The Embalmer (1965)

Following a series of abductions, a local police officer in Venice investigating the disappearances is continually stumped about the nature of the crimes, and as the abductions continue a break in the case allows him to solve the identity of the strange killer and races to stop him.This one wasn't all that awful a giallo effort. One of the finer points of this one is the fact that there's quite a strong number of abduction sequences place throughout here. Starting off rather quickly with the opening showing off several quick abductions, this comes off really nicely with the multiple women getting targeted and kidnapped while out in the city or near the water to get the mystery going in a big start, and once the action shifts to the maniac's headquarters below the city the underground catacombs have the appropriately dark and wet atmosphere throughout here. Since there's a nice bit of work done to enhance the atmosphere of the location with the dead women who are stuck inside the glass cases forever embalmed through the gruesome ideas contained within here. The later investigation scenes in the basement of the hotel or the backstage scenes of the club manage to feature some solid suspense moments, with the abduction off the boat amongst the crowded tourists is quite an impressive sequence. The other big point here is the big action in the finale where the tense and utterly chilling stalking in the underground sewers, as well as the confrontations in the crypt where it takes on some great work with the killers' disguise and the chases throughout the tunnels, give this a fun, action- packed finale. These here give this one enough to like to hold it up over it's few minor flaws. The biggest issue with the film is the absolutely dreadful pacing here, which really ruins the film more than anything. Although the inclusion of the girls' tourist trip to the city adds bodies to the killers' list, the fact that this stops the film cold to show off the usual tourist locales of Venice are far too obviously designed to pad out the running time, brief as it is. There's no real need for this one to go to that kind of duration dealing with the type of fodder as this one does, and once it moves forward with them running around to all the tourist locations and events the film has run through too much time to get back to the action in the remaining part of the film. That really does limit the action to a few scenes here alongside the other big flaw as the film's reliance on abductions over killing does hurt as well so this one does feel tamer than what came before. Although it does look cheap and somewhat low-budget in the worst ways, these here really do bring this one down.Today's Rating/PG: Violence.

A killer frogman (a man in scuba gear, not a half-frog/half-man hybrid) emerges from the waterways of Venice at night to drag attractive young women to his lair, where he embalms their bodies to preserve their beauty for all eternity. Intrepid reporter and ladies' man Andrea (Luigi Martocci) investigates…I wasn't expecting too much from this movie, given its current low IMDb score of 4.5, but I was pleasantly surprised: the 'killer from the canals' plot line is pretty ingenious, mid-'60s Venice makes for a great locale, with its bustling tourist attractions, crumbling semi-submerged buildings, and swinging nightlife (which allows for a couple of jazz/rock 'n' roll interludes amidst all the murder and mystery), and for those who like a bit of light sleaze with their Italian horror, there's a pervy hotel manager who sneaks into a special room to spy on his pretty female guests through a two-way mirror (did I hear someone say 'red herring'?).Writer/director Dino Tavella's handling of the action is, for the most part, unexceptional, although the stylish gimmick of freeze-framing on each successive victim before the killer strikes is a fun touch, and there's a cool scene in which the murderer, wearing a cowl and skull mask, hides in plain sight amongst the remains of several long-dead monks. The film also earns extra points for going against convention, delivering a downbeat finale in which the hero fails to save his girlfriend from the killer's clutches.6.5 out 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

A crazed man kills young beautiful women and embalms the for his 'collection'. The mystery is who, the trills are the chase and the horror of the innocent women embalmed for the killer's showcase in the catacombs.Not the best Italian horror film of the 1960s but it's not a bad movie by any means. Some of it is really atmospheric - deeply Gothic - the catacombs. It's a neat horror film that does have some eerie scenes. It has it's moments of being really good, interesting.I do recommend this film for those that like a decent Italian horror film from the 1960s era.4/10

The Embalmer is a bit of a hybrid of the Italian giallo and the German krimi. It feels more like the latter but displays a lot of the characteristics of the former. It's basically about a killer who swims around the canals in Venice in a wet suit picking off women who he then takes back to his underground lair, which is an abandoned ancient monastery.The idea of a giallo in Venice having a killer who is a frogman is simultaneously ridiculous and perfectly reasonable. It's quite a funny idea really. It fits into the general feel of the film which is one of unashamed senselessness. It does have to be said that the tone of the movie varies a great deal from light-hearted moments to the quite sinister. The villain does kill rather a lot of women and then embalms them in his underground lair to preserve their beauty. They are displayed as a series of dead manikins. Freaky stuff. It's also quite jarring when the film freezes momentarily on a woman to indicate that she is soon to be for the chop.It would probably be fair to say that the movie does meander a bit in the early stages, while the dubbing is particularly atrocious. But these factors are outweighed by some well conceived suspenseful moments. The final twenty minutes in particular are very good, where we enter the killer's underground hide-out. He turns out to be a pretty interesting looking villain, while the scene with the dead monks was totally unexpected and pretty cool. The final third of the movie is particularly well paced and is very atmospheric. Although I do have to admit to being still somewhat puzzled as to the identity of the killer.I don't think this flick is as bad as it is mostly portrayed. It's a minor film for sure but it also has some great moments.