The Perfume of the Lady in Black

The Perfume of the Lady in Black ( Il profumo della signora in nero) from 1974 is a wild little tale of madness and deception. Poor Mimsy Farmer plays Silvia Hacherman and is put through a series of horrid events, frights, and visions in the same way she was tormented in Autopsy. But, who...or what...is driving her to the brink of madness?

This is a really slow burn, but the story is pretty strong. And Mimsy does "I'M LOSING MY MIND!!!" well, too, so the acting is somewhat believable. However, some may see the film as something that would have made a fantastic NIGHT GALLERY offering - coming in at 25 to 40 minutes instead of it's 1 hour 43 minute run time. I had it on in the background while working on low level production tasks, so it sped by for me! Might be a good way to watch if you have something like laundry folding to do.




However, things do pay off, so I think this odd little offering from Francesco Barilli (Hotel Fear) is well worth a watch with the lights down low. It's a strange film with echos of films made around the same time like DON'T LOOK NOW, MESSIAH OF EVIL and SISTERS. It takes it's time and tells a pretty good tale and there is enough atmosphere and unanswered questions scattered through the film to keep it interesting.


Check it. 

(( Special thanks to GIALLO GIALLO for the recommend on Twitter! ))