just watch it!

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

George Stark (Teodoro Corrà), a wealthy industrialist, invites several business friends and their partners to his island retreat for the weekend, with the intention of convincing scientist Gerry Farrell (William Berger) to sell his secret formula for a new industrial resin. Philanthropist Gerry isn't interested in making a deal, intending instead to make his invention public, a fact that forces one or more of the guests to turn to murder.The general consensus seems to be that this is one of director Mario Bava's weakest efforts (even Bava himself was reportedly not fond of the film, being contractually obliged to direct); I can't really comment much on that since I've seen too few of his films to compare, but what I can say is that, even though I found the twists and turns of this Italian variation of Agatha Christie's Ten little Indians virtually impossible to fathom (especially the twist ending), there were still enough positives to make it worth a go.As with many a giallo, the female cast are very easy on the eye, with genre regular Edwige Fenech stripping off whenever possible as always. There are numerous murders, and although they all occur off-screen (we get to see just the aftermath), the hanging up of the steadily growing number bodies in a meat locker is wonderfully macabre and darkly amusing. The jazzy score is super cool, perfectly complementing the wonderful '60s/'70s architecture and decor of the island's house. And despite Bava's purported disinterest, there is still an unmistakable sense of style, with effective uses of whip-pans and rapid zooms, and at least one stunning scene worthy of a genius, wherein a display of glass balls roll down a spiral staircase, along the floor, and into a bathtub where a woman has committed suicide.All said and done, if this is his worst, I really must check out his best.

Here's a "5 Dolls" movie-quote that I think sums up my opinion of director Mario Bava in a nutshell - "I can't figure out if you're dangerous, or just stupid!".... Yep. That about says it all! From where I was sitting, "5 Dolls" (from 1970) was one of those moronic movies that contains more "WTF!?" moments in it than you can count on your (and your friends') fingers & toes.This film tried its damnedest to be so cool, so hip, and so sexy. And yet through all of its wasted effort it inevitably defeated itself on these all-important points and, as a result, nearly choked on its own spittle.Even though the 10 actors featured in this lame, Italian, Murder/Mystery were, on the whole, a pretty good-looking bunch, their overall performances were astoundingly flat and painfully self-conscious. And the gauntlet of emotions that they attempted to emote were hollow beyond any reasonable tolerance.Besides all of that, these actors (for the most part) always looked so ridiculously posed. There was nothing natural about their behaviour. For most of the time it seemed so annoyingly forced.And it was because of this "pain-in-the-neck" business that I couldn't have cared less about what happened to any of the characters in this picture. In fact - When, one-by-one, they were being murdered by a mysterious psycho, I got nothing but joy to see each and every one of them get offed.With all of that said - Let's face it, this film's failures were all director Mario Bava's own damn fault. I mean, Bava was such a clueless, "doofus-of-a-film-maker" that he had absolutely no talent for creating genuine horror or sustaining (in the truest sense of the word) even the slightest bit of suspense.On top of all of this, I think "5 Dolls" musical score sucked to the 10th power. From start to finish it was an irksome, grate-on-your-nerves mess of whiny organ music that didn't fit the situation or set the mood for a tale whose focus was supposed to be on the horror of multiple murders.

If you like Giallo, and I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't, then Bava is the man to watch. This may not be his best, but it is still good.Like many have said before, it is make imminently more enjoyable by the presence of Edwige Fenech. She can make any so so movie a good movie. She can also make a good movie great! Unfortunately, someone is killing off the residents of an island one by one, and poor Fenech has a knife stuck in her assets. What a waste.Not a typical Giallo as almost all the murders take place off camera, and the blood and gore is minimal. No nudity either. With the abundance of beautiful women that is a real shame.

Being a fan of Bava's flicks and after hearing quite a few bad and average reviews about this one. I decided to keep my expectations low check this one out. What I found out is that I actually liked it. While not up to the standards of Black Sabbath, Black Sunday, Twitch of the Death Nevrve, or Kill, Baby, Kill you can still tell this was done by Bava and that is what I think I liked about it. Bava's visuals and camera work are awesome even if the story is not. The story concerns a bunch of unscrupulous wealthy investors, at one's their summer home, trying to get a professor to sell his groundbreaking new formula by any means necessary. Then someone starts bumping them off one by one. If anyone looking for a great story from a Bava film is missing the point. The story is really secondary to Bava's visuals, weirdness, and black as night humor(in full swing here). The only complaints I can come up with is that the last section of the movie kind of drags and some of the characters are interchangeable. Some others might complain that there really is not any gore and they are right, but that did not bother me. So, in closing if you are a Bava fan see this one, but if you are not skip it or see the other ones' mentioned above.