perversion story

THE FLICK: Lucio Fulci’s reputation comes with a whole lot of baggage; namely a suitcase full of gore that the director lugged around beginning in the early 80’s until his death in 1996. His films were the very embodiment of “Fangoria”-friendly splatter-fests, full of body-obsessed, gross-out sequences that existed almost entirely outside the narrative. For Fulci, story was a distant second, but that didn’t stop Zombie, The Beyond and House by the Cemetery from becoming legendary in select horror film circles. All of which makes Perversion Story (aka One On Top Of The Other) stand out as an anomaly in the director’s oeuvre. Heavy on plot, if light on originality, Fulci proves that he could deliver a coherent, intriguing mystery if given the right material. Not quite a giallo by definition (Fulci’s Lizard in a Woman’s Skin is a better fit), the story involves a flashy San Francisco doctor (Jean Sorel) whose wife (the outstanding Maris Mell) dies under mysterious circumstances, leaving a two-million dollar insurance policy in the hands of her cheating husband. The police are justifiably suspicious, even more so when the good doctor is seen in the company of one Monica Weston, an exotic dancer who also just happens to be a dead-ringer for his deceased wife. Very timid by way of onscreen bloodletting, Perversion Story is nevertheless an absolute blast from beginning to end. Much of the credit goes to the “groove-tastic” score by Riz Ortolani, whose blaring horns, thumping bass guitar and jumping jazz flute are the perfect accompaniment to the 1969 atmosphere. There’s a degree of camp appeal to Maris Mell’s motorcycle strip tease and the scarcity of skin compared to forthcoming Italian flicks almost qualifies as quaint, but the film also creates some incredibly powerful moments; mirroring the elements of sex, obsession and murder that were part and parcel of Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Visually, Fulci’s style is still plagued by forced zooms and rushed set-ups, but even those elements work in his favor here; creating a look not too far removed from early Friedkin efforts balanced with Hitchcockian compositions. It’s the best looking Fulci film by a long shot and also one of his most accessible; especially for an audience not simply biding their time until the next punctured eyeball. THE FEATURES: Erotic specialists Severin Films earn another gold star with Perversion Story; this one has cult, camp and sex appeal tattooed on its ass! The quality of the transfer is more than acceptable; however extras are non-existent other than the theatrical trailer. So what’s the second-disc all about? It’s actually the rare soundtrack CD of Riz Ortolani’s score for the film in its entirety and it’s fantastic! Pretend you’re Tarantino and make an iPod mix to impress your entourage or simply turn on, tune in and drop out. Your choice, but the set is very well worth the price.