While many consider Dario Argento to be the master of giallo cinema, it’s fascinating to see how much of his work actually eschews that label. The final part of his ‘Animal Trilogy’, Four Flies on Grey Velvet isn’t what you’d expect having seen Suspiria, for example. That said, there’s plenty to like here – and a clear pathway to some of Argento’s bigger hits.
The film stars Michael Brandon as Roberto, a drummer in a rock band who finds himself stalked by a mysterious hooded figure. When he investigates further, he’s framed for a murder by a photographer wearing a creepy rubber mask – and as more people investigate, they start turning up dead.
While its narrative setup is fairly rudimentary, the direction behind it is what elevates Four Flies on Grey Velvet above typical genre fare. There’s a character named God whose first appearance is heralded by the singing of a choir, a hugely charismatic private investigator who appears around the halfway mark, and a ‘scientific’ way of finding out each victim’s final view.
It’s a good job Argento has his fingerprints all over this, because without those sparks of flair Four Flies on Grey Velvet would be a pretty dull affair. The plot tinkers along as you’d expect from a whodunnit, and there’s not much from Brandon’s performance as Roberto to give you a reason to care about his plight. In fact, he’s an actively bland and unlikeable protagonist – though an argument does emerge, later in the film, to suggest this is entirely the point.
Up until the killer and their motivations are revealed, it just feels lacking compared to Argento’s most famous work. It doesn’t feel as propulsive or electric; a much more rudimentary slasher-giallo that doesn’t push the boundaries like his other films. You want to know who is doing this and why, but you don’t necessarily care about the wider machinations of the narrative outside of that specific mystery.
This new release from Shameless Films is an impressive one, too. There are introductions from Brandon and assistant director and screenwriter Luigi Cozzi, and a brand-new interview about the film with Argento himself. The remaster itself, at least in the standard Blu-ray version, is less noteworthy – but it still looks good for a film of its age.
For a 50-year-old film, and one of the director’s lesser-known works, Four Flies on Grey Velvet still has plenty to offer. You can tell that Argento just wanted to have fun with this one: to experiment with the cinematography, throw in a few low-stakes twists, and even go balls-to-the-wall silly with its ultimate conclusion. While it’s not one of his most heralded films, there’s enough here to warrant a watch – just don’t expect anything boundary-pushing.
★★★
Four Flies on Grey Velvet is out on separate 4K UHD and Blu-ray releases 28 April from Shameless Films.
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