The Case of the Bloody Iris

(aka "Perché quelle strane gocce di sangue sul corpo di Jennifer?" or "Erotic Blue" or "What Are Those Strange Drops of Blood Doing on Jennifer's Body?")

directed by Giuliano Carnimeo (as Anthony Ascott)
Italy 1972

When two young women are viciously slain in a luxury high-rise, a beautiful young model (Edwige Fenech of The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh and All the Colours of the Dark) moves into one of their vacated apartments – and soon finds that she is now being stalked by the mysterious killer! The suspects include her ex-husband (a member of a group sex cult), a predatory lesbian neighbor, the deformed son of a sinister widow, and even the building's handsome architect (George Hilton of The Sweet Body of Deborah) who suffers from a paralyzing fear of blood. Can she expose the masked maniac with a taste for luscious women and depraved murder before she becomes his next victim? Directed by Giuliano Carnimeo (under the pseudonym Anthony Ascott) and written by Ernesto Gastaldi (screenwriter of such notorious thrillers as Torso and The Whip and the Body), this shocking giallo is also known as "Erotic Blue" or "What Are Those Strange Drops of Blood Doing on Jennifer's Body?"

***

This brisk little thriller is a textbook example of a giallo: Perche Quelle Strane Gocce Di Sangue Sul Corpo Di Jennifer? doesn't make a lot of sense but it keeps the viewer guessing throughout and packs plenty of wild visual excess into its running time. Ernesto Gastaldi's script is thin on characterization and logic but delivers all the elaborate murder setpieces, red herrings and radical plot twists the genre requires. Director Giuliano Carnimeo avoids allowing the viewer to dwell on the gimmicky nature of the storytelling by maintaining a snappy pace and trotting out a vast array of eye-catching visual devices (zooms, fish-eye lens shots, point-of-view camerawork) to keep the viewer's eye dazzled throughout. The performances are limited by the weak characterizations but Edwige Fenech is easy on the eyes as the film's heroine and George Hilton makes a decent square-jawed hero. All these elements make Perche Quelle Strane Gocce Di Sangue Sul Corpo Di Jennifer? a fast-paced, occasionally startling piece of macabre eye candy. Viewers looking for narrative depth won't find much of interest here but fans of 1970's Eurotrash are likely to consider it a kitschy delight.

Excerpt from MRQE located HERE

Poster

Theatrical Premiere: August 4th, 1972

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Comparison:

Blue Underground - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Shameless - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

1) Blue Underground - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT

2) Shameless - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - RIGHT

Box Cover
Distribution	Blue Underground Region 1 - NTSC	Shameless - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:34:51	1:34:42.718
Video	2.29:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.15 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 35,151,416,646 bytes Feature: 24,917,821,440 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 29.98 Mbps
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Bitrate Blu-ray
Audio	Dolby Digital 2.0 (English)	LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit LPCM Audio Italian 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
Subtitles	None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Blue Underground Aspect Ratio: Original - 2.23:1 Edition Details: • Alternate Stabbing Scene (0:27) • British Trailer (2:31) • Text screen bio of Giuliano Carnimeo DVD Release Date: February 26th, 2008 Keep Case Chapters 25	Release Information: Studio: Shameless 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 35,151,416,646 bytes Feature: 24,917,821,440 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 29.98 Mbps Edition Details: • A new candid chat with the amazing George Hilton ("Flowers of Blood" 20:43) • A new scintillating chat with star Paola Quattrini (11:51) Blu-ray Release Date: November 18th, 2018 Yellow Blu-ray Case Chapters:12

Comments

Shameless bring us an all new 2k scan of Giuliano Carnimeo's "The Case of the Bloody Iris" on a dual-layered Blu-ray. The new 2.35:1 image underwent extensive restoration and is supported by a high bitrate. Detail is significantly clearer than on the previous DVD, with clothing now showing texture, and faces now showing wrinkles, etc. Colors are also improved here, with bloodier reds, and more realistic skin coloration. Contrast looks good, with shadows having a greater depth of blacks and showing a little more detail in the SD transfer. This is a fine upgrade from Shameless, fans should be pleased.

Both the English-language and Italian-language versions are available - in 2.0 channel linear PCM transfers (16-bit.) There may be a slight sync issue in dialogue that I would say is only barely noticeable and not distracting. The score is by Bruno Nicolai (The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave, Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key, Face to Face, The Perverse Countess, Torso, Ten Little Indians, Pasolini's Hawks and the Sparrows) which, adds to this Giallo with relatively passive chords augmenting the fleeing scenes, fast edit close-ups of eyes and Jennifer's nightmare. There are all new (optional) English subtitles in a yellow font on this Region 'B' Blu-ray.

Shameless have included two extras on this Blu-ray. The first is the 21-minute "Flowers of Blood", an interview with George Hilton. Also included here is the 12-minute "Marilyn", an interview with Paola Quattrini. These two interviews with the stars cover a wide range of topics, and are well worth your time.

"The Case of the Bloody Iris" is a pretty fantastic Giallo, with many wild shots and uncanny moments. Whereas a great number of Gialli pictures remind me of Hitchcock, this one in particular reminds me a great deal of "Dressed to Kill" and "Body Double" era DePalma. The new 2k transfer from Shameless is certainly quite a significant improvement over the previously available SD DVD.

- Colin Zavitz

***

ON THE DVD: The Case of the Bloody Iris is a quintessential example of the Giallo genre. This Italian horror/thriller has stabbing knives, leather gloves, a masked killer not revealed till the end, a score by mainstay Bruno Nicolai and both Edwige Fenech and Annabella Incontrera... naked.

Blue Underground's, anamorphic, single-layered DVD transfer is in around the 2.23:1 aspect ratio and colors are drab/faded. I expect 1080P would improve the image demonstratively. No damage but it's modest appearance in the lesser format anticipates a high resolution transfer.

Eric tells us: "THE CASE OF THE BLOODY IRIS is a direct port of the Anchor Bay DVD with replaced logos and warning screen. The AB edition was available exclusively in a boxed set with BLOODSTAINED SHADOW, SHORT NIGHT OF THE GLASS DOLLS, and WHO SAW HER DIE? (the other three were released separately)"

Lossy Dolby surround track only in the English DUB. There are no subtitles on the NTSC DVD.

Extras include a brief alternate stabbing scene, the UK trailer and a text bio of the director, Giuliano Carnimeo.

This is an entertaining Giallo - let's hope for it to surface on Blu-ray one day - Arrow? Shameless? Blue Underground?

- Gary Tooze

DVD Menu

Shameless - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Subtitle Sample - Shameless - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

1) Blue Underground - Region 1 - NTSC TOP