Mary is a new nurse at the prestigious Vance Clinic which is run by Dr. Robert Vance and his wife Elizabeth.A female thief named Giselle is put in the clinic by Dr.Vance.She begins to hear strange sounds in the attic and discovers badly disfigured woman there.In the meantime a mysterious black cape wearing killer stalks and attacks female patients with a razor.Stylish and sadly neglected Gothic giallo with splendid performance of William Berger and stylish direction by Elio Scardamaglia.Great score by Francesco De Masi plus several suspenseful and pretty violent stalking/murder sequences.It's a crying shame that "The Murder Clinic" is rather forgotten or even ignored by Eurohorror enthusiasts.7 lime pits out of 10.
12 Reviews
Seen on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater in 1979
kevinolzak28 April 2011
"The Murder Clinic" (1966) is a fairly obscure Italian-French Gothic that first aired on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater in 1979, and repeated only once four years later. It was also part of a notorious triple bill that frequented drive ins in the early 70's (under the name REVENGE OF THE LIVING DEAD), shown with CURSE OF THE LIVING DEAD (Mario Bava's KILL, BABY, KILL!) and FANGS OF THE LIVING DEAD (Amando De Ossorio's MALENKA, NIECE OF THE VAMPIRE). The print I have runs 83 minutes and looks to be a third generation copy, with English dialogue and foreign subtitles. William Berger, later the star of Mario Bava's "5 Dolls for an August Moon" (1970), plays the handsome doctor working on skin grafts that all the women swoon over, with a jealous invalid for a wife, and a mysterious woman on the third floor who refuses to see or be seen by anyone. Murder by razor plagues the clinic, but only one victim is completely innocent of her fate. Nothing terribly memorable, but fondly recalled in the 30 years since. The blonde actress who plays the nurse Mary is not the same brunette Barbara Wilson who appeared in 1957's "Blood of Dracula" and 1962's "The Flesh Eaters."
A mild giallo with sufficient tension n suspense. The atmosphere is stylishly gothic.
Fella_shibby25 February 2022
I saw this for the first time recently aft reading Coventry's glowing review n indeed this one's a very obscure one.
The plot in short - Patients and staff of an isolated mental hospital are being killed off by a hooded figure who stalks the halls. While a doctor is busy experimenting skin grafting on animals, his wife gets concerned when a beautiful guest arrives.
I feel the Korean movie A Tale of Two Sisters n its remake The Uninvited (2009) borrowed from this movie.
Even Beneath (2007) borrowed from this one.
The plot in short - Patients and staff of an isolated mental hospital are being killed off by a hooded figure who stalks the halls. While a doctor is busy experimenting skin grafting on animals, his wife gets concerned when a beautiful guest arrives.
I feel the Korean movie A Tale of Two Sisters n its remake The Uninvited (2009) borrowed from this movie.
Even Beneath (2007) borrowed from this one.
I hear Italian models like being killed
Bezenby9 May 2017
Hey girls! Here's a piece of advice: When you discover a man trying to secretly bury the corpse of someone who has clearly been murdered, don't try to blackmail them - The fact that they are burying a dead body probably means they might be prone to fits of murderous violence, or at least know someone who's mental.
This is a standard template Giallo film with the black gloved killer, sexy victims, loads of suspects, body count and stalking sequences, but it's also fast-paced, fun and of course for this period is set in a huge creepy mansion - there must be millions of them in Italy!
Hey William Bergers! Try to find a better excuse for trying to cover up all the murders at your insane asylum for Giallo Red Herring Actors because the one you gave our heroine was a bit lame. Love that flashback, however! Also, if you want to keep your disfigured sister-in-law secret up on the top floor, give her slippers rather than the giant shoes she had on. And tell her to lift her feet when walking! It is fun that most of the characters own or have something already displayed by the killer (a straight razor, a big black gown etc) and am I going mad or did one of the non-killer character actually murder a coach driver? That was weird. Also, it supposed to be set in Norfolk!
Hey recently unmasked killers! Do not under any circumstances when being chased by an angry mob try to put any height between you and said mob, because this always results in a short but fatal struggle with gravity.
For another, far, far more filthy giallo set in an insane asylum, look no further than Slaughter Hotel!
This is a standard template Giallo film with the black gloved killer, sexy victims, loads of suspects, body count and stalking sequences, but it's also fast-paced, fun and of course for this period is set in a huge creepy mansion - there must be millions of them in Italy!
Hey William Bergers! Try to find a better excuse for trying to cover up all the murders at your insane asylum for Giallo Red Herring Actors because the one you gave our heroine was a bit lame. Love that flashback, however! Also, if you want to keep your disfigured sister-in-law secret up on the top floor, give her slippers rather than the giant shoes she had on. And tell her to lift her feet when walking! It is fun that most of the characters own or have something already displayed by the killer (a straight razor, a big black gown etc) and am I going mad or did one of the non-killer character actually murder a coach driver? That was weird. Also, it supposed to be set in Norfolk!
Hey recently unmasked killers! Do not under any circumstances when being chased by an angry mob try to put any height between you and said mob, because this always results in a short but fatal struggle with gravity.
For another, far, far more filthy giallo set in an insane asylum, look no further than Slaughter Hotel!
As the title suggests, it's murders at a clinic!
The_Void24 April 2008
Murder Clinic is one of the lesser known Giallo's that has yet to be brought into the spotlight like many of the better examples of the genre have been already. In my opinion, this is a film that will never get the shiny DVD release; and the reason for that is simply that it's not all that good. That's not to say that it's a terrible film; clearly director Elio Scardamaglia has an eye for Gothic visuals; the sets and atmosphere bode well with the plot line and the film does emulate the classic Universal horror style very well...but there's really not enough of the film and what there is of the plot is very clichéd and since most people that bother to seek out this film will be hardened horror veterans (like myself), no viewer of Murder Clinic is likely to find anything they haven't seen before. As the title suggests, the film focuses on murders at an English clinic and the story takes place in the 1870's. Basically, a bunch of the clinic's vulnerable residents are being picked off by a razor-wielding maniac and we get a handful of possible suspects.
The plot actually doesn't play out too badly; we get treated to a few murders before being introduced to the 'monster' of the story and the back-story behind that monster (which is actually fairly interesting but could and should have been handled in a much better way). However, the film does have a tendency to run into the melodramatic and while Elio Scardamaglia's direction is sound, the film was clearly shot on a low budget and he doesn't ever manage to make the film look anything more than a cheap affair (although in fairness, the VHS copy I saw does the film no favours). The film only runs for about eighty minutes and that's a good thing to be honest as it definitely would have started to get boring if it were any longer; although the runtime we do have only just keeps the film from becoming boring. The way that Murder Clinic handles red herrings is good and we get four main ones and to the film's credit, it's not immediately obvious who the killer is before it's revealed. Overall, this is not a great Giallo by any means and only hardcore genre fans should check it out; but it's a decent watch at least.
The plot actually doesn't play out too badly; we get treated to a few murders before being introduced to the 'monster' of the story and the back-story behind that monster (which is actually fairly interesting but could and should have been handled in a much better way). However, the film does have a tendency to run into the melodramatic and while Elio Scardamaglia's direction is sound, the film was clearly shot on a low budget and he doesn't ever manage to make the film look anything more than a cheap affair (although in fairness, the VHS copy I saw does the film no favours). The film only runs for about eighty minutes and that's a good thing to be honest as it definitely would have started to get boring if it were any longer; although the runtime we do have only just keeps the film from becoming boring. The way that Murder Clinic handles red herrings is good and we get four main ones and to the film's credit, it's not immediately obvious who the killer is before it's revealed. Overall, this is not a great Giallo by any means and only hardcore genre fans should check it out; but it's a decent watch at least.
Passable early Giallo
Coventry8 May 2008
"Murder Clinic" is one of them obscure and early (mid-60's) Gialli that you'll probably never see, unless you're willing to purchase a prehistoric VHS copy or even worse - a bootleg DVD ripped from the aforementioned prehistoric tape. You know those things that are practically unwatchable because the original colors faded and the picture is constantly fuzzy? In other words this Giallo is only meant for the eyes of avid Giallo-buffs, as I sincerely doubt a proper release on disc will ever follow. "Murder Clinic" is a very passable Italian horror effort, but nevertheless amusing and it certainly contains a handful of potentially good ideas. It was the sixties, so Gialli movies still leaned towards Gothic settings and darkly sinister filming location. But, on the other hand, the Giallo-formula was still relatively new and thus the screenplay (penned down by veterans Ernesto Gastaldi and Luciano Martino) is very straightforward with clear twists and logical red herrings. The year is 1870 and the sinister events take place in a private clinic run by the demanding Dr. Vance and his obnoxious wife Liz. The movie doesn't waste too much time, as there quickly pops up a hooded killer who waves around a sharp razor and butchers patients as well as staff members. There are a number of possibilities for whom the killer might turn out to be, and the least you can say is that the denouement is acceptable. The murders sequences are decent, obviously not outrageously gross but definitely bloodier than I anticipated for a 60's film. There are some tedious parts and the acting performances with the exception of William Berger as the Doc are very much below average. The music is atmospheric and luckily the film only ran for a good 80 minutes. Not so much because I was bored to death, but because the incredibly poor bootleg disc hurt my eyes and ears.
Rarely played period slasher
ldpasco16 December 2007
I'm really amazed that there aren't more comments on this Giallo (OVERUSED TERM) from 1968. Creepy opening credits really set the mood in motion as a hooded fiend slithers around a Baroque private clinic for the mentally unstable.
Set in Norfolk, circa 1840/1870, this neat little Belgian-French-Italian flick, in my opinion, seems to have influenced those string of Harry Towers' Edgar Allan Poe adaptations that were shot in South Africa around the late 1980s/early 1990s. You remember them? They were simultaneously gaudy & Gothic and were definitely an extension to the '60s renaissance of period psycho-chillers that were spearheaded by all of those Euro shockers and Corman's E.A.P flix. But back to this film, without giving anything away, all is not what it seems and the initial denouement, or wrap up explaining all of the craziness that transpired beforehand, would later be haphazardly copied in many slice and dice movies from the slasher craze of the '70s & '80s. In other words: Very well done for it's time. Also of note: I first saw this on Creature Feature in Florida in the '80s and the print was clear as day but the only version I have been able to procure is dark and muddy. Owning it is better than not having it in my book anyway. Worth checking out for the 'Giallo' buff and of note to collectors/researchers: the version I have runs approximately 82 minutes.
Set in Norfolk, circa 1840/1870, this neat little Belgian-French-Italian flick, in my opinion, seems to have influenced those string of Harry Towers' Edgar Allan Poe adaptations that were shot in South Africa around the late 1980s/early 1990s. You remember them? They were simultaneously gaudy & Gothic and were definitely an extension to the '60s renaissance of period psycho-chillers that were spearheaded by all of those Euro shockers and Corman's E.A.P flix. But back to this film, without giving anything away, all is not what it seems and the initial denouement, or wrap up explaining all of the craziness that transpired beforehand, would later be haphazardly copied in many slice and dice movies from the slasher craze of the '70s & '80s. In other words: Very well done for it's time. Also of note: I first saw this on Creature Feature in Florida in the '80s and the print was clear as day but the only version I have been able to procure is dark and muddy. Owning it is better than not having it in my book anyway. Worth checking out for the 'Giallo' buff and of note to collectors/researchers: the version I have runs approximately 82 minutes.
I think it'll take more than a skin graft, Gisèle.
BA_Harrison6 December 2023
A hooded killer armed with an open razor is stalking the corridors of an isolated clinic for the mentally ill. Suspects include dashing doctor Robert Vance (William Berger), his jealous wife Lizabeth (Mary Young), crazed schizophrenic Fred (Massimo Righi), shifty employee Ivan (Germano Longo), and a mysterious disfigured patient kept hidden from sight. Will new nurse Mary (Barbara Wilson) stay alive long enough to discover the truth?
A gothic horror with giallo trappings? Or an early giallo with gothic horror elements? Either way, The Murder Clinic is a somewhat uneasy mix that doesn't entirely satisfy. The gothic atmosphere isn't laid on thick enough, and the killings will probably prove too few and too tame to keep most giallo fans happy. The film does, however, feature plenty of suspects and red herrings to keep viewers guessing, and the whole thing is concluded in a logical manner that, unlike many a giallo, won't keep you awake pondering over questionable plot points.
At just 86 minutes, the film is well paced, the acting is solid, and the direction more than adequate for this kind of thing, so while The Murder Clinic isn't an essential giallo or an unmissable gothic horror, it's still worth a go if you can find a copy.
A gothic horror with giallo trappings? Or an early giallo with gothic horror elements? Either way, The Murder Clinic is a somewhat uneasy mix that doesn't entirely satisfy. The gothic atmosphere isn't laid on thick enough, and the killings will probably prove too few and too tame to keep most giallo fans happy. The film does, however, feature plenty of suspects and red herrings to keep viewers guessing, and the whole thing is concluded in a logical manner that, unlike many a giallo, won't keep you awake pondering over questionable plot points.
At just 86 minutes, the film is well paced, the acting is solid, and the direction more than adequate for this kind of thing, so while The Murder Clinic isn't an essential giallo or an unmissable gothic horror, it's still worth a go if you can find a copy.
The Murder Clinic
BandSAboutMovies11 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The Murder Clinic predates the Argento era of giallo while coming around the same time as the Bava instigation with The Girl Who Knew Too Much and the krimini films. Known in its native Italy as La lama nel corpo (The Knife in the Body), it was written by Luciano Martino (brother of Sergio and writer of Delirium and The Whip and the Body) and Ernesto Gastaldi (The Sweet Body of Deborah, All the Colors of the Dark, The Case of the Bloody Iris and so many more) with direction coming from Elio Scardamaglia (this is the only film he'd direct as he usually produced movies) and Lionello De Felice. It's based on the book The Knife In The Body by Robert Williams, a former Tuskagee Airman who became an actor. He also wrote Turkey Shoot, which really means that his work was produced all over the world.
The story takes place in 1870s England, so this movie can also be considered a gothic horror film. Dr. Vance, the director of a mental hospital (Wiliam Berger) is restoring his sister's face using patients as raw material, all while a masked killer uses the giallo weapon of choice, a strait razor, to kill other people within the hospital.
This is a story that would replay itself across many films - Slaughter Hotel, Faceless, Mansion of the Doomed (well, that owes a debt to Eyes Without a Face) - while the first scene, with a young woman being chased by a killer in the woods at night as well as a scene where the killer stalks his prey in a room full of hanging sheets feel like they inspired Suspiria.
The Murder Clinic itself feels indebted to Bava, really taking to heart the color strategies of Blood and Black Lace.
This is a movie with an interesting release history. After Berger spent some time in an Italian prison - he had been wrongly accused of the possession of hashish and cocaine - it was re-released with a line on the poster that said "William Berger, guilty or innocent?"
In the U. S., it was renamed Revenge of the Living Dead to cash in on Romero's zombie film. It played triple features with Curse of the Living Dead (Kill, Baby, Kill!) and Fangs of the Living Dead (Malenka) in the 70s as the Orgy of the Living Dead.
With a great location - the Villa Parisi, home of Blood for Dracula and Patrick Still Lives - and appearances by Françoise Prévost (The Return of the Exorcist), Mary Young (who only was in this movie and Secret Agent 777) and Barbara Wilson (her only film and she really should have done more), The Murder Clinic is an early giallo worthy of being enshrined in your collection.
The story takes place in 1870s England, so this movie can also be considered a gothic horror film. Dr. Vance, the director of a mental hospital (Wiliam Berger) is restoring his sister's face using patients as raw material, all while a masked killer uses the giallo weapon of choice, a strait razor, to kill other people within the hospital.
This is a story that would replay itself across many films - Slaughter Hotel, Faceless, Mansion of the Doomed (well, that owes a debt to Eyes Without a Face) - while the first scene, with a young woman being chased by a killer in the woods at night as well as a scene where the killer stalks his prey in a room full of hanging sheets feel like they inspired Suspiria.
The Murder Clinic itself feels indebted to Bava, really taking to heart the color strategies of Blood and Black Lace.
This is a movie with an interesting release history. After Berger spent some time in an Italian prison - he had been wrongly accused of the possession of hashish and cocaine - it was re-released with a line on the poster that said "William Berger, guilty or innocent?"
In the U. S., it was renamed Revenge of the Living Dead to cash in on Romero's zombie film. It played triple features with Curse of the Living Dead (Kill, Baby, Kill!) and Fangs of the Living Dead (Malenka) in the 70s as the Orgy of the Living Dead.
With a great location - the Villa Parisi, home of Blood for Dracula and Patrick Still Lives - and appearances by Françoise Prévost (The Return of the Exorcist), Mary Young (who only was in this movie and Secret Agent 777) and Barbara Wilson (her only film and she really should have done more), The Murder Clinic is an early giallo worthy of being enshrined in your collection.
Good, scary atmosphere makes movie worth watching
LJ2711 August 1999
I saw this on late night TV and fell in love with it. It starts with a great, weird opening credit sequence and contains a music score credited to "Frank Mason" that you will find yourself humming all through the rest of the movie (and maybe the rest of your life). It also has great color photography and atmospheric dark lighting which all works together to create a scary mood before the movie even gets going good. Too bad almost no one else I've met has ever heard of this film. My girlfriend and I really enjoyed it, although she got very mad at me for humming the title theme while she was trying to listen to the dialogue. Oh, what I wouldn't give for a laserdisc of this movie.
Actually it turns out the composer of the great music score is an Italian by the name of Francesco De Masi and he also did the score for the movie THE GHOST (1963). There is a scene in the beginning with a couple in bed that got cut out of the TV version even though it doesn't really show anything and in fact, I think the first murder may have been cut. Luckily, there is now a soundtrack CD but it is not officially available on DVD yet, and there are some really lousy prints floating around out there. I am not sure the Anglicized credits are imposed on the film by the American or British distributor or if the Italian production company pulled a "Riccardo Freda" and tried to make it seem like the film was made in England or America by giving the crew American-sounding names.
Actually it turns out the composer of the great music score is an Italian by the name of Francesco De Masi and he also did the score for the movie THE GHOST (1963). There is a scene in the beginning with a couple in bed that got cut out of the TV version even though it doesn't really show anything and in fact, I think the first murder may have been cut. Luckily, there is now a soundtrack CD but it is not officially available on DVD yet, and there are some really lousy prints floating around out there. I am not sure the Anglicized credits are imposed on the film by the American or British distributor or if the Italian production company pulled a "Riccardo Freda" and tried to make it seem like the film was made in England or America by giving the crew American-sounding names.
a gothic, giallo
christopher-underwood13 June 2023
It is not anything really wonderful or different but it is early and like a gothic, giallo and rather interesting. Although there is a skin-grafting technique half way through and as we think it is going to be the sad disfigured monster like women who is the doctor's sister-in-law but for some reason nothing goes on that way. Instead the doctor, played by William Berger the Austrian especially well known actor I've seen in Face to Face (1967) and Keoma (1976) he is splendid here but does a lot of running around in his clinic as do many. At the very beginning in the woods, the lovely French Francoise Prevost, who is clearly to be the heroine but maybe not. There are many moments that we know are going to happen so I suppose it is good that we are often surprised. So although it is not exciting it is rather engaging and just about entertaining enough for us to wonder who is the hooded killer.
Not Top Tier Giallo, but still watchable
acidburn-1017 December 2022
'Murder Clinic' is an Italian Giallo horror flick from the 1960's tinged in a cool gothic atmosphere with a stylish period setting, gorgeous set designs and a colourful visual palette and an interesting mystery element, this obscure Giallo was a decent viewing experience with a good plot but could have done with a bit more flavour which could have made this a top tier entry of the genre.
The plot = Set in 1870's England at an isolated clinic run by Doctor Vance (William Berger) where patients and staff start getting killed by a hooded maniac who stalks the halls at night.
The movie is incredibly well shot with bold cinematography and the clinic itself looks effectively creepy with the long dark hallways and constant shadows which instantly evokes a sense of dread throughout as the various characters wander through them. But there are a couple of things that lets this movie down firstly the pacing is really off with too much time spent on melodrama aspect and not enough on the mystery and much in the way of tension or kills and talking about the death scenes they were really lacklustre. The big reveal at the end was also disappointing as it was way too easy to figure, but there were enough interesting red-herrings thrown into the mix to sustain interest.
The cast were thankfully strong, and the interesting array of characters does make this flick worthwhile. William Berger gave a compelling performance as the disgraced Dr Robert Vance and carried the movie incredibly well. Barbara Wilson was decent as the new nurse Mary compassionate and breathtakingly beautiful. Mary Young was also great as the jealous and bitter wife as well as Delphine Maurin who gives a standout performance as the tragic disfigured sister-in-law Laura. Then there's Francoise Prevost as scheming and mysterious Giselle who arrives at the clinic and really spies the story up with a blackmail subplot.
Overall 'Murder Clinic' is fairly routine, but still watchable and you could tell that the genre was still in its early days as the tropes weren't yet perfected at this early stage as the Giallo's that would come out in the 1970's.
The plot = Set in 1870's England at an isolated clinic run by Doctor Vance (William Berger) where patients and staff start getting killed by a hooded maniac who stalks the halls at night.
The movie is incredibly well shot with bold cinematography and the clinic itself looks effectively creepy with the long dark hallways and constant shadows which instantly evokes a sense of dread throughout as the various characters wander through them. But there are a couple of things that lets this movie down firstly the pacing is really off with too much time spent on melodrama aspect and not enough on the mystery and much in the way of tension or kills and talking about the death scenes they were really lacklustre. The big reveal at the end was also disappointing as it was way too easy to figure, but there were enough interesting red-herrings thrown into the mix to sustain interest.
The cast were thankfully strong, and the interesting array of characters does make this flick worthwhile. William Berger gave a compelling performance as the disgraced Dr Robert Vance and carried the movie incredibly well. Barbara Wilson was decent as the new nurse Mary compassionate and breathtakingly beautiful. Mary Young was also great as the jealous and bitter wife as well as Delphine Maurin who gives a standout performance as the tragic disfigured sister-in-law Laura. Then there's Francoise Prevost as scheming and mysterious Giselle who arrives at the clinic and really spies the story up with a blackmail subplot.
Overall 'Murder Clinic' is fairly routine, but still watchable and you could tell that the genre was still in its early days as the tropes weren't yet perfected at this early stage as the Giallo's that would come out in the 1970's.
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