This late film from Italian horror pioneer Mario Bava comes without the expected giallo elements (no bared breasts/no primary colored palette), but in its less flamboyant way reps something of a return to form for the director. (Or would had it received a proper release. Instead, two decades on the shelf before it came out.*) Alarmingly nasty, often downright vicious (very proto-Tarantino*), it’s a suspense-filled hostage drama centered on a botched robbery that sends three criminal thugs (‘Doc’ and two feral accomplices) on the run, killing one curvy young thing to get past the cops, kidnapping the dead girl’s friend for protection. Ditching their damaged vehicle, they commandeer the car of a father driving his sick boy to hospital and force him to take them (and the girl) out of the city. Bava allows some pretty broad acting (call it Italian Method Enthusiasm; only the father holding back), with beautifully laid out story beats so the police don’t have to behave stupidly just to keep the plot moving. And the threat of a sick kid needing to see a doctor; a father trying to hold things together; a pretty female hostage fending off backseat advances; a coolly composed killer running the show; and two whack-job partners give Bava plenty to work with. G’normous George Eastman is particularly good as an oversexed thug nicknamed ‘32.’ (That’s in centimeters, it translates to 12.5 inches.) Even the comic relief, a chattering female hostage who talks herself into a ride, is made quick work of along the way (Bava knows we're fine with murder as long as it shuts her up), before we reach final destination and the film pivots from sadistic to nihilistic. Or does right before a shockingly playful twist explains the last remaining unknowns; actions you thought were pure narrative expedience.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: *Belatedly released in the ‘90s at 86", a further re-edit (with a bit of added footage & scoring) supervised by Lamberto (son of Mario) Bava came out as KIDNAPPED at 96".
SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: *Often mentioned as an influence on RESERVOIR DOGS/’92, Bava’s film only came out five years after Tarantino’s film. (Though he does credit Bava as a major influence.)
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