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Watch Me When I Kill (1977)
Synapse Films
Blu-ray Disc Released: 10/29/2019
All Ratings out of 
Movie:
1/2
Video:
1/2
Audio:
1/2
Extras:
1/2
Review by Mike Long, Posted on 11/4/2019
When discussing films, the term “formulaic” will often emerge.
But, what does that really mean?
It typically refers to the fact that a movie has followed a specific
regimen in creating its story. Much
like adhering to a recipe in cooking, these cinematic creations take a
particular set of ingredients and elements and align them in a familiar manner.
Therefore, they are deemed as “formulaic”, as they use these elements
which we’ve seen in other movies and present them in a way which we’ve seen
before. The question is, is this a
bad thing? Let’s keep that in mind
as we explore Watch Me When I Kill.
When lounge-singer Mara (Paola Tedesco) visits a pharmacy in Rome, she finds
that the door is locked and a strange voice informs her that the business is
closed. She then learns that a
murder had just occurred in the pharmacy and that she may have met the culprit.
She reunites with Lukas (Corrado Pani), an old flame (?), and asks her
his help, as she’s now convinced that she’s being stalked by the murderer.
Not only does Lukas agree to take her
in, this audio engineer (?) begins to investigate the crime.
He learns that his neighbor, Giovanni (Ferando Cerulli), has been
receiving threatening messages and that he’s acquainted with Esmeralda (Bianca
Toccafondi), a woman who is also being menaced.
As Lukas interviews those involved with the case, he begins to see a
connection between them, but he’s also putting his own life at risk.
Watch Me When I Kill,
which has an on-screen title of “The Cat’s Victims”, was shot in 1976 and
released in 1977, placing it squarely in the midst of the giallo boom of the
70s. Following the films of Dario
Argento, such as Profondo Rosso and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage,
Watch Me When I Kill most definitely follows the patterns laid out by
those movies, so much so that we could use a checklist.
The film opens with a murder committed by a gloved killer.
An innocent bystander doesn’t witness the crime per se, but they see just
enough to make them a target of the killer.
They then begin, or enlist someone else to begin, investigating the
crime, as the police are no help.
As that investigation deepens, there is an attempt on their life, as others
involved in the murder are killed.
In the end, the killer is finally revealed.
Yes, Watch Me When I Kill checks all of those boxes, so much so
that it’s easy to imagine that Writer Vittorio Schiraldi actually used a
checklist.
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so if Watch Me
When I Kill is mimicking films like Argento’s, then it must be as good as
them, right? Not so fast.
Watch Me When I Kill has some very distinct issues.
We’ve discussed in the past how Italian films aren’t overly concerned
with things like details or making sense and this movie follows that trend.
We learn that Mara and Lukas haven’t seen each other in six months, maybe
a year, but we never learn what their previous relationship was, save that they
were most likely lovers. Lukas’
real job is vague at best, as he spends most of his time playing detective.
The fact that someone involved in the murders lives in Lukas’ building is
far too convenient. The dots
connecting the murder-mystery work better than some other entries in this genre
and when the killer is revealed, it is a character that we’ve seen before, but
the revelation is a bit ho-hum. The
film certainly doesn’t have the style featured in other giallo.
Director Antonio Bido delivers a nearly PG-13 giallo, as we have very
little on-screen violence or nudity here.
He definitely doesn’t take advantage of the naturally picturesque
settings in Rome, which makes the film look like it could have been shot
anywhere.
The opening scene of Watch Me When I Kill features a patron making a
purchase at the pharmacy and they are given the choice of getting their change
in candy or in pay-phone coins.
This is by far the most interesting aspect of the film.
Other than that, we get a very, very by-the-book giallo.
It isn’t necessarily bad, nor is it revolting or offensive.
It’s just simply so mediocre that it’s ultimately forgettable.
Giallo completists will want to seek this one out, but novices should
stick to the more classic titles.
Watch Me When I Kill’s
title makes no sense on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Synapse Films.
The film has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the Disc contains an AVC
1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 34 Mbps.
We get a new 4K transfer from the original negative here and it looks
good. The image is sharp and clear,
showing only a slight amount of grain and no notable defects from the source
material. The colors look good and
the image is never overly dark or bright.
The level of detail is good, as we can make out textures on objects, and
the film doesn’t look “flat”. The
Disc carries a DTS-HD Mono audio track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of
2.0 Mbps. The track provides clear
dialogue and sound effects. Being a
Mono track, we don’t get any dynamic effects here, but there is no hissing or
popping on the track. The actors
are audible and the music doesn’t overwhelm the other sounds.
The Watch Me When I Kill Blu-ray Disc contains several extra features.
We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from film historian and author
Nathaniel Thompson. “In Defence of
Watch Me When I Kill” (11 minutes) features Dr. Mikel Koven, Senior
Lecturer in Film Studies, University of Worcester discussing the movie and
making a case for why it works as a murder-mystery.
We get three short films from Director Antonio Bido; “Danza Macabra”,
“Marche Funebre d’un Marionette”, and “Mendelsohn im Judischen Museum Berlin”.
The “U.S. Opening Title Sequence” is included as well two TRAILERS and
some RADIO SPOTS.