Decidedly not for all tastes, 1973's "Death Smiles on a Murderer" is an Italian horror film from cinematographer-turned-director Aristide Massaccessi (now better known as Joe D'Amato). Rough sledding for most, but I admired all of the European fright flicks that aired regularly on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater (IMDb lists this film as 92 minutes but my copy runs 84). In 1906 Europe, an incestuous relationship between siblings Franz and Greta (Ewa Aulin) ends abruptly when she falls for a handsome doctor (Giacomo Rossi-Stuart) who impregnates her, with both mother and child ending up dead. Her distraught brother has learned the secret of restoring life to the dead and subsequently revives her, with the Incan formula carved onto the back of an amulet which has her name and date of death on the front. In a nod to Edgar Allan Poe (one of many), she shows her gratitude by instantly slaughtering her beloved brother, the sharp claws of a black cat gouging out the man's eyes (shown in flashback only at the very end). Following a passage of 3 years, Greta is planted at the doorstep of a young couple, Eva and Walter (the latter the son of the doctor who had the affair with her), via a gory carriage accident that leaves the driver fatally impaled through the heart. Dr. Sturges (Klaus Kinski) provides the death certificate for the investigating detective, first examining the girl, who remembers neither her name or any recollection of her past. He soon learns that this is no simple case of amnesia (a telltale vertical scar on the side of her neck), proving it by inserting a pin in the unblinking girl's eye (a startling sight left intact on television). Dr. Sturges, already conducting similar experiments in life after death, recognizes the Incan symbols on the back of Greta's amulet, which help him restore life to a male corpse, only to be instantly strangled to death along with his mute assistant (the revived corpse is promptly snuffed out as well). Meanwhile back at the estate, both husband and wife separately declare their undying devotion to the beautiful stranger, with some nude frolicking that doesn't add up to much. The maid makes a sudden exit, haunted by the spectre of Greta's dead brother, only to have her face shot off by the same unseen assailant later responsible for the murders in the lab of Dr. Sturges (climactically revealed to be the couple's manservant). After an initially unsuccessful attempt to drown Greta in her bath, the wife succeeds in walling the girl up in a dark cellar, only to have the deceased return to haunt first the wife then the husband to their grisly ends. Greta then rewards the manservant's loyalty by slashing him to death (no explanation given as to how he knows her or why he protected her). The husband's doctor father (Greta's reason for vengeance) also meets his maker, trapped in the crypt of his daughter-in-law (whose eyes suddenly snap open!), leaving only the baffled detective still alive to try to sort out all the murder and mayhem. When he learns about the Incan symbols and their meaning, we flash back to Greta's brother revealing what he had done for her 3 years earlier, with his corpse only now discovered by the detective (untouched in the same spot). Having learned the identity of the mystery girl, he goes over the facts with his elderly wheelchair-bound wife, who promptly turns around to reveal herself as Greta, the 'angel of death' herself, her face displaying the smiling countenance of Mona Lisa (perhaps Jaibo was right in his review). Intentionally stronger on mood than coherence, it really only drags once Dr. Sturges exits the picture halfway through, with only the deviant love triangle dragged out until the climactic revelations. In what may have been her last role, the lovely Ewa Aulin gives the same kind of detached performance she did in 1968's "Candy," although she may have appreciated being effectively cast against type (her passivity works amazingly well considering the effect she has on all others, exactly like her character in "Candy"). Alas, Klaus Kinski is totally wasted in the sort of take-the-money-and-run kind of part that he nearly always accepted, with only a handful of lines and an unchanging look of consternation. Kudos to the other reviewers who made the effort to journey through the difficult plot line, I trust I succeeded in my own way.

Joe D'Amato is often said to have directed nothing but worthless sleaze, but this reputation is certainly not (completely) justified. I have personally been a fan of the prolific Exploitation filmmaker for years, and though it is true that his repertoire includes a wide range of crap, he is also responsible for several downright great films, and for many vastly entertaining ones. Such as the ultra-gruesome video nasties "Antropophagus" (1980) and "Buio Omega" (1979). Or this stylish little film, in which D'Amato dabbles in the great sub-genre of Gothic Horror. "La Morte Ha Sorisso All Assasino" aka. "Death Smiled At Murder" of 1973 is a stylish, obscure and incredibly atmospheric Gothic tale that is incredibly creepy at times. Even though this is not as nauseating as "Antropophagus" or "Buio Omega", the film is genuinely nasty at times, with a wide range sexual intrigue and perversions as well as a bunch of very gory scenes. The film's arguably greatest aspect is the mesmerizing score by Berto Bisano, which contributes a lot to the film's uncanny atmosphere. The casting of the always-sinister Klaus Kinski in the (sadly small) role of a mad scientist is another highlight that makes this a must for my fellow Italian Horror lovers.

The one weak point of the film is that the story is a bit too confused for its own good. I love convoluted plots, but this one has several huge holes. A proper description would be difficult, as the film handles several topics that are interlaced, and the structure is not always 100 per cent comprehensible. Set in early 20th century Europe, the film is basically is about an ancient Incan formula, which is capable of awakening the dead. A beautiful young woman (Ewa Aulin) is injured in a coach accident near a castle that leaves the driver dead. The castle is owned by a kinky aristocratic couple, Walter Von Ravensbrück (Sergio Doria) and his wife Eva (Angela Bo). The mysterious beauty who cannot remember anything after her accident is first checked by the (equally mysterious) local Doctor Sturges (Klaus Kinski)... A macabre Gothic tale, the film also bears some elements of the Giallo and Zombie genres but it is mainly in the style of 60s Gothic Horror, transformed into a nastier and sleazier 70s style. The great Klaus Kinski (one of the greatest actors ever, in my opinion) gets top billing, but, sadly, little screen time. The man gets the best out of the screen time he has though, he simply was one of the most brilliant actors ever to play madmen. Although not as constantly sleazy as many other D'Amato outings, the film provides female eye-candy. The female cast includes beautiful Ewa Aulin in the lead and the equally sexy Angela Bo. The performances are generally quite good, other than the Kinski and the two leading ladies, the cast also includes two other cult-actors that any fan of Italian genre-cinema will recognize: the hunchbacked Luciano Rossi, who, due to his ugly looks, would mostly play crooks and psychos, who plays another demented role here, and Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, who is probably best known for his role in Mario Bava's Gothic masterpiece "Operazione Paura" (aka, "Kill Baby Kill") of 1966. Overall, "Death Smiled at Murder" has only one major flaw, which is that the storyline is too co fused. Otherwise, this is a creepy, atmospheric and vastly enjoyable Gothic tale from D'Amato that lovers of Italian Horror should not miss! My rating: 7.5/10

Death Smiled at Murder…and horror admirers all over the world salute Joe D'Amato for delivering this film, by which he proves that he's not just an insane and untalented adult-filmmaker. Okay, D'Amato made a lot of meaningless, cheap quickies throughout his entire fertile career but he does know how to tell a creepy and unsettling horror tale. Just look at 'Beyond the Darkness'…or this 'Death smiled at Murder', which is an even better example. The plot doesn't always make sense, but it's beautiful to look at and it's very stylishly elaborated. The settings and photography are mesmerizing and the delightful musical score is almost hypnotic. But of course, this wouldn't be a D'Amato film if it didn't also feature a rather large dose of sleaze and violence. Kinky Joe shamelessly stuffed his film like a Thanksgiving turkey with slightly perverted elements (incestuous lust, an obscene love-triangle…) and nauseating gore (decomposed corpses, a face entirely shattered by shotgun…)

Summarizing the plot of 'Death Smiled at Murder' isn't a very easy thing to do as it handles about multiple macabre topics. A sinister doctor is on the verge of translating an ancient formula carrying the secret of how to raise the dead. A beautiful young girl and her deranged brother seem to be involved in this process as well but they first annihilate the entire population of a countryside mansion. The owners of this mansion, a rich couple, are both romantically involved with the gorgeous girl named Greta. The acting is fairly good as well, with Klaus Kinski on top. His role in the film isn't very essential, but his up-to-no-good grimaces provide the story with an extra bit of eeriness. With this film, D'Amato proved being capable of delivering films that are on the same quality-level as some of the Jess Franco films and maybe some of the weakest Mario Bava films. Recommended to every fan of top-Eurosleaze