Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Blistering performances.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

A young professor goes to stay with his brother who is a priest and murders start to occur following on from the previous murder of a schoolgirl many years before. Not quite a full blooded giallo but the narrative is clear and all loose ends are tied up satisfactorily. The acting is decent. The two best things are the lovely location photography in Murano, Venice (some shots could be framed as paintings) and another fine music score from the prolific Stelvio Cipriani.It is however too long and could have been cut by 20 minutes at least. Too much time is given to the romance between Sanda and Stefano. Shots of them walking the streets are pretty but just hold the film up needlessly. Not in the Argento league but not bad.

In this heavily plotted Giallo from director / co-writer Antonio Bido, two brothers have a reunion that unfortunately goes sour when graphic murders begin to take place. Stefano D'Archangelo (Lino Capolicchio), the professor, works the clues while taking the time to romance Sandra (Stefania Casini), a new acquaintance, while his priest brother Don Paolo (Craig Hill) is worried that he will be among the victims when he witnesses an assault and soon starts receiving threatening notes. Not all fans of Italys' Giallo genre may be too enamoured with this one as it simply isn't as trashy as some of them. The murders do get fairly intense (one victim has their head shoved into a roaring fire) but the amount of bloodshed is minimal (title of the film notwithstanding). There is also a sex scene and nudity from Casini, but these are done in a tasteful manner, perhaps too tasteful for some of the viewers. While Bidos' direction is good, he never lets style take over, preferring to concentrate first and foremost on telling the story. He lets his film unfold at a very deliberate pace; he devotes a fair amount of time to Stefanos' courting of the lovely Sandra, who works as a painter. As a result, one might grow impatient waiting for the next major set piece. Still, when these set pieces come, they prove worth the wait, such as a sequence of Sandra being stalked as she heads home. The twists are decent and keep the audience guessing; there are of course red herrings and the identity of the disturbed killer might come as a shock to some. One of the strongest assets here is the way Bido utilizes the Venice setting; the sights and sounds are a pleasure to take in. The music score by Stelvio Cipriani runs hot and cold - sometimes it's quite atmospheric, at others it's just too offbeat to really work, especially when it's used for suspense sequences. The cast is solid, with Capolicchio and Hill making for a likable sibling duo; Capolicchio is also a refreshingly different sort of hero as he has a real average Joe quality. This isn't among the absolute best of its kind but it's still pretty good; aficionados should be reasonably satisfied. The ending is awfully abrupt, though. Seven out of 10.

The Bloodstained Shadow is a later entry into the giallo genre. The film revolves around an unsolved murder from many years before the picture begins, leading to subsequent murders in a section of Venice. A college professor returns to the village to visit his brother, the local priest. Soon after arriving, the priest witnesses a murder but cannot identify the killer. This leads to séances, blackmail, and a film that is about 20 minutes too long.Unlike many giallo films, this one never becomes sleazy, though there is an extended nude scene at one point. The killer is not a "sex maniac" as is so often the case in these sorts of films. Rather, blackmail is a main plot point. There isn't much bloodshed, and even less stalking, though the director does manage to throw in some voyeurism, back alleys, gloved hands, and POV shots. Nothing to really recommend about the feature; it's a very average entry.Of passing interest is that Blue Underground DVD seems to have swiped a musical sample from this film's score and used it as their bumper music at the intro of any DVD they release. This is interesting since The Bloodstained Shadow was released on DVD by Anchor Bay.

Stefano (Lino Capolicchio) goes to Venice to visit his brother--priest Don Paolo (Craig Hill). While there certain people are being murdered for no rhyme or reason. Also Don Paolo is getting letters threatening his life.Plot wise there's nothing new here. You've seen these characters (and situations) in giallos of the past. Also Capolicchio and Stefania Casini (playing his blank girlfriend Sandra) are pretty terrible actors. We're supposed to identify with them but they don't come across at all. And, of course, there's the obligatory pointless sex scene and a long trip through the canals that leads to nothing. Still this works. The cinematography here is just great--virtually every shot here takes your breath away. Hill is very good as Don Paolo--more of him could only have helped the movie. There's also a great score by the group Goblin--almost as good as the one for "Suspiria". The ending is effective too. So--it's no great shakes but you could do worse. See a wide screen print. I give it a 7.