| The French Sex Murders | |
| Director: |
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| Producer: |
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| Story: | Paolo Daniele |
| Screenplay: |
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| Starring: |
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| Music: | Bruno Nicolai |
| Cinematography: |
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| Editing: | Bruno Mattei |
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| Distributor: | Variety Distribution |
| Runtime: | 88 minutes |
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| Language: | Italian |
The French Sex Murders (Italian: Casa d'appuntamento (Translation: House of Rendezvous) is a 1972 giallo film directed by Ferdinando Merighi under the pseudonym "F. L. Morris", and edited by Bruno Mattei. It was released as The French Sex Murders in the US, The Bogey Man and the French Murders in the UK, and Meurtre dans la 17e avenue in France.[1] It stars Rosalba Neri, Anita Ekberg, Barbara Bouchet, Howard Vernon and Gordon Mitchell.[1] The actor who played the police inspector in this film (Robert Sacchi) was a professional Humphrey Bogart lookalike, which explains the alternate "Bogey Man" title.[1] Special effects technician Carlo Rambaldi handled the throat slashings and beheadings that take place in the movie.[1]
A petty criminal named Antoine (Peter Martell) is blamed for the murder of a prostitute who was killed at Madame Collette's exclusive whorehouse in Paris. He is sentenced to death by guillotine, and he swears revenge on everyone who helped convict him. At the last moment, he manages to escape from the prison – but is then decapitated in a motorcycle accident. A scientist Prof. Waldemar obtains the criminal's severed head from the morgue for purposes of experimentation. The judge, who sentenced Antoine to death later turns up murdered, and then one by one, the prostitutes at Madame Collette's begin turning up murdered as well. Everyone believes that Antoine is causing the murders to happen, and that he is wreaking vengeance from beyond the grave.
Allmovie gave it a mixed review, writing "The contrived script [...] is completely off the hook, which fans of the giallo form will be expecting, but those who come to the film cold may be somewhat nonplussed."[2]
wizzley.com noted: "trashy little piece of nasty entertainment that's not very good, but pretty fun".[3]
DVDTalk noted: "the production particulars of French Sex Murders are more interesting than the film itself"..." plot simply strings together a series of gory murders"..."poor lighting and direction only highlight the phony severed heads and poster paint blood"..."Action scenes are particularly incompetent".[4]