Perversion Story review

Here's a great little review of Perversion Story from William P. Simmons from SexGoreMutants:

PERVERSION STORY

William P. Simmons

From the suggestive, atmospheric supernatural terrors
of its Gothic 'Golden' period in the 1960s to the
psycho-sexual paranoia and stylish slayings of the 70s
Giallo, Italian Horror has challenged established
rules of social acceptability, storytelling tradition,
and cultural conscience. Whether examining the
fog-shrouded corridors of warped minds and decadent
ancestral estates or digging deep into the steaming viscera so crucial to the meaty marvels of the later Zombie and Cannibal opuses, Italian horror shares an intimacy to both sheer sensationalism and mature psychological suspense. This unique combination of paradoxically related graphic violence and emotional terror was embodied in Lucio Fulci, one of the genres most maligned yet talented directors.

A poet of the perverse who delighted in peeling back the raw exterior of existence, Fulci defied the knee-jerk philosophy of traditional conservative
cinema, employing ultra-violent examinations of the flesh and the surreal to study the chaotic bleakness and decay lurking below the crust of politely restrained society. With a camera lavishing loving detail on decay and the supernatural, Fulci displayed in his lengthy if erratic career the ability to force audiences weaned on the laughably rigid morality of Hollywood to investigate new possibilities of physical corruption, emotional lethargy, and spiritual
decadence – themes largely ignored by directors who lacked the nerve or aesthetic sense required to treat the macabre in any other sense than playfully. Fulci explored the fragile dimensions of the human psyche before he probed the soft underbelly of the flesh.

Investing the Giallo with grim believability and social vivisection, Fucli tackled the 'Love Me' generation of the 70s with Lizard In A Woman's Skin, investigating the hallucinatory conflict between the desires and fears of the subconscious. And before he exposed the scandalous exual perversion of the Catholic Church in Don't Torture A Duckling, Fulci was lending his unique sensibilities to the Giallo/thriller format with One On Top Of The Other, a surprisingly sensitive and uniquely 'understated' murder mystery. Lacking the gore and hyper violence that would characterize the best of his later work, and missing the surreal atmosphere dependent on the fantastical situations that would breath such malignance into films like The Beyond, this film already exhibited the director's disenchantment with the human race. Important as a first rate who-done-it, this suspense gem is also an essential example of the director's ability to create an complex, emotionally involving story when granted the proper screenplay. Released under the French title Perversion Story by Severin -- a company quickly building one of the most unique DVD catalogues for devotees of exploitation and horror -- this crime thriller makes up for in emotional involvement what it lacks in visual excess.

An effective variation of the traditional 'insurance scam'/murder frame-up narrative pattern often utilized in classical noir, Perversion Story is lent energy and emotional resonance by Fulci's sure compositions and character sympathy. The story follows brothers George and Henry Dumurrier, both of which who run a private clinic and make false promises about their medical procedures to generate publicity and income. Balancing an affair and work with Susan's (his ill wife's) emotional demands, George allows her sister to tend to her physical needs. Deep in an affair with Martham the cheating wife of a business associate, George's complicated life worsens when he receives a call informing him of Susan's death -- followed by the discovery that he is the beneficiary of an insurance policy he wasn't aware of. It doesn't take the police long to suspect him of her murder. Later, patronizing a night club, he and Martha are fascinated by Monica Weston, a mysterious blonde who resembles his dead wife. Opening a sexual relationship with the mystery woman, George discovers that Susan's body had traces of poison found in it, and he is formally charged with murder. As the net of frame-ups, blackmail, and betrayals tightens around him, George and the insurance company fight to discover the truth behind a case of murder and hidden identity. If he is to save himself from certain death, and gain peace of mind, George must locate the elusive mystery women to whom he has given his heart, and prove his innocence.

A filmmaker whose defiance of authority was as striking as the blood-and-sex drenched images layering amoral splatter-ballets of nihilism and wonder, Fulci is perhaps best known for the gleefully excessive gut-muncher Zombie (1979). Often (and quite erroneously) referred to as a "rip-off" of George A. Romero's hugely successful Dawn Of The Dead, the grand guignol of Zombie was an international sensation that paved the way for a quick succession of atmospheric
exercises in brutal surrealism, resulting in a Fulcian Golden Period, which included City Of The Living Dead (1980), The Black Cat (1981), The Beyond (1981), and House By The Cemetery (1981). Despised by censors, reviled by proponents of 'subtle' terror, and victim to the political/economical factions of his native film industry, Fulci was also betrayed by the intensity of his own thematic obsession with decay, moral corruption, and the questionable integrity of perception -- the very tool by which we define reality and one's place in a larger spiritual and physical context of an often malignant universe. Fulci crafted in his unrepentantly somber, inspired cinematic fragments a geography of fear, grue, and isolation. In the chaotic center of triumphant decay, moral ambiguity, and rampant sexuality, Fulci's vision imbued his own particular fetishistic visions of earthly decadence and supernatural speculation with a
philosophic vitality unavailable in the crude pseudo-documentaries of his countrymen or the uninspired Drive-In fodder of American cinema.

If Fulci's 'Zombie Quartet' continues to win him fans for their atmosphere, ultra violence, and nihilistic vision, his Giallos best represent him as a storyteller. Fans accustomed to the director's surrealistic visual approach -- and the disjointed scripts emphasized in his dark fantasies -- will be surprised by the complex, psychologically naturalistic suspense of Perversion Story. Fulci's Gialli are suspenseful as a result of their wit and careful scaffolding of suggestively telling events, not dependent on special effects or spectacle. Each is anchored by realism and believability, particularly his first. A traditional mystery thriller at first glance, Perversion Story is a character study of lust, greed, and guilt saved from mediocrity by an intelligent screenplay and Fucli's intimate understanding of moral corruption. Mell is the seductive highlight of the story, a Fem Fatal radiating needy yet deadly femininity. Equal parts chilly and soft, victim and victimizer, Mell is believable as an individual while also serving as an archetype for sexual enticement in general. Lover, mother, bitch: she is the typical Fulci female. (in this light she can also be seen, for those caring to look below the surface, as a symbol of the mythic triple goddess). For the lions share of its running time, 'Una Sull altra' is an exquisitely crafted thriller that never seems less than real in its depressing intent and erotic fury. The camera work -- from Alejandro Ulloa -- compliments Fulci's splendid direction, and the erotic underpinnings of Marisa Mell is an engaging contrast to the subtle performance delivered by Jean Sorrel.

Better known as One On Top of The Other, and often appearing on collector's gray market dupes, Severin's release of Perversion Story represents the first time that the film has appeared in the English market proper. A labor of love, the film is treated with respect and affection, and the company should be praised for its devotion to such a rare yet significant piece of Italian cinema. Compared to other VHS prints, this is a thing of beauty, both in presentation and the decision to include extra erotic footage. And while some question exists as to its completeness -- a fact that has some genre message boards crying foul -- it should be noted that Severin itself comes right out and TELLS prospective buyers that this is the French theatrical cut of the film. In fact, this is what their website reads:

"Thought to have been lost for more than 35 years, this is the French theatrical cut newly transferred from the Parisian negative element containing salacious scenes never before seen in any English language release. In France the film was released under the title Perversion Story even though it carries the Italian title card Una Sull'Altra and is an alternate edit from the US and UK releases we know as One On Top Of The Other."

Did we all see that? Good. This is "an alternate edit from the US and UK releases." Therefore whether or not scenes from gray market Italian or English versions isn't pertinent. Severin presents the French version of Perversion Story on English DVD for the first time ever, having rescued several moments of sexual intensity. Those few moments of exposition or character dialogue that exist in varying forms and lengths in other prints add little to an appreciation or understanding of the feature.

The picture quality for One On Top Of The Other is sumptuous! Easily the best this film has ever looked. Definitions are superb, the picture clean and concise. Colors are sharp and full-bodied. While very little lines and dirt are present, they are rarely evident, and in no manner reduce the enjoyment of the picture. No speckling or grain is noticeable. Audio is feature din both Italian language and English, and is just as professional, thankfully lacking the usual distortion that appears in rare titles. While the English track is nicely done, the Italian option is recommended for a purer feel of the experience, taking greater advantage of the wonderful score.

If the visual and audio presentation of this film is admirable, the extras are superb (if scant), thanks to the inclusion of the film's complete score! While not as evocative or moody as Fabio Frizzo's music for The Beyond or City of the Living Dead, Riz Ortoiani's compositions are unique orgies for the ears, reaching various emotional dimensions with cool stands of jazz. A collectible item, this CD is a major find, and is alone worth the price of admission. The other extra is the lengthy English trailer, which is full of spoilers, so watch after the feature.