BA_Harrison A killer frogman (a man in scuba gear, not a half-frog/half-man hybrid) emerges from the waterways of Venice at night to drag attractive young women to his lair, where he embalms their bodies to preserve their beauty for all eternity. Intrepid reporter and ladies' man Andrea (Luigi Martocci) investigates…I wasn't expecting too much from this movie, given its current low IMDb score of 4.5, but I was pleasantly surprised: the 'killer from the canals' plot line is pretty ingenious, mid-'60s Venice makes for a great locale, with its bustling tourist attractions, crumbling semi-submerged buildings, and swinging nightlife (which allows for a couple of jazz/rock 'n' roll interludes amidst all the murder and mystery), and for those who like a bit of light sleaze with their Italian horror, there's a pervy hotel manager who sneaks into a special room to spy on his pretty female guests through a two-way mirror (did I hear someone say 'red herring'?).Writer/director Dino Tavella's handling of the action is, for the most part, unexceptional, although the stylish gimmick of freeze-framing on each successive victim before the killer strikes is a fun touch, and there's a cool scene in which the murderer, wearing a cowl and skull mask, hides in plain sight amongst the remains of several long-dead monks. The film also earns extra points for going against convention, delivering a downbeat finale in which the hero fails to save his girlfriend from the killer's clutches.6.5 out 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

wes-connors "Women are disappearing amid the beauty of Venice, Italy, where a killer snatches his victims off the canals and streets to whisk them to his subterranean chamber. Once there, the killer embalms his victims to preserve them in a personal display of his crimes. A journalist is drawn to the disappearances and decides to investigate them," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis. "The Embalmer" wastes a good horror movie setting; for example, "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" would feel at home in Venice. A singer named Jti Janne appears, looking like Elvis Presley; alas, he does not sing "No More (La Paloma)". This movie may make you feel as if you are being embalmed.** Il mostro di Venezia (11/8/65) Dino Tavella ~ Luigi Martocci, Maureen Brown, Anita Todesco

MartinHafer The idea behind this film is pretty original and very frightening. There's a psycho in Venice who kidnaps beautiful women and then embalms them to put in his private collection! However, despite this really cool plot, the overall film really wasn't very good--especially in the final 20 minutes. That's because in order to make the film work, the writers have the characters make so many brainless mistakes that the film comes off poorly. Here are some of the major plot problems: 1. A lady discovers that the hotel manager is, at the very least, a sex pervert. Instead of telling the police, she goes to the manager's apartment. When he isn't there, she lets herself in and looks around. When she "accidentally" discovers a secret panel to an underground lair, she investigates it on her own--never going for help!! 2. When there is a big fight between our hero and the murderer on the early streets of Venice, not once does the hero call out for help--even though he has many opportunities. When the murderer starts to win in their fight, the guy STILL doesn't call for help nor did he arrange for any backup. Apparently, like the stupid lady in #1, he is too cool to get help.This is an Italian-made horror film that was dubbed into English. Oddly, while the lips, of course, aren't in sync when everyone is speaking in English because of the dubbing, even the part where a guy sings in Italian is way out of sync--which is just odd.Despite these brainless problems with the film, the coolness of the plot makes up for a lot of this. While it certainly ain't "art", it is a reasonably decent time-passer.

adam_658 This movie was kind of like a 2-0 baseball game where the home team loaded the bases with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th. The movie was dreadfully boring for all but the last 10 minutes. I half sarcastically say that you could watch the first and last 10 minutes of the movie and not miss a thing. The acting was lousy, maybe it was the dubbing . . . but most likely it was a combination of the two.The killer is always tedious. Every scene he is in is just obnoxiously drawn out. When he is doing his "embalming" it shows him messing with chemicals for about 10 minutes, about as exciting as an embalming infomercial. He's always talking to himself saying in 10 minutes what he could've said in a sentence.To be fair the end of the movie is above average, not great, but above average. If it's worth sitting through 8 boring innings to watch 1 exciting inning, then it's probably worth watching this movie too. If not I'd avoid this one.