This early 70's giallo by Umberto Lenzi is certainly among the best in his filmography and also in the whole genre. Personally I think Lenzi's best films are the funny cartoon-turned-film Kriminal, the stylish giallo Seven Blood-Stained Orchids, the explosive Napoli violenta and this. In the eighties he did plenty of film trash in form of Eaten Alive, Hitcher in the Dark or Black Demons, all of which are ripping something off andor very dull and slow moving. Knife of Ice came when the giallo boom was at its hottest and the result is convincing. Technically the film is superb, containing great cinematography in the beginning when we learn about the main character's trauma towards trains. From this point on, Lenzi shows us his ability to benefit the widescreen and, for example, the bicycle ride near the forest is genuinely beautiful! This scene also shows Lenzi's ability to build suspense, very slowly but meaningfully. After all, there aren't so many murders in the whole film, only the suspense circulating around the murderer's identity. One suspect is a devil worshipper which brings new aspects to the mystery. Since the final scene takes place in a church, one can wonder if Lenzi wanted to comment on something, maybe the hypocritical morale of church and superstition. The main character (Carrol Baker) is mute which demands a lot from her face and eyes. The actress works very well, giving us a believable performance circulating around the emotions of fear and mental pain. The other actors are good, too. The finally, however, may not give too positive a sight about female sex since they all are expressed rather negatively in the film, one way or another. Still this is easily among the most noteworthy in the genre, not as bloody as the Argento films, for example, but equally suspenseful and visually also interesting.
夏洛特(简·西蒙斯 Jean Simmons 饰)和丈夫阿诺尔德(丹·奥赫里奇 Dan O'Herlihy 饰)之间的婚姻并不幸福,她一直怀疑自己同父异母的妹妹乔安(朗达·弗莱明 Rhonda Fleming 饰)和阿诺尔德之间有着不正当的关系。这种怀疑日日夜夜的折磨着夏洛特,终于令她精神失常,最终被送进了精神病院中。 经过了一段时间的调养,夏洛特出院回到了家中,这一次,她不希望再生出什么事端了,只想要过平静的生活。然而,阿诺尔德对待夏洛特的态度非常的冷漠,村里的人也都将夏洛特当成是一个疯女人一般的对待,只有房客雅各布(小埃弗伦·津巴利斯特 Efrem Zimbalist Jr. 饰)经常陪夏洛特聊天解闷。
罗拉(朱莉·德博纳 Julie de Bona 饰)回到了久违的故乡,来到了她出生成长的地方——马尼昂庄园。一直以来,母亲的死如同乌云一样笼罩着罗拉,罗拉非常想要搞清楚这一整件事情背后的缘由。回到了故乡的罗拉发现死亡的阴影无时不刻的环绕着她,在溶洞游玩时的遇险和小男孩本杰明(亚历山大·福雷 Alexandre Furet 饰)的死亡让罗拉更加坚信,在这座表明平静的小镇背后,一定隐藏着什么不为人知的秘密。
随着罗拉调查的深入,她发现一切的死亡时间都和她的祖父有着千丝万缕的关联。罗拉的祖父是一个四处留情的花花公子,而如今,他的私生子们为了争夺家产,犯下了一桩又一桩无法挽回的罪行。