A sugar stalker, milk chocolate peeping Tom, juice sucker, and cookie cadaver all mean. . . well, absolutely nothing, but they sure do sound like they would fit nicely in the 1969 giallo So Sweet… So Perverse, directed by Umberto Lenzi.
Inspired by the movie that started the whole twist-ending trend, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Les Diaboliques (1955), the narrative follows Jean Reynaud (Jean-Louis Trintignant), a wealthy businessman living in Paris. Married to disenchanted Danielle (Erika Blanc), he is more interested in playing the field (from what we hear, so is his wife), rather than spend time in their expansive third floor apartment together.
Yet, curiosity soon kills the cat, as a beautiful blonde, Nicole Perrier (Carroll Baker – her second of four movies with Lenzi), has moved in on the penthouse fourth floor. . . he seems willing to spend more time at home if she’s around. Furthermore, Jean has one of the two keys to her abode (as he was thinking about making the move one floor up). Another excuse for a visit – Nicole dropped a stunning gold trinket on the elevator floor. What he finds is a terrified woman needing aid.
Further ignoring his wife and now even pushing his affair with Helene (Helga Liné) to the side. . . though Jean might want to keep an eye on his mistresses’ husband (Giovanni Di Benedetto) – for he has an itchy trigger finger akin to Dick Cheney (‘accidentally’ nicking Jean’s throat), all of his focus turns to unwrapping the mystery (and possibly clothing) of his new neighbour (not helping his obsession, he begins spotting her when he’s out on the town). Soon realizing that Nicole is in a dangerous forced relationship with rapist and master manipulator Klaus (Horst Frank), the nefarious man is prone to both beating and controlling her (not to mention, he always seems to have the knack for being close by). Nowhere near as simple as it sounds, what part does Jean have to play in this sordid tale? Could having a wife and two mistresses simply be too much for one man. . . or might it lead to the possibility of stalking, peeping, sucking, or, worse yet, a cadaver?
A complex mystery, protected by a conundrum of tissue paper, and finished off with riddling question mark wrapping paper (and don’t get me started on the excessive tape), So Sweet… So Perverse relishes in its twisty narrative of the rich and immoral (now there’s a title for a soap opera). No one is who they seem (dead or alive), ulterior motives abound, red herrings will be found (yet likely won’t mean very much), but will anyone be drowned – okay, enough with the rhyming.
Filled with beautiful people, high class fashion and design, cinematic flair, murder mystery, sultry thrills, and enough twists to keep even M. Night Shyamalan on his toes, So Sweet… So Perverse is a perfect descriptor for this giallo that checks all of the right boxes. It even features a solid score from Riz Ortolani. So, feel free to inspect this vexing case of the first degree, though there may be no clause to help keep you safe.
This film can be watched in Italian with English subtitles, or in dubbed English