What Have You Done to Solange? (1972)/Past review

 

User comments from July 2007 added while revisiting this Giallo masterpiece on Shudder:

Catholic School teacher Enrico Rosseni(the very cool Fabio Testi)and a student he's in love with are on the verge of having sex in a canoe when she partially sees the murder of a fellow classmate take place. A psychopath is murdering members of a clique of girls who behave naughty outside the school grounds by stabbing them vaginally in secluded areas nearby a maid's abode. Enrico's marriage to German school teacher Herta(Karin Baal)has been on the decline for some time and his virginal student Elizabeth(the simply lovely Cristina Galbó who is so wonderful in her limited screen time)is such a tender, lovely sweetheart his heart melts for her. But, the killer(who dresses as a priest and perhaps heard the confessional of the certain girls he wishes to murder)has been following Liz and can not take the chance of her remembering something of importance. Her life is in danger. When the killer drowns her in the tub of a secret love-nest she holds with Enrico, the case takes a unique turn. Liz was not killed the heinous way the other girls died and Enrico loses his job..this gives him added incentive to pursue who killed the young woman he was in love with. Better yet, weary and troubled Inspector Barth(Joachim Fuchsberger)will need all the help he can get in order for the madness of murdered Catholic girls to end and enlists the aid of Enrico(..after he himself is no longer deemed a suspect)to assist him. Herta, finding that her husband had not officially taken Liz's virginity, wishes for their marriage to rise from the ashes and pledges to help him find the beautiful 18 year old's murderer.

The title plays a major role in why the murders are occurring and the reasons they are directed at the specific females hunted down and stabbed in such a nasty way. The vaginal stabbings is a painful reminder of something that possibly happened to a sixteen year old girl named Solange(Camille Keaton, the constantly raped avenger in the notorious "I Spit on Your Grave"). Enrico will have to find the truth about Solange in order for the killing to stop and answers to arise.

Stunning, disturbing & ultimately compelling giallo impacts because of the vicious nature of the crimes and who they are occurring to. I must admit that the photo of the first victim with the knife buried in her vagina certainly shook me and that image allows us knowledge that this killer is committing this act with a passionate intent. The photography is first-rate, the developing mystery is outstanding, the final result is truly not only tragic but powerful. The cast is really good. This film had me under it's control from the get-go and I was held until the end. And, what's most interesting about this film is that, in a sense, you'll gain an understanding at exactly why the killer is committing such gruesome crime against the victims when everything falls into place and that may be it's greatest success. One of the finest examples of the Italian giallo.