The Killer Is on the Phone

Not that it matters, but the title of this film has nothing to do with what happens on the screen. There are maybe two seconds where we see the killer on the phone but it is just a throwaway moment. I wanted wicked taunts and heavy breathing! I assume the Italian producers were just trying to cash in on a 70s telephone-based murderer craze? In any event, this is a mystery thriller which is pretty light on the thrills and very heavy on the talky bits. Despite this abundance of dialogue, Telly Savalas is underutilized having maybe three lines. He spends most of his screen-time just leering at his victims and smoking cigarettes. Still, this is a fairly entertaining story of a woman who is struggling to regain her memory of the events after her lover’s death. There’s a good twist which really should have been hyped-up much more leading to the reveal. Also, lots of J&B Scotch drinking and an unnecessarily slow death of the killer.