The Bloodstained Shadow

Critical Perspective

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  Following the success of Watch Me When I Kill (1977), Antonio Bido was asked to direct his second giallo. … The film embraces the “regional” aspect found in such gialli as Lucio Fulci’s Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972) and Pupi Avati’s The House with Laughing Windows (1976); not surprisingly, Bido is an admitted fan of Avanti’s works in particular. The notion of a closed-off society lorded over by a corrupt aristocracy gives the film something of a socio-political edge, but the commentary is muted compared to the fiery intensity in Fulci’s work for example. Even so, Bido does a nice job of evoking the atmosphere of the community. … Where the film stumbles rather badly is in the pacing, which is all over the map. At nearly two hours, it is one of the longest gialli of the period, but the material does not justify such a running time; with tighter editing, it may have emerged as a stronger, more suspenseful film. As it stands, the result is sporadically effective, with some memorable set pieces spread throughout, but much of it is slack and the movie suffers accordingly. … Sadly, The Bloodstained Shadow would remain Bido’s last encounter with the giallo.