The Bloodstained Shadow (1978)

Directed by Antonio Bido
Starring: Lino Capoliccio,Stefania Casini, Craig Hill
Strange murders begin to occur shortly after the local priest's brother Stefano( Capoicchio ) sporting one of the most hideous sweaters imaginable, even Bill Cosby wouldn't be caught dead in it. The two brother's reunion is cut  short  when Father Paolo (Hill ) witnesses a murder and mysterious notes begin to show up threatening him.
This is a giallo, therefore plenty of strange and eccentric characters show up as possible suspects as the murderer returns. In a pre credit scene a young woman is seen strangled in a meadow, sharp eyed viewers can catch a clue. There is an odd assortment of a medium, a doctor, a mid wife and a rich s.o.b.  with a fondness for young boys who make up the body count. Add to the mixture of this murder mystery a man child who enjoys the dismemberment and eye gouging of his dolls, a mysterious painting and a typewriter with a unique feature.
The acting and directing are decent enough, I can't really say the same for the dubbing as it was not up to par. Unfortunately the copy of DVD I watched did not offer an Italian language version with sub titles. There is plenty of P.O.V. ( point of view ) camera shots and interesting angles to consider this a film of the giallo sub genre. The use of the killer wearing black leather gloves is a requsite in the giallo genre but was obliterated here. The film's love interest was booooor ing as the two characters never seemed to click, even a nude love scene couldn't ignite a spark. The female under arm hair didn't help much either, I know it's the European way but please.
I always enjoy a good whodunit, unfortunately this wasn't one as I found some of the plot devices rather forced and stretched a bit thin in an attempt to make the story work. There was some tension created before the killings but the actual kills were not very thrilling, there was little gore except for a head roasting on an open fire. With no emotional connection to any of the characters I really couldn't give a rat's ass if they lived or died.

My Final Thought: The best thing about this film was the Goblin like soundtrack. If you don't know who they are, what are you waiting for? Go track some of their stuff down. I recommend the Suspiria, Tenebrae and the Dawn of the Dead sound tracks.
My Rating: 2 Go Go Girls out of Five.