Giallo #10: "Deep Red" (1975)

Dario Argento was in peak creative form by the time "Deep Red" came out in the mid-70's. Having already released his bewildering "animal trilogy," a trio of classic giallo films concerning innocent bystanders being dragged into the path of a psychopathic killer, "Deep Red" continues the trend while upping the technical virtuosity and bloodlust. 
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It's true that "Deep Red" was certainly Argento's most violent film to date, but perhaps the biggest discernible discrepancy between this and his previous work is his adoption of Italian prog-rock band Goblin, who step in as his regular composers.
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It becomes clear after the first drop of blood that this is no Ennio Morricone knock-off, Goblin's cymbal-tappin', jazzy bass-and-drum assault seems to accentuate the most innocuous of clue-searching, ushering in "Deep Red" as possibly the first so-called jam-band giallo film. 
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Sticking with the tried-and-true Argento blueprint, an innocent pianist named Marcus Daly witnesses a murder from a distance, his psychic neighbor who lives a floor below him. The police are nowhere to be found, yet Daly and his partner-in-detection, the feminist reporter Gianna Brezzi, become neck-high with their involvement in the case.
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Argento, as he so often does, dodges direct interaction with the killer (who here uses a nice hatchet or meat cleaver as his/her preferred method of torture), instead concealing their identity through sterling, resourceful camera movement, utilizing effective first-person shots, props and even eyeballs as indirecr methods of identification. In "Deep Red," his camera (and his soundtrack) seem to get excited at the prospect of steel meeting skin. 
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I mentioned that "Deep Red" was easily Argento's most violent of giallo films, and certainly one who views a scene in a bathroom in which our killer submerges its victim in a scalding bathtub of hot water will have difficulty arguing otherwise. (Also keep an eye out for the most deadliest pushing of an elevator button in the final reel - ouch!)
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And as he is on record as saying, Argento's giallo films are centered around recollection - the critical remembrance of a seemingly trivial clue, the circumstances of a crime scene - which conveniently don't rear up until the final moments, yet the last shot of "Deep Red" will likely please those who enjoy this sort of thing - I know I did. [B]