The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh

Ian West5.0

Razor blade bloodshed, twisted motives, psychosexual sleaze, double crosses, and a deranged killer reffered to as ‘sex maniac’. The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh is an influential descent into depravity that showcases Sergio Martino’s feverishly intense direction and a who’s-who of giallo genre staples firing on all cylinders, including 1970’s Italian cinema queen Edwige Fenech in perhaps her best role.Psychological in nature, there’s a lot going on here: Lackluster marriages, S&M relationships, lecherous lowlife Ivan Rassimov, a steamy sexxxed up affair with the handsomely suave George (played by italio MVP, George Hilton), and a tormenting sadistic sex maniac killer send Mrs Wardh spiraling into a demented vortex of murder, paranoia, and sexual vices. My second favorite Martino behind All the Colors of the Dark, I LOVE this movie. Top tier giallo from an at the top of his game Martino, it ranks high on my list of Italian genre jams and is (for me) a brilliant amalgamation of everythiing that works in the genre... finely tuned by one of the genres premier purveyors of the stylized edit murder scene. A total scorcher with a real dingwhopper of an ending. The score is aces too. Edwige. Hilton. Rassimov. Sex. Blood. Crazy. Definitely my kind of bizarro sexed up maniac Martino murder jam.

Matt!3.5

Sex. Boobs. Eroticism. Red paint. Razor blades. Murder.Fever dream music. Twist after twist. Edwige Fenech. — “A Giallo”, author unknownSergio Martino’s first in a string of classic giallos, The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh follows the wife of a diplomat being stalked by a past lover whom she suspects may also be the lustful serial killer that has been cutting up girls all over Vienna. It has all of the trademarks of your standard 1970s Italian slasher fair, so naturally I had a ball. P.S. Edwige Fenech’s eyebrows are welcome to tie me up and spank me. What? I didn’t say that.

pirateneckbeard3.5

Well The Vice of Mrs Wardh wasn't the only strange element of this film. Honestly I have been willing to give myself over to the over the top nature of Gialli films and honestly that's necessary here as we have a woman slasher on the loose and the beautiful Edwige Fenech(Julie Wardh) having to deal with a psychosis of being tormented by this killer. Obviously in this genre things take a turn with a multitude of potential murderers but that is expected in this blown out genre. The score is pretty solid and it's well stylized for what it is and the kicker is zany but intriguing so hold on to your 70's hat cause I couldn't rationalize the avenues it goes down. I'd recommend this for those who want a deep dive in Giallo but don't make this your first even though this is a good one. There's a lot you have to go with in this genre so set your tracks on the right platform and make sure you are ready to take the ride. ChooChoo!