This one smells a little outdated.
Released: 1974
Genre(s): Horror, Thriller, Mystery
"The Perfume of the Lady in Black" (original Italian title: "Il profumo della signora in nero") is a shining example of the typical '70s Italian horror/thriller - cerebral madness, oftentimes bordering on complete nonsense, with a hint of murder/mystery conspiracy thrown in for good measure. While some of these movies are entertainingly wild and undeniably creepy entries into the horror genre (i.e. "Suspiria"), many of them are too sluggish and dry to be enjoyed by those who are seeking "true" terror. "The Perfume of the Lady in Black" falls into the latter category, spending more time being awkward than it does being terrifying. That's not to say that it doesn't have a fair amount of heavy atmosphere - there are some truly disturbing scenes here that create a tension that's almost palpable at times. However, it's during these scenes that the film completely underwhelms. As much as I appreciate keeping some things ambiguous in a horror movie to make them more menacing, the events in this movie are just too random to be frightened by. While an effective dark tone is set early on and maintains throughout the entire film, the lack of real scares makes it hard for me to recommend this to anyone but the most hardcore of '70s Italian horror/thriller fans.
Rating (out of 5): 2
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