Night Killer (1990) Directed by Claudio Fragasso
Claudio Fragasso’s thoroughly delectable sleaze fest takes advantage of lousy acting, sloppy storytelling and monstrous paraphernalia to spawn one of the most gleefully dysfunctional, outlandish gialli of all time, which is also tantamount to one of the worst. If you’re familiar with the schlocky gonzo film business of Claudio Fragasso and Bruno Mattei – who in their ten-year partnership have distinguished themselves as clever marketing filmmakers by producing knock-offs, faux sequels and cheesy imitations of American genre classics – then you know the astronomical silliness that awaits you when you enter the moronic realms of Night Killer, AKA The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 – released the same year the genuine third installment of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre was screened. Yet it has nothing to do with the latter, it’s just the traditional low-budget publicity stunt that Italian exploitation flicks engage in, but Fragasso and Mattei’s movies earn the distinction of being the most grotesquely obvious, Cruel Jaws, Evil Dead 5, Robowar, Troll 2, etc.
A masked maniac wearing clawed gloves is on the loose in Virginia Beach stalking voluptuous ladies, but Melanie Beck (Tara Buckman) is his favorite target, “You’re a fine looking woman, Mrs. Beck. Just made to be fucked senseless.” says the inspired killer, “First I’m going to fuck your brains out!” he’s a very vulgar guy but funny, nonetheless. Fortunately, Melanie survives the attack of the sleazeball psycho, but ends up schizoid and traumatized afterwards. Following this, Fragasso’s film devolves into interminable sequences of non-sequiturs, some ironically relishable, others simply excruciatingly dull. The viewer must understand that in Fragasso and Mattei’s films things just happen, without explanation, without logic, without verisimilitude, but of course, that’s part of the fun. Although Night Killer was not intended as another team-up between the duo, Mattei ended up helming many scenes at the request of the producers. Ultimately, the film is a slasher pastiche crafted with the baroque idiosyncrasies of a giallo, but all erroneously staged. I liked it, but not enough to compel me to sell it as a good bad movie.