I love this movie so much

the audience applauded

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The best part about this film is that it's shot in Greece. The city looks very nice and it's fun to see a giallo shot in Athens. Gialli are known for their exotic locations but I don't think I've ever seen one set in Greece. Unfortunately, the rest of the film is a bit of a letdown. Incoherent, confusing story-line with more than a few rabbit holes, a bad balance of comedy and horror, even after expecting the usual bad dialogue I still came away amazed at the sheer awfulness in this one. I'll chalk that up to translation but that doesn't fix anything. One thing that I did enjoy is the inclusion of a traditional black-gloved killer with a shaving razor. I've seen quite a few of these films and this trope really isn't as common as those who stereotype the sub-genre would lead you to believe. It's always cool to see. The camera work is more than adequate but the score is unmemorable. I found myself thoroughly bored. One note though, that gold bust actually is hilarious. I wish I could have that as a decoration in my house.

'Death Steps In The Dark' finally has a pristine transfer, sound and picture are crystal clear. Excellent giallo from Maurizio Pradeaux. While his 'death carries a cane' is better known, I found this 1977 outing to be far more entertaining than the latter. Not only do you get the requisite full-frontal nudity ubiquitous in the genre (inc. a splendidly gratuitous Sapphic montage near the opening of the film!) the film has a light, comedic touch not generally found within the idiom; so among all the black-gloved, razor-wielding frenzy (the murders are considerably full-blooded) the film is leavened by a clearly sardonic tone, which, while admittedly far-from subtle, adds a viable quirky sheen to the generally humorless genre. graphic razor-slashings, gratuitous nudity, plentiful guzzles of j&b (the veritable elixir of Italian exploitation!) and a mesmerizing, booty-humpin' jazz-funk score by Riz Ortolani makes 'death steps in the dark' one of the more memorable and re-watchable gialli. Whether or not the film was specifically designed as a giallo parody certainly doesn't detract from the more lurid pleasures gialli are infamous for; since 'death steps in the dark' makes for such a serviceable, briskly-paced, sanguineous whodunit.

Many people have trashed this film on account of it being a strange mixture of thriller and comedy. "Passi di morte perduti nel buio" (Death steps in the dark) has all the ingredients of a good giallo and I think that the comic moments don't spoil the suspenseful ones."Death steps in the dark" starts as an homage to Agatha Christie. In a compartment of the Istanbul-Athens express train, a girl is fumbling nervously with her necklace. The train passes under a tunnel. When it emerges from the tunnel this girl has a letter opener sticking in her chest. The letter opener belongs to Luciano Morelli (Leonard Mann), a fashion photographer. He'll be one of the main suspects of the police. Luciano along with his naive girlfriend Ingrid (Vera Krouska) will investigate on his own the murder(s) and try to find out the killer - this is the only way to clear himself. Luciano (and Ingrid) will live many adventures and so will the killer (someone - maybe more than one person - is trying to blackmail him/her!). But beware! The film has many surprises in store."Death steps in the dark" was shot in Athens - It's very colourful and it has, as it's usual in many gialli, pretty girls (and some nice lesbian touches), stylish camera work and editing, very well-staged killing scenes and a wonderful soundtrack. It also features a very beautiful romantic scene. All in all, "Death steps in the dark" is full of "joie de vivre" - the actors are very natural and seem to be enjoying themselves.The comic moments are provided mostly by Luciano and his naive and beautiful girlfriend Ingrid, and also by the Detective Inspector in charge of the case (Robert Webber), with his eternal stomach problems.If you don't take the film too seriously you might enjoy it like I did.I've seen the film twice already.

Luciano is a press photographer travelling to a photo shoot on the Istanbul-Athens express with his girlfriend. While passing through a tunnel, his girlfriend is stabbed to death with Luciano's dagger. He is naturally the prime suspect for the murder, but he believes he can solve the case himself and so goes on the run to clear his name. On the face of it a classic giallo theme, but what we have here is a film that is an odd mix of authentic Giallo, black comedy and at times, outrageously bawdy comedy, in the vein of Airplane movies, the killer leaving his fingerprints in $hit might give you an idea of its level. Still though, some of the humour is spot on and never reaches the level of being tiresome, there are also enough gruesome murders and suspense to keep real Giallo enthusiasts intrigued.