Madhouse

A bit inconsistent, but generally good fun. It is quite well directed and shot, but this unravels a bit towards the end, ably assisted by a fairly ludicrous plot. Similarly, some of the performances are pretty decent, but some get a bit hammy from time to time. Ortolani's score works well. There are a few gory scenes which are reasonably effective, although some of the effects aren't quite up to scratch, and some moments lapse into unintentional comedy. Worth a look for "nasty" completists.

An eerily intriguing opening doesn't really pan out as the stalking becomes increasing elongated for what you know will be an eventual kill. I don't mind at all when a side character I don't care about just suddenly drops out of the fridge as a frigid corpse, presumably murdered off screen. Heck, I love it. I wish more movies killed off side characters I don't care about only to have them reappear as corpses in sudden intervals. You'll never convince me it wouldn't make Moneyball better.

No one scores someone getting their head caved in with a rock better than Riz Ortolani.

The plot is a complete incoherent mess and it's tonally very inconsistent, which is made worse by a ridiculous twist. The pacing is also off. Especially one kill of an irrelevant character is dragged out. It does picks up in the last 20 minutes. It also suffers from some very unconvincing make up. But the movie is saved by it being beautiful shot with some good use of wide shots and flares, a good gialli atmosphere and a likeable lead that's grounded in a realistic background.

Mediocre

Being written & directed by the man who brought us Piranha 2, this has no business being as fun as it is. Combining solid performances with genuinely creepy atmosphere & a well-executed (for the most part) premise, it offers a lot of surprisingly effective moments & twists as well as a really likeable heroine. The deaf school angle was neat & I liked the bond Julia had with her students. It's admittedly pretty inconsistent & the ending doesn't wrap things up very well. Still, give this a look.