Bezenby Oh! Edwidge Fenech has got herself into a right pickle this time. She plays Mrs Julie Wardh, stuck in a dull marriage to diplomat Mr Wardh, who is hardly ever around due to his work. She only married him to get away from Jean (Ivan Rassimov), who held her in a dominant, pervy relationship. Turns out Edwidge has some kind of fetish regarding blood, which led her to all sorts of weird trysts with Jean. Now she's bored again, Jean keeps stalking her, and she's hooked up with playboy George Hilton, who has arrived in Vienna (I think) as one of two heirs to his uncle's fortune. It's like Eastenders, only good, and with attractive women! Also, what's with the broken glass and punches to the jaw? Aren't bum games enough for today's modern woman?In an ordinary world this would be enough to carry the whole film through, but this is the early seventies, the time of the gialli, so obviously there's a razor blade carrying nutter hanging around the place, carving people up. Some girl at a party attended by most of the characters gets sliced, and now someone's phoning Mrs Wardh, sending her flowers, and generally making a nuisance of themselves. Can Edwidge clear up this mess without smudging her mascara?That's as far as I'm going with the story – but let me say that the director here is Sergio Martino, the man who also made Torso and 2019: After the Fall of New York, so you're in good hands here. Also, according to his personal introduction on the DVD I've got, he looks a lot like TV presenter John Craven, so there you go. This film looks great, by the way, with loads of psychedelic style footage (mostly in flashbacks). Edwidge also looks great, either dressed in chic clothing or disrobed (I did laugh at the bit where George Hilton called Edwidge a doctor, and he examines her while she's lying in bed wearing a see through bra). Hilton (The Case of the Bloody Iris) and Rassimov (The Devil's Possession) are old hands at this type of film.I'd probably say that Torso tops this one (due to the scene at the end in the manor) but this is another strong giallo. Most of them are strong, to be honest. So if you like gialli, you'll like this one too.

Zbigniew_Krycsiwiki Review based on the 96-minutes long Italian version titled: Lo strano vizio della Signora Wardh. Brutal rape scene in the woods during a rainstorm opens this Italian slasher, about a series of the murders of women with a straight razor. Part travelogue of Italy, Spain, and Austria, and part erotic horror, complete with a cat fight in its opening scenes, and plenty of gorgeous girls getting nude for the camera, and enough twists and turns for about six slasher flicks. Bizarre dream (or flashback?) scene with distorted, slow motion shot of a breaking wine bottle (from multiple camera angles) and its glass shards flying and landing on a semi-nude girl in bed has surreal look. Killer silently opening the lock of an apartment door, followed by a brutal throat-slashing in the shower is quite a shock, as was undoubtedly intended. That scene deliberately shows us everything the shower scene in Psycho tried not to show, and it works very effectively. The killer stalking Edwige in the parking garage, and trying to get to her in the lift was well done, also. Another memorable vignette. But is everything real, or all in Edwige Fenech's head? Conchita/ Christina Airoldi looks as delicious as ever, despite a silly looking haircut. Scenes of her going through the hedge maze are scenic and beautiful, yet creepy, as she knows she is not alone. Minutes later, when her gorgeous body is slashed to ribbons, I couldn't help but wonder, was she ever in a film where her character was *not* killed?

matheusmarchetti Sergio Martino's "The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh" has to be one of the finest gialli of all time - a visually stunning, atmospheric masterpiece that is right up there with genre classics such as Argento's "Deep Red" and Bava's "Blood & Black Lace". It has aged perfectly, unlike many others of it's kind. The film remains very suspenseful, intelligent, creepy and never boring, always keeping the viewer on the edge of the seat, and it often feels like an acid version of a Hitchcock film. Speaking of which, Martino seems to intentionally pay tribute to the Master of Suspense in many of the film's set pieces, the most clear example is the 'murder in the shower' scene. Also, I love the film's dream sequences, which feels like something David Lynch would do. The beautiful soundtrack is also a bonus, and a naked Edwige Fenech doesn't hurt either. Overall, 10/10. Essential viewing for fans of Eurohorror and Italian cinema.

tuco73 The beginning of the seventies saw the full spread of the "Giallo" genre mainly thanks to the works of Mario Bava (who started it in the mid-sixties), Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci. Nevertheless a few other directors left a mark: one to remember was Aldo Lado with his amazing "Short Night of the Glass Dolls" and another was Sergio Martino with "Lo Strano Vizio...". Anyone interested in those nicely aged Italian B movies where settings, screenplay, direction, music... all seem to work very easily in perfect harmony, should definitely not miss this movie! Thrill, violence, stylish interiors, smart dialogues, a memorable score, and a very inventive plot together with some awesome (often naked) actresses, will capture your attention all the way through... contributing once again to leave us a visually stunning portrait of the Seventies like no other movie genre was able to do. A fantastic and recommended movie, also for non-giallo fanatics. Really enjoyable!