A giallo that mostly forgoes the prototypical violent splatters and liberal amounts of nudity for a good old fashioned Agatha Christie style murder mystery, 1972’s Knife of Ice, also sometimes known as Dagger of Ice and The Ice Pick (memo: ice does not play any part in this motion picture), is the fourth and final time Italian film maker Umberto Lenzi (Seven Blood-Stained Orchids) and American actress Carroll Baker (Baby Doll; The Game) would work together.
Baker stars as Martha Caldwell, a woman who has been mute since she was thirteen (it all stems from the fact she was rescued by her parents during a horrid train crash, only to then witness them burn to death – in many ways, the occurrence has stunted her at that very age). Opening with a fantastic sequence in which she attempts to conquer her fears by waiting at the train station for her incoming cousin, Jenny Ascot (Evelyn Stewart – The Psychic), it very much sets the mood – a tense, classical style intro (somewhat reminiscent of the many works of Hitchcock) that makes us feel for our struggling main character.
Part of a wealthy English family, they spend most of their time at a stunning villa that rests right beside an ancient cemetery in the Spanish countryside (though they do have an apartment in Barcelona). Since the age of thirteen, Martha has lived with her Uncle Ralph (George Rigaud – Horror Express), a professor knowledgeable in the occult who is currently struggling with a very weak heart.
After a horrific murder in their quaint part of the world, Inspector Duran (Franco Fantasia – also the film’s assistant director) believes there could be an occultist serial killer on the loose (as this is the second body found in quick succession, and alarmingly bizarre satanic goat symbols keep popping up around town).
What comes is a cavalcade of possible suspects. . . it seeming like nearly everyone in the area could be the murderer. There is the family’s rather morose and skulking driver, Marcos (Eduardo Fajardo) – whose demeanor leaves a lot to be desired; their shifty maid, Mrs. Annie Britton (Silvia Monelli) – who supposedly did some rather unusual things the night of the murder; the local doctor, Laurent (Alan Scott) – who always seems to be around (except when anything bad happens); and perhaps the most suspicious of them all, a creepy eyed, morphine-pumping, cape wearing, long-haired occultist, Woody Mason (Mario Pardo) – who can usually be found spying on Martha, breaking into drug stores, or hanging out in cemeteries (a character loosely based upon the Manson murders from three years previously). Should suspecting the occultist be considered just too easy? Why do chauffeurs always seem to be so suspicious in these types of films? Would the doctor be better named Death? Might the frail Uncle, knowledgeable in such things, actually be feigning all the heart issues? Or, could it be the most unlikely of people – the yet to be mentioned Father Martin (José Marco) and his niece Christina (Rosa M. Rodriguez) – after all, it does seem like the pair make an unusual number of visits to the villa. Clearly questions abound in this narrative that has more twists and turns than the mountainous roads of the Pyrenees.
Though so much of Knife of Ice centers on its tricksy storyline, there is no denying that Lenzi is a highly stylistic director. Imbuing the locality with more fog than seen in John Carpenter’s The Fog (that might be a slight exaggeration), it sets the mood early. . . a warning that the viewer should never be at ease, and, like Martha, should always be looking over your shoulder. With an equally stunning colour palette, it often lives in the earthy tones, which matches the film’s striking (and classically influenced) cinematography – with frequent power outages at the house, a number of spooky scenes are lit only by candle or headlights. As an entire piece, it leans toward the gothic, despite not having the overt links to the works of Edgar Allan Poe (like many other gialli), an almost haunting vibe coming through by way of shadow and light, the historic Spanish town, and the possible occultist murders. Intriguingly, the film actually gets its title from a Poe quote – “Fear is a knife of ice which penetrates the senses down to the depth of conscience”, though, according to Lenzi, that was simply because distributors wanted that type of gimmick (as it helped sell the film internationally).
A wildly over the top story that will keep you guessing until its intense final moments, Knife of Ice is a twisted reworking of the 1946 American horror classic The Spiral Staircase. Featuring solid performances (especially Baker – who carries the whole thing without saying a word), intoxicating visuals, and a kicker of a conclusion, it definitely keeps the viewer fully invested (and, in the end, it all comes together and makes sense – which isn’t always the case with these types of movies). It must also be noted that the opening credits run atop a rather violent bullfight that is clearly real (if this is the sort of thing that will bother you, it might be wise to either fast forward or skip the credits altogether). So, don’t feel bad if you come up blank while trying to figure out this whodunit. . . that mute voice of yours will finally find itself when everything is revealed.
This film is available in Italian with English subtitles or in dubbed English