I watched the Camera Obscura release of L'assassino ha riservato nove poltrone (The Killer Reserved Nine Seats) and thought I'd post some thoughts here.
More of a character heavy piece that is a take on the classic 'ten little Indians' tale, the pace at first is quite slow as we are introduced to all our players and their various personalities and vices. It is only around the 30 minute mark where things start to pick up as the group get locked inside the theatre and are picked off one by one by our masked and caped killer. In amongst this there are sordid adultery-laden sub-plots with a fair amount of nudity.
Despite my above simplified premise, there is no denying that the film has a unique charm to it. It not only plays out as a giallo but also a supernatural thriller tinged with a gothic air... you can also see how Soavi borrowed on some of the tropes for his Stagefright. I thoroughly enjoyed the film overall and would urge fans of the genre who maybe haven't seen it to check it out. My only regret is that I didn't watch it in the dark... which would certainly make for a creepier environment and would have also enhanced one of the film's biggest positive factors: the creepy deserted theatre setting.
As for the disc transfer, it is exquisite - as you would expect from this label. I watched it with the Italian audio track and everything was crisp and clear. I quickly flicked through the English dub once I'd finished the film and aside from the usual dodgy dubbing of some of the main characters it was also a great sounding track.
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