The French Sex Murders
- Year: 1972
- Country of origin: Italy, West Germany, France
- Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
- Director: Ferdinando Merighi
- Length: 91 min
Film Synopsis
When a prostitute is murdered in a luxurious Paris brothel, a grizzled inspector dives into the red-light district to uncover the killer. As he navigates a world of secrets, lust, and deception, the line between justice and corruption begins to blur. This stylish giallo thriller blends eroticism, mystery, and sharp suspense in a twisted tale of vice and murder.
Critical Perspective
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The French Sex Murders is one of the more flea-bitten and impoverished gialli of its period. The credits include a number of familiar faces, but many of them are put to poor use and the film is thrown together with the sort of slapdash lack of care that one sometimes sees in the lesser works of cult filmmaker Jess Franco.
Troy Howarth, So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films, Volume 1, 1963-1973 (Midnight Marquee Press, 2015) -
Another great international cast highlights this ridiculous film. Anita Ekberg as a high-class madam: check. Nasty killings of prostitutes: check. A list of suspects all having something lurid in their past: you betcha. This should be a great film, right? Did I also mention that the hero is a Bogart-looking, Bogart-talking detective that spends the whole movie imitating Bogart? Yep. Fail.
Danny Shipka, Perverse Titillation: The Exploitation Cinema of Italy, Spain and France, 1960-1980 (McFarland, 2011) -
Under any of its many titles, this is a cracking example of early Seventies Euro-tosh which seems to have endeared itself to most who have seen it.
Adrian Luther-Smith, Blood and Black Lace: The Definitive Guide to Italian Sex and Horror Movies (Stray Cat Publishing, 1999)
The French Sex Murders Blu-ray & DVD editions
See which disc extras are included across selected editions.
| Disc Extras | Vinegar Syndrome BD-ALL/US 2020 | Mondo Macabro DVD-1/US/OOP 2005 | FilmArt DVD-2/DE/OOP 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audio Commentary by Samm Deighan and Kat Ellinger | |||
| The Wild, Wild, World of Dick Randall | |||
| Alternate “Eye Scene” from Italian Version | |||
| Alternate Italian Opening Title Sequence and End Credits | |||
| Alternate Scenes | |||
| Deleted Scene from French Version | |||
| Stills Gallery | |||
| Stills Gallery [FilmArt] | |||
| Stills Gallery [Mondo Macabro] | |||
| About the Film - Written by Pete Tombs | |||
| German Theatrical Trailer | |||
| German Video Trailer | |||
| Italian Theatrical Trailer |
Edition and Packaging Notes
- Vinegar Syndrome’s Blu-ray is included in the “Forgotten Gialli, Volume 2” box set with My Dear Killer (1972) and The Girl in Room 2A (1974).
- Mondo Macabro’s second volume of “The Dick Randall Collection” is Living Doll (1990) and the third volume is For Your Height Only (1981).
- FilmArt’s DVD includes an 8-page booklet with writing by Heiko Hartmann.
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Collector’s guide
Compare presentation quality and explore notable disc extras across selected editions.
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The Wild, Wild, World of Dick Randall (32:41)
| Editions |
Vinegar Syndrome BD 2020
|
|---|---|
| Extras | Audio Commentary by Samm Deighan and Kat Ellinger Vinegar Syndrome BD |
| The Wild, Wild, World of Dick Randall Vinegar Syndrome BD | |
| Alternate “Eye Scene” from Italian Version Mondo Macabro DVD | |
| Alternate Italian Opening Title Sequence and End Credits FilmArt DVD | |
| Alternate Scenes FilmArt DVD | |
| Deleted Scene from French Version Mondo Macabro DVD | |
| Stills Gallery Vinegar Syndrome BD | |
| Stills Gallery [FilmArt] FilmArt DVD | |
| Stills Gallery [Mondo Macabro] Mondo Macabro DVD | |
| About the Film - Written by Pete Tombs Mondo Macabro DVD | |
| German Theatrical Trailer FilmArt DVD | |
| Italian Theatrical Trailer FilmArt DVD |
Notes
- The German theatrical trailer is also available on Severin’s Blu-ray of All the Colors of Giallo (2019).
- “The Wild, Wild, World of Dick Randall” is also available on Mondo Macabro’s DVD of Don’t Open Till Christmas (1984).