Dario Argento's first dip into the directorial pool is a pot-boiler somewhere in the realm between Hitchcock and Jack the Ripper, classic noir and the "modern" cat-and-mouse serial killer picture. Argento's method's may still be in a slightly embryonic state (i.e. his intense stylistic flourishes, which by the 80s would seem totally ridiculous in comparison to Crystal Plumage),but already on his first film as director- not on writer, however, as he penned all odds and sorts of spaghetti westerns and thrillers- he assumes control like it's second nature. Suspense sequences involving the coolly suited knife-wielding killer, with Argento trademark black gloves, and a long trench-coat and black hat, come off without a hitch, and not without the kind of excess gore that he and other Italian Giallo directors got branded with throughout the 70s and 80s. Damned if I'll say this, it's probably the one film by the director you can show unashamedly to your grandmother.

Tony Musante, an actor I've never come across, impresses (as far as a protagonist in an Argento film can such as this) as an American with his girlfriend who are in Italy for some reason or another (a writer it would seem, as we only are told in one or two scenes, which is just as well). He witnesses an attack on a woman inside an art gallery, the only witness in a string of what has already been vicious murders by butcher knife, all women, all unconnected. He just wants to leave, but he has to stick around to give more details. And then, lo and behold, he grows more and more intrigued and involved in the case till, of course, he and his girlfriend become a target by this sadistic killer! All of this is handled by Argento as if they're not the conventions that we all know in this kind of thriller; he approaches all of them with a fresh take, and adds in doses of unexpected humor to keep things interesting (the painter behind the possible clue-painting with the killer in a field and his cats is incredibly funny).

But it would be just one thing if Argento kept at making near-golden Hitchcockian ideals and the pulpy juices of a genre piece moving along. Argento is out to depict a sense of paranoia, growing and growing upon an aesthetic that is not quite the Master of Suspense, and not quite your common Dirty Harry thriller (though Ennio Morricone's score sounds like a mix of his quintessential touch and some Lalo Schifrin thrown in for good measure). In a sense Vittorio Storaro's cinematography throws one off guard; it's at times not so shot like your common thriller, but as something more ambitious, something that drills away through its premise to dig up any pure cinematic threat to the characters.

This might sound a little pretentious, but just watch certain sequences, like when Sam is being trailed by the man in the yellow jacket, or when the second female victim is seen, point of view changing without a beat misses on either end. Thanks to Argento's backup of Storaro and Morricone, he has here a twisting tale of a psycho killer with an artistic edge. It's clear to see, even with the ending that yells out as Psycho exposition rip-off, that he was on his way to a solid career.

Beautiful women are being brutally slaughtered all over Rome, and when American Tony Musante witnesses an attack on a woman in an art gallery that he can't get to, he ens up involved in the case, that is after being questioned as a suspect. It's quite difficult to watch the scene where he desperately tries to get to the woman in the lock building as she begins bleeding profusely, assuring her that help is on the way. The owner of the gallery have to be married to his victim, and other attacks occur that show the female victim being stalked and eventually slashed all over their body. The real horror all of these attacks is that the slasher doesn't seem to want the victims to die, just suffer.

In many senses, this film is ahead of its time, closer to some of the slasher thrillers of the late 70's and early 80's. Certainly there were films that dealt with women being attacked in violent manners like this, but none so graphic and certainly none so horrific in presenting the fear that these women have to endure. There are a lot of shocking surprises along the way, and several twists at the end that are truly horrifying to watch, causing many viewers to most likely turn away at that point. When all is revealed, the derangement of the culprit is almost a vampire like in its force of evil. The repeated cry of "You're going to die!" will stick in your head long after this film is over.

In Italy, the American writer Sam Dalmas (Tony Musant) witnesses an attempt of murder of the owner of an art gallery, Monica Ranieri (Eva Renzi),a couple of days before returning home. Inspector Morosini (Enrico Maria Salerno),who is in charge of investigating the three previous murderers of the serial-killer, asks for help to Dalmas and takes his passport. Dalmas decides to stay with his girlfriend Julia (Suzy Kendall) and to help the police in the investigation. The killer threatens Dalmas and Julia by phone and the police overhears a strange noise in the tape. Soon the serial killer stalks Julia and Damas. Who might be the killer?

"L' Uccello dalle Piume di Cristallo" is a giallo by Dario Argento in his debut as director. The flawed story has an excellent pace and keeps the attention of the viewer until the surprising twist in the very end; the mystery recalls Hitchcock's style; the camera work uses unusual angles and positions; and there is a great tense scene, when Damas witnesses through the window the attack in the gallery, with Monica Ranieri wounded on the floor, and he is unable to help her. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Pássaro das Plumas de Cristal ("The Bird of the Crystal Plumage")

Note: On 08 March 2016, I saw this film again.