets kept hidden by Angelo's friends, a bunch of slutty schoolgirls named Franca, Paola, and Virginia, who call themselves the inseparables. Di Salvo does more digging and recovers many more strange things. There is a funky groovy score by Riz Ortolani, lots of red herrings, good acting, and a fun first half, but then the second half of the film kind of falls apart. The motives of the killer(s) are confused and come off as kind of laughable. Then, there are a few more strange events that lead up to a conclusion that leaves you uttering one single word: "What?". It is basically confusing. I had to rewind the last fifteen or twenty minutes and watch it again. Overall, if you're a hardcore giallo fan, go for it...but for others, you may just be bored. Hopefully the other entries in the series are better than this one!