With a six letter title ending in 'O' and a central character who is clearly mentally unstable, I was expecting Libido to be heavily inspired by Hitchcock's Psycho, but the film actually has more in common with French classic Les Diaboliques (1955), the plot involving two women conspiring to drive a young man crazy so that they can claim his inheritance.

When Christian Coreau (Giancarlo Giannini) was a child, he witnessed his father kill a woman before committing suicide; this left Christian more than a little twitchy and fearful that he might follow in his father's footsteps. Shortly before turning twenty-five and inheriting his dead dad's fortune, Christian returns to his childhood home with his wife Helene (Dominique Boschero), his lawyer Paul (Luciano Pigozzi), and Paul's wife Brigitte (Mara Maryl). While there, Christian starts to see strange things that gradually loosen the few screws he has left.

Fans of this kind of thing won't take long to figure out what is going on (although I wrongly assumed that Paul was in on the act as well), but even though the whole thing is rather trite, it's still a fair amount of fun, not least because the two actresses are rather tasty and spend a lot of time scantily dressed. The ending is also rather neat, with several twists taking it beyond the expected. I've read several reviews calling this an early giallo, but I think that anyone hoping for such will be a tad disappointed: it's more of a mystery/thriller, and not a bad one at that.

6.5/10, rounded up to 7 for Mara Maryl's pussy cat bikini. Miaow!

'Libido' is a slick and stylish gothic Giallo thriller with a foreboding atmosphere and a well-executed narrative that sustains momentum right up until the chilling climax. The movie is simple yet effective with its slow and deliberate pace which may not be for everyone, but there's enough suspense and tense moments to keep you engaged and thankfully the movie doesn't outstay its welcome.

The plot = Christian (Giancarlo Giannini) returns to his ancestral home where as a boy he witnessed his father murder a young woman and now as a man he's plagued by those memories and worried that he'll turn out the same way.

The opening scene does a fantastic job of setting up what's to come. The direction by both Ernesto Gastaldi and Vittorio Salerno is strong with an interesting and well written premise. The cast performances are also strong with Giancarlo Giannini providing a great and believable lead with a very captivating performance. Dominique Boschero is also fantastic in her role as the wife. Mara Maryl is a standout in her role as Bridgette and finally Luciano Pigozzi also gives a solid performance and rounds off this small cast rather well.

Overall 'Libido' is a solid Giallo thriller that fans of the genre should check out if you're a fan of well-made psychological thrillers.