The Killer Must Kill Again (1975)

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Decent film. Cinematography, scenes and acting were good. The story needed much more work, and ending sucked. Not too many kills for a film named killer must kill again. There's a dead woman in the beginning. The wife gets strangled. Blond woman gets stabbed near the end. I was hoping the guy would have gotten killed, but he showed up later. The killer gets stabbed by the rape victim, good work. The cinematography was very good. Acting was good. The dialogue and the English dubbing sucked. The story needed much more work. It was slow and needed some more strange scenes. The ending sucked, with the husband finding the killers car and his dead wife in the trunk. He then drives it off to a waterfront to dump the car. Why not leave the car for the cops to find? So, if this is a giallo, it failed. It didn't have any twist and turns. The just needed to work on the story more. It was professionally produced. Some of the music/sound effects were misplaced.One scene stands out, the sex scene with the Male Carjacker and the Blond woman, edited back and forth with the Killer raping the Female Carjacker. It looked like the Killer was almost shown more humanized. Maybe that's why he didn't killer her. The actor playing the Killer did a great job.Rating is a C, or 5 stars. The ending was just garbage. If they had a tighter story, less car chase scenes, more kills and graphics, and definitely a better ending, this could have been a 7 or 8 stars.

Luigi Cozzi was assistant director on Dario Argento's Four Flies on Grey Velvet, so he had a bit of experience working on a thriller. The Killer Must Kill Again is the first time he got a chance to direct one for himself.The story begins with a man witnessing a mysterious killer disposing of a body by a river. Instead of reporting him to the police, he blackmails him into murdering his wife so that he can cash in the insurance. All goes to plan until a couple of joy riders steal the car where the wife's body is stashed. The killer then pursues these unfortunate delinquents who know nothing of the hidden body.This one benefits from a good cast. Giallo regular George Hilton plays the husband and he is once again convincing as a very shady character. Alessio Orano (Lisa and the Devil) impresses as one of the joy riders. But best of all is Antoine Saint-John as 'the killer'. He is very intense and is impressively creepy in this role. The very fact that, unlike regular gialli, the killer's identity is known from the start is an active advantage here as Saint-John's sinister look could not have been exploited if the murderer was a mystery presence. In fairness, the very fact that there is no mystery in this film at all makes me question if it truly is a giallo in the first place. My feeling is that it isn't, although it shares many of the conventions of the genre such as a cast of unsympathetic characters, brutal violence - including a somewhat unpleasant rape scene - and a stylish look - check out Hilton's yellow pad.Because of the lack of a mystery this one has to depend on other things to keep it interesting. It isn't always successful though and the story does lack a bit of excitement at times. There is a decent set up developed at the beginning and there is some effective tension towards the end but it does meander a bit in the middle. Still, it's well made and acted and is certainly a solid film overall.

I am happy to report that Spanish-born actress Cristina Galbo is now a very solid 3 for 3 with me. She was excellent as the doomed student in the 1971 giallo "What Have You Done To Solange?" and ever so appealing in the 1974 zombie gut-muncher "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie." And now, here she is again in "The Killer Must Kill Again," giving another fine performance in this 1975 Italian suspense thriller. This film tells a simple story, really. A husband (played by hunky giallo regular George Hilton) hires a homicidal maniac to do away with his wife. The deed accomplished, the killer (played by the creepy-looking Michel Antoine) stuffs the body into the trunk of his car, only to have it stolen by a pair of teenaged joyriders (one of whom is our Cristina). This, of course, sends the dumbfounded madman off in hot pursuit.... Anyway, although this picture offers no real surprises (unlike most gialli, we already know the killer's identity, as well as his motivations), there is a great deal of suspense generated somehow, as we suspect that when Antoine eventually does catch up with Galbo and her beau, the spam really will hit the fan. And it does indeed, in spades! The film features competent but fairly undistinguished direction by Luigi Cozzi (flashy only in a couple of sex/rape scenes) and ominous music by Nando de Luca. It is a very straightforward little film, actually, that gives the viewer precisely what is expected. Even Hilton's fate is kind of foreseeable. Still, I did enjoy watching the film go through its paces, and Cristina Galbo's exquisite presence makes it go down all the easier. I think I'm ready now to sign up for her modern-day flamenco classes in California!

Most giallos are scarlet whodunits's, but Luigi Cozzi reveals his killer (Antoine Saint-John) two minutes in and directs our attention to a business relationship struck between the killer and a sleazy ladies' man (George Hilton).Despite breaking a golden rule of the genre, "The Killer Must Kill Again" is a fresh, kinetic thriller with uneven performances (the women), terrific cinematography and striking set pieces.Antoine Saint-John is positively electric as the arrogant psychopath and rivets our attention to the screen. For a change, the storyline is relatively linear and free of the usual clutter. The violence is bloody and smoothly directed, and Cozzi demonstrates a real flair for atmosphere.Certainly not as operatic as an Argento or as sleazy as a Polselli, it is, nevertheless, compelling celluloid and a million miles away from inept Cozzi trash such as "Star Crash" and "Contamination".