Seven Blood-Stained Orchids

A great movie. Another super release from 88 films highly recommended.

Good professional giallo, almost as good as Dario Argento but not as intricate. Lenzi seems to be a "trooper" director, finishing overall successful movies at a fast pace.

Excellent edition of a classic giallo, Lenzi proving he can direct with style. Superb, essential purchase for horror/giallo fans.

simply a great enjoyable giallo..nothing more to say..buy it,enjoy it...simple as that

Umberto Lenzi has dipped his toe in the Giallo waters several times and with the exception of Eyeball, this one is probably my favourite. In typical Gialli fashion, there is someone in black, in fact almost similarly dressed like the killer in Blood and Black Lace. One of his victims survives and with the newspapers proclaiming that she's dead, she is free to investigate this killer. Lenzi knows exactly what he is doing and is extremely comfortable in this sub-genre. The mystery is front and center and Lenzi leads the viewer on a chase to find out who this person is. It really does mix Slashers and Whodunits perfectly. The film looks great, The design and style are present, there is some stand out scenes. I love the woman early on in her apartment as she finds her cats and is then slaughtered her self. This is a great looking transfer of the film.

Product arrived in perfect shape.

The story is about a maniac who is killing women and leaving behind half-moon lockets with the bodies. When a young woman survives an attack she and her husband try to find out who's responsible for the carnage themselves. Directed by Umberto Lenzi (Cannibal Ferox) this Giallo is probably my favourite of all his films and features some great direction few thought was possible of the man. There are a couple of gore scenes; most notably the bloody drill sequence and Lenzi constructs the death sequences well with some great effective suspense and imagination. Riz Ortolani has made a brilliant score and the film features some beautiful women that all adds to the positives. Lenzi has more to offer than just extreme gore filled entertainment like "Nightmare City" and "Eaten Alive" and this stylish Giallo proves that. This release from shriek show is region 1 and the picture is decent. The extras on the DVD are interviews and trailers.

Avoid. Awful film with dreadful effects and cheesy actors

Great Umberto Lenzi outing. The well-heeled and glamorous power couple, played by Sabato and Uschi Glas go Hart to Hart. (The fuzz are complacent and incompetent.) That said, Sabato and Glas aren't particularly quick on the draw. Nevertheless, it's a worthy entry in the "hubby and wife amateur sleuthing" trope. They rub elbows with some real freaks and dirtbags on their adventures. Also stars Marisa Mell(Danger: Diabolik, Casanova 70; her off-screen life is one of the most bizarre stories you'll hear) and dozens - dozens! of familiar faces round out the cast. Features a convoluted(not confusing, however) plot, yet still makes sense and is easy and fun to follow. The finale doesn't cheat either. Movie seems relatively high budget - great sets, locations and some of the best camera work seen in a Lenzi film. Eye popping color and inventive camera work; some inventive POV shots from the killer and victim(s) incredibly effective. Ric Ortolini's score more "rock" than his other compositions - indeed, there's a Jimi Hendrix poster in a dope pad. Great fun, I'd recommend this to a giallo newbie; heaps of highly stylized sex and violence. Code Red did a great job on this one. English and Italian language, both subtitled. (The dubbed with English subs is the most fun.) Great picture and audio. Extras, too! Not your average bare-boned Code Red release. I hope they put as much effort to quality for upcoming bluray releases.

Bel giallo anni 70 di Umberto Lenzi.

A great movie about a woman, surviver of a failed murder attempt by a person dubbed-The half-moon killer by the police. A 1972 colour movie.

Love this giallo. Bluray transfer is not a mind blowing upgrade over shriek show DVD, but still very nice. Sound is great though and you get italian audio track which is always the best way to view these flicks

Warning SPOILERS!!! Here's an entertaining giallo film by one of Italy's best genre directors. Supposedly based on a story by Edgar Wallace, as well as Cornell Woolrich's novel "Rendezvous In Black", this film also has an unusually large cast of genre pros, so we have a huge amount of red herrings to choose from. A serial murderer, dubbed "The Half-Moon Killer" by the Press (based on the half-moon lockets he leaves on his victims), has warned the police that he will claim seven victims, but one woman has survived his slaughter. She could hold the key to unmasking the killer, but at what cost? We first see the black-gloved killer sneaking into a house, switchblade in hand. He enters a bedroom where a middle-aged woman is sleeping. He viciously stabs the woman when she wakes up, looking at a photo of her daughter on the nightstand. He then drives to the daughter (Gabriella Giorgelli; WOMEN IN CELL BLOCK 7 - 1973), who is a prostitute waiting for a john at a local hooker walk. The killer picks her up in his classy car and drives her to a field on the bank of the Tiber River, where she strips topless. The killer then pummels her with a metal bar until her bloody body lies dead on the ground, leaving a half-moon locket in her hand. Police Inspector Vismara (Pier Paolo Capponi; THE CAT O'NINE TAILS - 1971) arrives at the scene the next morning and asks Lt. Palumbo (Aldo Barberito; ROME: ARMED TO THE TEETH - 1976) to find out the hooker's real name and to find out why she was called "La Toscana" on the street. Giulia Torresi (Uschi Glass; ANGELS OF TERROR - 1971), who is about to marry clothing designer Mario Gerosa (Antonio Sabato; THE MAN WITH ICY EYES - 1971), gets a phone call from the killer at the boutique she owns, but he hangs up. Mario spends his last day as a bachelor at an art gallery with a bunch of "abstract painters", where the killer calls the gallery and asks to speak to "Kathy Adams", but when the gallery owner says he will look for her, the killer hangs up the phone. We then see that the killer was calling from inside the gallery and he watches as Kathy Adams (Marina Malfatti; THE RED QUEEN KILLS SEVEN TIMES - 1972) picks up the phone and discovers there is no one on the other end. What is the killer's game? We soon find out. Kathy leaves the gallery and goes home (to feed her cats). As she is getting ready for bed, she hears her cats moaning and goes to investigate, finding her three cats lying on the kitchen floor, poisoned by the milk she just fed them. The killer then stabs Kathy in the neck, leaving a half-moon locket on her dead, topless body. What is the connection between Kathy and "La Toscana"? The Inspector wants to know, too, as he hasn't identified "La Toscana" yet and orders Lt. Palumbo to dig up some info on her so he can have some idea who he is dealing with. The next time we see Giulia and Mario, they are married and traveling by train to have a quick honeymoon. When Mario leaves their compartment to go get a sandwich, the killer strikes, slicing away at Giulia with a straight razor, but the conductor hears the commotion and interrupts the killer before he can leave the half-moon locket. At Giulia's funeral, the police take photos of every male person that attended, thinking the the killer would be there. Mario is able to identify everyone in the photos, except for one (It's a photo of Lt. Renzi [Franco Fantasia; THE MURDER MANSION - 1972]; a trick perpetrated by Lt. Palumbo without the Inspector's knowledge). Mario tells the Inspector that he has known Giulia for three years, ever since her father died, and he doesn't believe she has any connection to the two other murdered women, but the Inspector is not so sure. It is at this time that we discover that Giulia is very much alive, her funeral a ploy to get the killer to expose himself. Is it possible that the killer is in the photos that Mario identified? Giulia is not able to identify Kathy because she didn't know her, but she is able to identify "La Toscana". Her name was Ines and she worked as a maid at a hotel her father once owned (She was called "La Toscana" because the hotel was in Tuscany). Giulia tells the Inspector that Ines was engaged to Giovanni Rau (Nello Pazzafini; CONTRABAND - 1980), an unpleasant man who took advantage of Ines' position and stole from the hotel. Giulia and Ines "denounced" Giovanni (whatever that means) and he swore to get even. The Inspector and Lt. Palumbo grill Giovanni (complete with a bright light shining on his face!), but they get nowhere, even though he confesses (but they don't believe him). Giulia and Mario then go on a trip, where he gives her a half-moon keychain and tells her it was a present from the Inspector (WTF?!?). Giulia looks at the keychain and tells Mario that she recognizes it. It looks exactly the same as a keychain left on a table at her father's hotel two years earlier. All she can remember about the man who left it was that he was American, tall, young, but his face escapes her. She knows he wasn't a client of the hotel, as he would only eat there every once in a while. Giulia also remembers he lived in a resident's hotel on the River Del Sole. Mario postpones their trip and they head to the resident's hotel, where Mario pretends to be a private investigator and grills the hotel manager. Mario gets nowhere, but Giulia gets an idea to check the hotel's registry books since, by law, they have to keep them for five years. She hopes seeing the American's name will trigger an identity in her mind (It's a good plan). Giulia remembers it was the end of the season, in September or October of 1969, but when she and Mario look at the books, the page for September 29, 1969 is missing. Is the killer that intelligent to get rid of any evidence that can identify him? Giulia and Mario are shocked to discover that Kathy Adams stayed at the hotel on September 28 & 30, so she must have been there on the 29th. Did she remove the page and, if she did, why? Giulia and Mario are able to deduce that seven women (including Giulia) were at the hotel that weekend in 1969 and two of them are dead (three if you count Giulia). Is it possible that the other four women, Anita Ferri, Elena Marchi, Concetta De Rosa and Anna Sartori, are next on the killer's list? A priest (Renato Romano; THE SECRET OF DORIAN GRAY - 1970) turns up every once in a while to supply Mario and Giulia with vital information, but why does it always sound like a warning? We discover that Elena Marchi (Rossella Falk; BLACK BELLY OF THE TARANTULA - 1971) is in an insane asylum and believes the Devil wants to kill her. Anita Ferri died a year ago of natural causes. Concetta De Rosa (Petra Schürmann; SCHOOL OF FEAR - 1969) lives in Palermo and Anna Sartori (Marisa Mell; MARTA - 1971) married the wealthy Palmieri (Ivano Davoli) and are currently touring Australia. Mario deduces that Elena is the next person on the killer's list, so he and Giulia head for the asylum, but they are too late, as the killer has made his way into Elena's room and drowns her in the bathtub (an incredibly tense scene). The killer attacks Mario, stabbing him in the arm and Giulia sees the killer fleeing. The Inspector, who has two policemen stand guard over Giulia and Mario, goes to Palermo to talk to Concetta, who is a school teacher. Mario ditches the police and talks to Raffaele Ferri (Claudio Gora; MAD DOG - 1977), the widower of the deceased Anita, and comes up with a drawing of the American based on Raffaele's memory (He looks like Charlie Brown!). Mario begins showing the drawing on the streets, where a beggar notices him as a friend of Barrett (Bruno Corazzari; THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARDH - 1971), a man who throws sleazy sex parties. Mario finds Barrett at one of his sex parties and he tells Mario that the American's name is Frank Saunders, but he hasn't seen him since July of 1969, when Frank got "hung up on some chick" and then disappeared. Concetta goes to church for Confessional and when the Inspector realizes it was a trap set up by the killer, he races to the church (another incredibly tense scene), only to find Concetta dead in the confessional, strangled with a half-moon locket in her hand. Mario gets close to finding Frank and when he gets too close, the killer calls him on the phone and sets up a meeting. Mario discovers the grave marker of Frank Saunders in a cemetery, who died on September 30, 1969. Beneath the headstone lie seven orchids stained with red and Mario asks the cemetery custodian who left the orchids. He doesn't know, but he tells Mario this is the first time anyone has visited Frank's grave since he died. Mario discovers Frank died in a car accident just outside of Rome and the unknown woman driving the car that killed Frank left the scene, making his death a murder. Meanwhile, the Inspector meets Anna Sartori and her husband at the airport, as they have just returned from Australia. Think you know who the killer is? You better, because I am not going to give it away. Just as in all my giallo reviews, I have given you enough information for you to figure out on your own. Director/co-screenwriter Umberto Lenzi (KNIFE OF ICE - 1972; SPASMO - 1974; EYEBALL - 1975) has crafted a twisty story with many unexpected reveals. While not overly violent, the mystery will have you riveted to your seat and the frequent nudity by a cast of beautiful actresses will have your eyes wide open. As a matter of fact, when Anna is murdered by the killer with a Black & Decker electric drill, it is the most brutal murder in the film and it took me by surprise because it was unlike any other killing before it. Particularly effective is the sequence where the killer stalks Giulia when he finds out she is still alive. My fingernails were never shorter, because I was biting them constantly (The death of the killer in Mario's huge underground swimming pool is a real nail-biter!). Above all, the mystery makes perfect sense, as the story (Screenplay by Lenzi & Roberto Gianviti [DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING - 1972]) doesn't take one false turn like many giallo flicks from this period. This is one of the better early-'70s giallo films, worthy of being part of your film library. Filmed as SETTE ORCHIDEE MACCHIATE DI ROSSO ("Seven Orchids Stained In Red"), this never received a theatrical or legitimate VHS release in the United States, making its first appearance on these shores courtesy of a widescreen DVD from Shriek Show/Media Blasters, which is long OOP. My review is based on the excellent Blu-Ray from Code Red, which is available in its original Italian with English subtitles (my preferred way of watching foreign films) or English dubbed. The print is blemish-free and looks and sounds wonderful, especially Riz Ortolani's (HORROR CASTLE - 1963) effective and haunting music score, which adds greatly to the film's tension. Extras on the disc include one of Lenzi's final interviews (he passed away late in 2017), where he tells us he based this film on Cornell Woolrich's novel and not on a Edgar Wallace story as the German co-producers claimed. He and Roberto Gianviti sued the producers when they saw German posters claiming that it was a film based on an Edgar Wallace story and they won. Lenzi has nothing but good memories about making the film and says that Antonio Sabato tried to seduce every woman who appeared in the film. Who can blame him when all the women are beautiful? I sure can't. The disc also contains vintage interviews with Lenzi and actress Gabriella Giorgelli (ported over from the Shriek Show DVD) and running commentary from Troy Howarth. Look for an extremely young Camille Keaton (I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE - 1978) as a hippie chick sitting on a couch during Barrett's sex party. Also starring Linda Sini (WAR OF THE PLANETS - 1966), Enzo Andronico (SPECIAL COP IN ACTION - 1976), Fulvio Mingozzi (TRAGIC CEREMONY - 1972), Tom Felleghy (FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET - 1971), Fulvio Pellegrino (THE DEVIL WITH SEVEN FACES - 1971) and the prolific Carla Mancini (FLAVIA THE HERETIC - 1974) as Anna's maid. Not Rated.