Giallo Month Review: What Have You Done to Solange (1972)

"No one did anything to Solange. She did it to herself!"

Italian for "Yellow," Giallo movies are Italian Thrillers that are rife with gratuitous violence and nudity; shadowy, black-gloved killers; absurd plots; bad dubbing; and intense atmosphere like no other. The Gialli films of the late 60's/early 70's helped give birth to the Slasher film as we know it.

Krimi films, which are lesser known than Gialli, are German Thrillers that are based in some way on the books of Edgar Wallace. They're usually set in England, and are essentially murder mysteries, with some random sex and violence thrown in for good measure.

What Have You Done to Solange? is a Giallo/Krimi hybrid, which may be why it feels so different from the standard Giallo fare, and may be why it was so entertaining overall.

While sexy Professor Enrico Rosseni and his 16-year-old lover Elizabeth are floating down the lake in a rowboat, inappropriately kissing and fondling, Elizabeth notices the flash of a blade on the bank. Enrico assumes that despite his magnificent beard, that she's just trying to spurn his attempted statutory rape, and so he gets all pissy about it, and they leave.

HOW COULD ANY UNDERAGE GIRL RESIST THE SEXY APPEAL OF THAT BEARD?

The next morning on the news, Enrico hears that the body of a girl was discovered on the riverbank, and he races to the scene only to discover that his little Lolita wasn't just trying to avoid sex with a much older man after all; she really did witness a murder, and one where a girl was stabbed to death in the vagina. Like it always happens in these films, Enrico begins to investigate the murder, which the Cops have no problem with at all, despite him being a civilian.

HE'S ABOUT TO SEND HER TO DETENTION IF SHE DOESN'T LET HIM FINISH.

As more girls show up having been stabbed to death in the vagina, Enrico becomes the prime suspect, because he dropped his pen at the scene; his wife learns he's a cheating man-whore who like little girls; and he must work frantically to discover who is murdering his potential lovers, before it's too late... which he'll do once he discovers just what happened to Solange.

VAGINA KILLER.

What Have You Done To Solange? might be the classiest Giallo that we've ever seen. As much nudity and murder as there is in this movie, it's not really all that gratuitous or sleazy, which isn't exactly par for the course for the average Giallo movie. It feels almost sanitized in a way, and yet even with that level of restraint, it doesn't lose any of its bite.

All of the familiar trappings of the standard Gialli are here: A shadowy, black-gloved killer that is out for some sort of retribution; shocking, gruesome murders; an ordinary guy who has no business investigating the murders who is forced/compelled to do so; sexually promiscuous girls; plenty of nudity; and that feel... that Italian Horror movies of the 70's feel. We have to give Solange? credit, as it didn't feel anywhere near as cheesy, melodramatic, or non-sensical as most Italian Horror movies of its time did.

This was also Camille Keaton's (I Spit On Your Grave) first movie, and she did a good job playing the troubled Solange. The gorgeous Karin Baal was also good as the wife of the cheating Enrico. Despite her husband's adulterous, age-inappropriate assholery, she was a down ass bitch to the end. We liked her.

WHOSE HAND IS THAT?

The accents in this movie were atrocious. Were we really supposed to believe that they were all British? And the black dude... could they not have at least dubbed him better?

"DON'T JIVE ME, MAN!" REALLY?

I'm not sure how things work in Europe, but here in America, if a teacher has sex with his underage student, people don't just call him a "Sex Maniac" and give him stern looks. No, they fire him, and then he goes to prison.

Bravo, Europe, for not putting such silly restraints on lust true love!

SURE, HE MAY BE EYEING THEM LIKE A HUNGRY WOLF EYES A FLOCK OF INNOCENT, VULNERABLE SHEEP, BUT THAT TRACKSUIT IS FANTASTIC.

A bunch of girls get killed in this one, and the scene that gives the movie its title is fairly disturbing, but none of it is very graphic.

THAT IS JUST WRONG.

This movie is full of naked young girls having sex, taking showers together, and being murdered. One of those situations is of course as un-sexy as it gets, but hey, naked is naked.

NOT ROMANTIC AT ALL.

Arrow Films just doesn't know how to make a bad disc, and in fact, their releases are consistently excellent. This 2K restoration is visually stunning, and it's amazing how great the movie looks compared to every other release that its had. The Italian Language Audio track is stronger than the English one (the former has a better mix, and the latter sounded tinny to us at times), but it didn't bother us all that much.

It's also got plenty of Supplemental Material for fans of the film to sort through.

Overall, this is an excellent disc.

HER PUSSY LOOKS SOFT AND CUDDLY.

What Have You Done To Solange? may not be a typical Giallo film in many ways, but it certainly is one of the best of them that we've ever seen. It's above average in its storytelling and its characters, and it retains its nasty edge despite being mostly blood-free. We'll even go so far as to call it a poignant story about the loss of innocence.

It's a great movie, and one worth checking out, especially in its current Arrow Video Blu-ray form.

A

What Have You Done To Solange? is available now on Blu-ray.

There are so many gorgeous ladies in What Have You Done To Solange?, that we've even given them their own Retro-Hottie post HERE.

Giallo Month Review: The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972)

"Giallo, Gothic style."

Now here's a Giallo that gives us plenty of the things that made the sub-genre so brilliant back in the day while adding a decidedly Gothic bent to the proceedings, making it a bit of a unique effort. It also throws in a bit of supernatural mystery which makes it even more compelling.

It's really too bad that director Emilio Miraglia only made two Giallo movies in his very short career -this one, and the equally compelling The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave- because they guy had a knack for it.

Odd how both movies center around a girl named Evelyn too...

We begin with young Kitty Wildenbruck innocently playing with her doll when her sister Evelyn steals it and runs off. They end up in their grandfathers study, where Evelyn becomes possessed by a painting, and proceeds to repeatedly stab the doll and ripping it's head off. Then Kitty loses her shit and starts to beat her sister's ass, which prompts Evelyn to reach for the knife to stab her like she did the doll, until grandpa does the rollover with his wheelchair and breaks the two up. Keep in mind that these are 8 year old girls.

WHAT A LITTLE JOY SHE IS.

He then explains to them that the Wildenbruck family has been cursed for centuries by the legend of the Red and Black Queens. They were sisters who hated each other with a passion, so when The Red Queen fell in love and married, The Black Queen would have none of that shit, and stabbed her to death, seven times (seven stabs, because you can't really stab someone to death seven separate times.) Because of this, every hundred years, The Red Queen returns to take her revenge by killing seven people in the family, because this is Italian Horror, and why not?

TO GET THE GIRLS TO STOP TRYING TO KILL ONE ANOTHER, GRANDPAPPY TELLS THEM A TERRIFYING STORY ABUT TWO SISTERS WHO HATED EACH OTHER SO MUCH THAT IT DROVE THEM TO MURDER.

14 years later, Kitty has grown up to be a foxy scoop of gelato who is also a successful photographer. After a mysterious woman in red gives her Grandpa a heart attack, memories of Evelyn and the whole Red Queen thing comes flooding back to her... in the form of people dying all around her.

ITALIAN FOREPLAY.

There's a lot more to the plot that I don't want to spoil for you here, but suffice it to say that the Wildenbruck family has issues, Kitty's boyfriend is a sleazy playboy who bangs just about every woman in the movie, and there's a greasy raper skulking around who wants lots of money and some of Kitty's kitty.

Giallo goodness ensues.

THE RED QUEEN, IN MID-KILL.

A Giallo with a Gorhic Horror flair, TRQK7T is a solid entry into the Gialli pantheon. It's not as heavy on the sexuality as many other films of its kind are, and it wasn't quite as gory as we'd imagined it would be, but overall, this is a pretty enjoyable movie that dazzles with its gorgeous locales, striking cinematography, and the type of atmosphere that Italian Horror flicks from the days of yore could deliver like no other. The score is a standout too.

As per usual for a Giallo, the film's plot is confusing and changes gears in odd ways throughout its overly-convoluted narrative, and will make you say "what the hell?" more than a few times... but that's the beauty of the Giallo, isn't it? Part of the sub-genre's genuine charm comes from the silly plots, overacting, and crazy shit that they offer up in an absolutely serious way.

And can we take a second to acknowledge that not only is Barbara Bouchet smoking hot, but she has genuine talent that would have made her a superstar had she gone the Hollywood route. Good lord is she sexy, and those eyes... expressive on a level all their own.

ONE OF THE GREATS.

I don't know which is harder to accept: the fact that she's wearing that hat un-ironically, or the fact that the massive white box on the table that looks like a computer is an answering machine.

LIFE IN THE 70'S WAS ROUGH.

10% less convoluted plot and 20% more exploitational visuals would have made this Giallo top-tier.

MORE OF THIS. ALWAYS MORE OF THIS.

As per usual with Giallo movies, this one was full of some weird shit.

• That bats that flapped around people's head without anyone seeing to notice.
• The random rape scene that happens out of nowhere, cuts away quick, returns to find a distraught Barbara Bouchet in hysterics in a bloodied (WTF?) room, and then is completely forgotten about in short order as things go right back to normal.
• And where was the third sister, Franziska when they were kids? She's not in the flashback, but she shows up in present day like she's been there the whole time. And for that matter, where are the girls' parents? They're nowhere to be seen, so if the third sister came later, who did she come from?

WHERE THE HELL DID SHE EVEN COME FROM?

This one delivers the goods, with an impressive impaling, the van scene, a car drag, and a head being bashed against some rocks are standout moments.

THIS IS WHY GIRLS SHOULD AVOID GOING ANYWHERE NEAR VANS.

Sybil Danning (who we didn't even recognize) gets naked in this one, and Barbara Bouchet suffers a sexual attack that leaves her naked and afraid.

DON'T WORRY, SHE'LL BE OVER THIS IN LIKE 2O MINUTES.

Gialli are so wonderful to experience because they're stylish as hell, they tend to offer up plenty of gore and tawdry sexuality, and they have atmosphere to spare. TRQK7T is one of the better offerings in the sub-genre, giving us a great heroine to root for, some cool deaths, and some truly "out there" moments to savor.

It's not exactly top-tier, but add this one to your list.

B

The Red Queen Kills Seven Times is available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD. It's on Shudder as well.

The incomparable Barbara Bouchet; a very young Sybil Danning; and the lovely Marina Malfatti, who passed away in 2016.