Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

LastingAware The greatest movie ever!

SunnyHello Nice effects though.

HomeyTao For having a relatively low budget, the film's style and overall art direction are immensely impressive.

Giallo Fanatic But I found this to be a tad boring compared to the rest of the 'Animal Trilogy'. It is not bad but it is not great either. It is still memorable though. I often play the music Ennio Morricone made for this movie in my head. There is something very haunting about this movie's soundtrack. (Well, quite honestly, much of the music in Argento's movies are haunting). It is a very atmospheric music. The POVs of the killer are also quite memorable, it made it feel like you were not only witnessing murder on screen but were taking part in it. Regarding the murders in this movie they are not as flamboyant as they usually are compared to Argento movies. Some might say a little boring. But although they are not as violent or as flamboyant I still find them to be uncomfortable. But what it lacks in violence it makes up for in atmosphere with its images and music. It is a more subtle atmosphere, not as outrageous or as otherworldly as the other movies Dario made. It also has a simpler story and simpler plot. Although simple, it surprisingly is not easy to figure out what is going in the movie. I admit I missed many of the subtleties the first time I saw it. But it was my first Giallo and my second movie of Argento (my first was 'Phenomena') and honestly it left me with a kind of poor impression. But as time went on and I became more familiar with the Giallo sub genre it grew on me.Plot: who is the killer?, writer/director: Dario Argento, year of release: 1971, genre: thriller, themes: secrecy, violence, despair and inquisitiveness. Summary: a blind former reporter teams up with a reporter to solve the murder of a man whose secret got him murdered. In doing so, also becomes the target of the killer who is ready to kill anyone who stands in his way. I would say this is one of Dario's more politically correct movies. If not the most politically correct. I did not find it to be as thought provoking as, say 'The Bird with the Crystal Plumage'. Or 'Four Flies on Grey Velvet'. Which might have led to Dario calling it his most boring movie to date. I have not seen all of his movies but so far I agree with him. But it is still a good movie. Also I want to mention Karl Malden, his presence in the movie overshadowed the performance of James Franciscus. James is no way a bad actor but he seemed more like a side character in the presence of Karl Malden's character 'Cookie'. I normally don't mention much of the performances of the actresses and actors in an Argento movie since they are not as important as what Dario wants to communicate. But here I felt I had to make an exception and mention Karl Malden.Interesting story, subtle plot and atmosphere. An amazing Karl Malden but with a tendency to drag a little and not so focused plot I will rate this movie 7/10. Worth watching and adding to a Cultist's shelf. Recommended to watch for anyone with an interest in thriller /mystery and the Giallo sub genre.

acidburn-10 "Cat O' Nine Tails" which was directed by none other than Dario Argento and followed on from the brilliance of "The Bird With The Crystal Plummage", this marks another highlight in his filmography and beautifully shot and fantastically produced, giving us another exciting chapter in his animal trilogy.Like the first part the plot again revolves around a murder mystery, and okay this doesn't quite have the style of his other works, but it's definitely an interesting effort. Plot wise this has all the usual giallo trappings with plenty of twists and turns and many red herrings. It starts off with a blind man Franco and his niece Lori who are out walking one night and overhear a conversation between two men in a parked car, Lori sees one but the other is hidden by darkness. Then that same evening a robbery occurs and later leads to several murders. So Franco and Lori enlist the help of a reporter Carlo to unravel the mystery.Like I said this may lack Dario's usual visual style, but it does pack a punch and keeps the viewer interested as the plot of the movie starts to unravel and events take place, and yes at times does become predictable, like when a character knows who the killer is, only to be bumped off straight away, but the deaths lack the usual gore set pieces, therefore not being as violent, but we do get a shot of the killer's eyes which was quite thrilling and well shot. The nine leads hence from the title is another interesting aspect of the movie, but kinda goes off point and all over the place and we are then introduced to sub plots that go nowhere, okay they can be passed off as red herrings, and then there's the eventual reveal of the killer, which wasn't as shocking as it should have been, but the chase and other plot points leading to it was quite intense though.The acting in this is pretty solid the relationship between Carlo and Franco was quite spot on and excellently played by Karl Malden and James Francisous, and both strike up a likable quality which makes you want them to succeed and of course Catherine Spaak was very glamorous and seductive in her role as Anna Terzi, even though her part was pretty small, but still memorable.All in all "Cat O' Nine Tails" isn't as bloody or sleazy as the usual giallo thrillers which isn't a bad thing and still has a good plot, decent acting and plenty of fun and a definite highlight in Dario's filmography.

JasparLamarCrabb Dario Argento's second feature is a solid Gaillo. Intrepid reporter James Franciscus, along with blind Karl Malden, tries to piece together who is behind a series of gruesome strangulations/ slashings...all seemingly connected to the work being done at a genetics lab. In what would become a hallmark of future Argento films, each murder is shown in graphic style. Argento creates a real sense of terror with this shocker. Franciscus is fine, if a bit bland but Malden gives truly believable performance. Catherine Spaak is also in it, sporting what has to be the tallest hairdo of anyone appearing in a horror film. The score by Ennio Morricone is a real treat.

classicsoncall I'm not familiar with this 'giallo' genre, so once again I have to tip my hat to IMDb viewers who really get into their subject matter when writing about their favorite films. This movie wasn't really my cup of tea, but seeing James Franciscus and Karl Malden of all people turn up in an Italian flick proved rather interesting. The story has to do with a discovery in genetic research that may be linked to predicting violent behavior. Now that I think about it, I wonder whether the killer exposed at the end of the story had the XYY combination as a part of his genetic makeup. If it ever came up I missed it, because the dialog was somewhat difficult to follow in the print I just viewed.The picture's title is apparently a device to suggest nine possible leads to the person behind the murders at the center of the story. I had a bit of trouble buying the idea that Malden's character, a blind ex-reporter, would have been able to overhear a conversation between a couple of men in a parked car. Even less convinced that the two guys would continue speaking in the first place since they were plotting something nefarious to begin with.For my taste, this was a bit long and tedious, but since I'm committed to watching every film in my Millcreek Mystery Collection, I had to make the effort at some point. Not altogether a bad film, there were some interesting elements, but overall one I could have skipped with no serious side effects.