Bewitching amnesiac Greta (a truly beguiling portrayal by the adorable Ewa Aulin of "Candy" infamy) is given shelter by a rich young couple. Greta triggers the erotic attention of everyone she meets, which in turn sets off a grim series of gruesome and murderous events. Meanwhile, the sinister Dr. Sturges (the ever creepy Klaus Kinski making the most out of a regrettably brief role) discovers an ancient Incan formula for resurrecting the dead. Of course, Greta gets killed, but returns to life as a seductive avenging zombie. Director/co-writer Joe D'Amato does a fine job of ably creating and sustaining an extremely eerie and hypnotic dream-like atmosphere. The rather muddled and elliptical narrative enhances rather than detracts from this film's weirdly compelling gloom-doom mood while D'Amato manages to maintain a surprising elegance amid all the strangeness. Moreover, D'Amato further spices things up with lashings of nasty gore, a dab of tasty bare female skin, and a sprinkling of sizzling soft-core sex, plus we even get kinky elements of lesbianism, voyeurism, and necrophilia. The competent acting by a sturdy cast rates as another major asset, with sound work by Angela Bo as the smitten Eva von Ravensbruck, Sergio Doria as the dashing Walter von Ravensbrock, Attilio Dottesio as the puzzled Inspector Dannick, Fernando Cerulli as helpful eccentric Professor Kempte, and Carla Mancini as snoopy maid Gertrude. D'Amato's handsome widescreen cinematography gives the picture a sparkling bright look and offers plenty of lovely shots of the breathtaking verdant country scenery. Berto Pisano's neatly varied score alternates between the funky'n'brooding and more gentle and melodic. An offbeat and enjoyable curio.

Coming from the man noted for his gory video nasties and the endless amount of softcore and hardcore pornography later in his career, DEATH SMILES ON A MURDERER is a surprisingly tranquil, dream-like horror movie which is more in line with the superb Italian Gothic wave of the early 1960s than the gory giallo antics that the title suggests at. Joe D'Amato (or Aristide Massacessi as he is otherwise known) directs a horror film for the first time as well as handling the photography, so you know straight away that this is going to be beautifully shot, visually appealing viewing experience which makes full use of slow-motion and strange camera angles. The fragmented plot is told in segments and in flashback, with some of the events being pure fantasy, so viewers will no doubt struggle to try and make some sense of the almost circular storyline where there is no sense to be had. Instead, the concentration is on providing a number of memorable eerie sequences, all containing an ethereal atmosphere and highlighted by a truly astounding and haunting score from composer Berto Pisano.

The lead is taken by the baby-faced Ewa Aulin, an object of lust who begins the movie as a corpse on a stone slab. Later revived by ancient magical means, Aulin turns into a ghost-like creature who proceeds to seduce a wife and her husband, scenes which fill out the expected sex quota of the movie. The jealous wife later bricks Aulin up behind a wall (heavy shades of Poe exist throughout the movie) but finds herself haunted at a ball by a masked figure in a gown, who goes on to commit a string of gory murders. But instead of sticking to the mind-numbing slice-and-dice routine of the '80s slasher movies, all of the murders are presented in imaginative and shocking ways - a shotgun blasts the face off an innocent serving girl in a horrible moment, a man is bloodily slashed to death with a straight-razor and even a cat becomes a weapon of death come the gruesome finale.

As well as the strong production values, there are some fine performances to be had from the leading cast members Angela Bo and Giorgio Dolfin, as the husband and wife caught up in events they cannot possibly understand. Aulin is excellent as the woman who may or may not be a ghost and D'Amato successfully contrasts her beauty by cutting to a rotting, zombie-like face in some strong moments of horror. A top-billed Klaus Kinski turns up in a large cameo appearance as a sinister doctor also experimenting with raising the dead and inserts a needle into a girl's eye in one of the many memorable images in the film. Also on hand are Giacomo Rossi-Stuart (CRIMES OF THE BLACK CAT) as a potential victim, and sleazy Luciano Rossi (VIOLENT NAPLES) who actually gives the best performance in the movie as the incestuous hunchbacked stranger. At the end of the day, DEATH SMILES ON A MURDERER provides plenty of atmosphere, suspense and real moments of horror as well as fulfilling the resident sex-and-gore quota, and as such stands as a firm addition to the Italian Gothic cycle; flawed, but at (many) times brilliant.

Interesting to see that he made the movie under his real name ... have to admit did not look that fact up before watching the movie. But I'm not sure those who love the sleaze he has inserted in some of his other movies will be satisfied. This still doesn't make this a movie for anyone who is easily offended. Some of the effects are quite amazing ... still after all these years, which is honestly astounding.

Guess it has to do with the effects being practical and having people on that knew what they were doing. Apart from that the movie is almost etheral ... it works on a different level, almost like a fairy tale ... but a brutal relentless one, that you might not understand completely during your first watch/viewing.

Quite a few amazing performances along the way. And also a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat and wondering what it all means ... good luck with that!