When this film started up I figured I was in for something special. It opens with an Argento-esquire scene of childhood trauma, featuring none other than the legendary Gianni Dei as the lover of Mariale's mother! Having seen this guy in two other movies (Giallo a Venezia and Patrick Still Lives), I can't help but assume there's a clause in every one of his contracts stating he must spend at least one scene naked. After all, how else can you explain why he's lying around naked while his lover is fully clothed in the white dress of the title? You've also got to love the hilariously flamboyant way in which Dei reacts to getting shot.
The rest of the film proves to be less interesting. We're basically subjected to 50 minutes of some costumed morons gallivanting about a castle while Luigi Pistilli stands in the corner and frowns. I think these scenes were supposed to be intense, and certainly the mounting hysteria of the participants suggests this, but I found them to be pretty mundane. Things start to pick up a bit when the first murder occurs late in the film, and it's executed in an interesting manner comparable to the opening attack of Luigi Bazzoni's The Fifth Cord (only not quite as good). Unfortunately all the subsequent set-pieces are about as ho-hum as they come. The ending proves to be pretty great though, probably because the forgettable cast has been narrowed down to genre greats Luigi Pistilli and Ivan Rassimov. Here the drama reaches its natural, inevitable conclusion, but it's still highly effective if predictable.
This might appeal to fans of The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (except me, apparently) as it too is a Gothic giallo set on an isolated estate, with a protagonist's troubled past coming back to haunt them. I personally found The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave to be far superior (the insane ending excepted), due to a better script and far more appealing cast. Both films feature stunning soundtracks, Evelyn's by the great Bruno Nicolai and this film's by Fiorenzo Carpi (orchestrated by Bruno Nicolai).
All in all I was pretty disappointed, but I'd suggest that fans of the giallo and Italian horror films check it out. Though it lacks a good structure, it still boasts some very good direction by Romano Scavolini (and the aforementioned soundtrack). And Luigi Pistilli is always awesome.
The rest of the film proves to be less interesting. We're basically subjected to 50 minutes of some costumed morons gallivanting about a castle while Luigi Pistilli stands in the corner and frowns. I think these scenes were supposed to be intense, and certainly the mounting hysteria of the participants suggests this, but I found them to be pretty mundane. Things start to pick up a bit when the first murder occurs late in the film, and it's executed in an interesting manner comparable to the opening attack of Luigi Bazzoni's The Fifth Cord (only not quite as good). Unfortunately all the subsequent set-pieces are about as ho-hum as they come. The ending proves to be pretty great though, probably because the forgettable cast has been narrowed down to genre greats Luigi Pistilli and Ivan Rassimov. Here the drama reaches its natural, inevitable conclusion, but it's still highly effective if predictable.
This might appeal to fans of The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (except me, apparently) as it too is a Gothic giallo set on an isolated estate, with a protagonist's troubled past coming back to haunt them. I personally found The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave to be far superior (the insane ending excepted), due to a better script and far more appealing cast. Both films feature stunning soundtracks, Evelyn's by the great Bruno Nicolai and this film's by Fiorenzo Carpi (orchestrated by Bruno Nicolai).
All in all I was pretty disappointed, but I'd suggest that fans of the giallo and Italian horror films check it out. Though it lacks a good structure, it still boasts some very good direction by Romano Scavolini (and the aforementioned soundtrack). And Luigi Pistilli is always awesome.