Giallo January is a fun time here at Horror Press, because for every giallo movie I think I know well, I’m introduced to a completely new one, the presentation of which usually captures my senses entirely. Today’s feature, The Strangler (1970), directed by Paul Vecchialli, isn’t your typical giallo, but it is captivating, and its shiny new visual sheen is something we can thank Altered Innocence for.
A serial killer is plaguing Paris. Lonely women are being picked off one by one and strangled to death by a mystery man. And now, newspaper reporter Simon and his desperate new assistant Anna look to make the most dangerous headline by talking to the culprit face to face.
Altered Innocence Releases a 2k Restoration of The Strangler
Altered Innocence is a film distributor, now also specializing in film restoration of artistic boundary-pushing cinema, as well as distributing countless pieces of queer film history. In terms of things HP fans might recognize, they’re responsible for the release of films like Bertrand Mandico’s Conann and After Blue, the original and Straight Cut rereleases of Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible, the possession movie Luz, and the devastating Spanish feature The Hole In The Fence. And now, we have The Strangler to add to that list (in the original French, L’Etrangleur), which they’ve produced a 2k restoration of.
Before we delve into the story and cinematography of The Strangler, I have to note that this restoration is out of this world. Barring one drop in quality that I could notice, and which took a few seconds to register, every frame of the film is richly brought back to life. We’ve left the grain and grit that might have been on the original print back in the 70s; there’s almost no loss of color or quality, and the audio is impeccable. Even when the film is in one of its quiet moments, it’s amazing to see the clarity in every shot. You can tell this is the way the film was intended to be seen, and I’m very much looking forward to Altered Innocence’s future film restorations.
But is the good transfer in service of a great film? All signs point to yes—with some important caveats for anybody expecting your usual giallo thrills.
The Strangler Restored to Near Pristine Condition
When Altered Innocence labeled this an unconventional entry in the early years of the subgenre, they meant it. Standing as a contrast to its Italian siblings, The Strangler is an anti-giallo in a way: it rejects a story of murderous mystery in favor of a more character-driven, psychological tale, opting to tell one with little intrigue outside of what we get from the characters themselves. The kicker is that the black gloves are never put on, let alone get taken off: we even learn the killer’s identity in the opening scene.
This might have you questioning how it can be considered giallo in the first place. The Strangler still carries the dreamlike aesthetic and quirks of other giallo in its presentation. There is a definite giallo strain in how Vecchiali shot L’Etrangleur; Paris at midnight is the stage for the killer’s crime spree, seen through uncanny camera movements that feel like the cast is being stalked at all times. That’s not to mention that the story takes an odd twist and introduces a new criminal player to the murder spree, completely eschewing the formula (as giallo is want to) and creating a surprising finale that had me unsure how everything would play out.
Does The Strangler Make for Good Giallo Company?
The Strangler is certainly not as scintillating as more gruesome giallo like Deep Red or Bay of Blood, trading plunging knives for strangling scarves. However, it is still fairly sensual, thanks to the movements and performances of its actors. The killer, Emile, played by Jacques Perrin of Cinema Paradiso fame, has an undeniable magnetism to him that is displayed in the uncomfortable sequences where he manages to catch women off guard and come in close for the kill.
In the context of similar horror, The Strangler is a sort of euro-swagger-dipped precursor to films like Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and even American Psycho, a prescient prototype for movies that serve as a character study of violent men and their vicious desires. In the tradition of the killing sprees reflecting social illnesses and anxieties much larger and much more sprawling than their crimes, this film tackles the isolation and abuse of women as its central theme. And as uncomfortably isolating this exploration of abuse can feel at times, it’s a successful marker of its evocative nature.
The film hinges on Perrin’s line deliveries and mannerisms to make the character a character you want to study. Even though the killer’s identity is already out there, the motives he states plainly still need to be unwrapped and dissected. There’s more than meets the eye to our killer and more than what he says, lurking in dreams and his rare non-murderous interactions.
Altered Innocence’s select library of incredibly well-made and sometimes experimental features has a new member in The Strangler, and it’s a worthy entry to watch for most avid enthusiasts of media restoration, and just about anybody who likes offbeat thriller films, so check it out.
