gridoon2018
If you've seen enough of these 1960s European thriller co-productions, you'll know that "The Killer Likes Candy" is put together more professionally and coherently than many of them (the one or two cases of choppy editing seem to be more the fault of the fullscreen DVD prints - the movie was obviously meant to be seen in widescreen). Kerwin Mathews is a pretty solid business-first-pleasure-later lead, but although I liked Marilu Tolo as his love interest, to be honest I would have preferred one of the other two women in the film, Ann Smyrner or Fabienne Dali, to have the main female role. Oh well, that's a matter of personal taste. The Rome locations are great and Gianni Marchetti's music score is simply superb - pure 60s! The one major problem of the film is that the killer of the title, supposedly "a perfectionist" and "the best in the business", is actually extremely incompetent and ineffectual. **1/2 out of 4.
Zeegrade
Really bland James Bond-lite European piece about an American government agent assigned to be the head of security for the king of Kafiristan after one of his comrades takes an assassin's bullet meant for the king. Sensitivites arise as the U.S. is looking to sign a lucrative contract with the oil rich country which needs him alive at least until the the deal is signed. Thankfully this was made forty years before Hollywood decided to make Americans the bad guy in all energy concerns but I digress. Enter "Angel Face" Mark Stone who spends his free-time pretending to be a fashion photographer which is funny because I do the very same thing when I go to the mall. Mark is the strictly business CIA agent that is tasked with hunting down a hit-man with a sweet tooth. At least this is what the film chooses to focus on as the candy thing is more of a quirk than a calling card to anyone who stumbles upon one of his victims. The killer is Oscar Snell, a former Nazi, who really makes a lot of mistakes for a professional assassin. His numerous attempts on the king's life all fail which spoils the confrontation between Stone and himself. Numerous fights scenes are clumsily spliced together as Stone must outsmart a small army sent to dispatch him and his partner Costa who does a decent job as the girl-crazy comic relief. Not a whole lot of beauties to ogle either as this is a skin-free film that offers very little titillation which is rare for these kind of movies. The late sixties lounge musak score is so inappropriate in the shootout scenes that it's almost comedic when watching it. Complete with "bada-dada-da's" it's the kind of music which should accompany Mark prancing through a field of lilies. On the positive side "Killer" makes great use of the unique landscape like a shootout in a park lined with large ancient sculptures and a battle in the catacombs of a church. I really started to get bored towards the end as I struggled to focus on how Mark was going to capture Snell which ends anticlimactically as well mind you. If you're looking to be satisfied eat a Snickers instead and skip this candy.
vjetorix
This Italian/French/West German co-production could just as easily have been a cop thriller but for the element of Mark Stone (Kerwin Matthews) being a U.S. government agent. Locations in Venice and Rome keep things visually interesting, the cast is filled with recognizable faces, and the score by Gianni Marchetti is appropriately jazzy.Stone's assignment is to guard the life of a king so we can have his oil. Sound familiar? By the way, at the beginning of the film, the killer uses an ice bullet in his first attempt to kill the king. This little trick was used two years earlier in the Ernesto Gastaldi-scripted Ring Around the World. The plot may be simple but Matthews makes for a good hero and The Killer Likes Candy has enough going for it to make it worth seeking out.
kjetta
This is the most stupid movie I have seen. Is's about a hired murderer who eats candy while killing people, and always leaves a piece of the candy-paper behind. And the music.... Well, you have to see and hear it to believe it. I can't put words on it. The name of the movie says it all: The Killer likes candy!!! See it if you have the chance.