10. Torso (1973)
Torso is a very famous Giallo that went unappreciated for years. Directed by genre specialist Sergio Martino, I rather prefer the original title - The Bodies Bear Traces of Carnal Violence. Oh the endless images that title summons up! Basically some maniacal, serial killer dressed in the ubiquitous black leather is killing young girls at university. A group of friends hole up in a house in the country but the murderer follows them there. Who will survive and who is the killer? Torso did the rounds of the American drive ins and Grindhouses where it proved to be immensely popular. Its influence can be felt on films like Friday the 13th, Hallowe'en and Maniac. In Torso there is liberal sleaze, nudity and gory murders but the film is also well made and suspenseful at the same time. I particularly love the score which fits the film perfectly. It may be salacious, but Torso is a pearl of a film!