The Editor (2014)

Dir: Adam Brooks, Matthew Kennedy

I was not fully prepared to start watching this Canadian horror / comedy that is a parody / homage to the Italian giallo. It took me a few minutes to pick up that THE EDITOR is a loving parody. Bit slow ain't I?

Rey Ciso (co-writer and co-director Adam Brooks) was once a world acclaimed film editor. But the stress from a project crushed him and he had a nervous breakdown and had to be hospitalized. Cured (?) and ready to re-enter the world of film his only option is to splice together a cheap slasher film. Ciso's nagging wife and actress Josephine (Paz de la Huerta made up to look man-ish) is despondent that they are no longer the talk of the town due to their contribution to the world of art and is unsupportive of her husband.

When Claudio (Brett Donahue), the star of the film within a film / narcissist, and his co-star / sex bomb Veronica (Tristan Risk AMERICAN MARY) are brutally murdered after hours, no nonsense police inspector Peter Porfiry (co-writer and co-director Matthew Kennedy) is brought in under a great amount of pressure by his chief (Jerry Wasserman) to quickly solve the case. The inspector is a chain smoking man's man who knows that a woman needs the back of his hand from time to time (an un-PC joke that pokes fun at the attitude of some during the 70's when giallo was at its height). The bodies continue to pile up and Ciso can't remember where he was during the time of the murders. The inspector suspects Ciso as the murderer and delves into his past with a visit to the strange Dr. Casini (Udo Kier) and to his priest (Laurence R. Harvey THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE II).

The filmmakers are fully committed to making a film that looks and sounds like one of the many giallo released in North America during the VHS glory days. Bold colours, Fulci-esque graphic practical FX, stilted overdubbed dialogue, a black gloved killer and a nonsensical plot more interested in red herrings and shocking twists than coherence. I had a lot of fun recognising the references to Bava, Argento, Fulci (and Cronenberg's VIDEODROME?!?!). Viewers who aren't fans of the giallo genre might be a bit befuddled by the goings on but THE EDITOR is a welcome throwback to the days of old for the fans.

*** out of ****