The Case of the Bloody Iris aka What are Those Strange Drops of Blood Doing on Jennifer's Body (how's that for a title!) is not your typical paint by the numbers giallo. Well, that's not entirely true, it is like all the rest, what the heck am I saying? However, what it does have different to offer is its 70's kitsch vibe to such an extreme, it plays off more like camp than anything else. This is not a bad thing by any means; I found the film to be a refreshing change from the normal giallo fare. Anchor Bay continues their incredible trend of pure quality with another stellar presentation of a lost Italian classic.

The film opens abruptly enough as two young girls are murdered in an apartment complex. The first is stabbed to death in an elaborately staged elevator attack. The second is disturbingly drowned in her own bathtub while the masked killer looks on. Soon after, two young models, Jennifer (the unbelievably gorgeous Edwige French of Bava's Five Dolls For an August Moon) and Marilyn (Paola Quattrini) move into the apartment. Jennifer (the level headed of the two) now finds herself being stalked by the masked killer (who opted for brown gloves this time, in place of the standard gialli black). The suspects are plentiful, as it could be Jennifer's ex husband who runs a bizarre sex cult, the deformed son of a crazy woman who lives next door, or the buildings eccentric architect Andrea (George Hilton) who got them in the complex to begin with. Or is it Jennifer's lesbian neighbor? As you can see there is no shortage of suspects. All the while Jennifer's ditzy roommate Marilyn stands by and watches in disbelief. Of course, this wouldn't be a true giallo, if it weren't for the childhood trauma, so you can be sure that there is just enough of it thrown in for good measure.

The Case of the Bloody Iris, while following the typical giallo conventions, doesn't feel like your typical giallo. The soundtrack is very much 70's mod, as is the look and overall feel of the film. It comes across as complete kitsch, which makes the murders seem all the more disturbing. Like any good giallo, there is plenty of sex and violence to whet your salacious appetite. If you could ever describe a giallo as being "fun" I guess this would be the one. If anything, it's a fast paced entertaining watch from start to finish.

As far as the quality of this release goes, well what can I say except Anchor Bay has done it again (do I sound like a broken record yet?). Chalk it up to another home run, cause this flick looks awesome. There are a few instances of film dirt running the length of the screen in a few of the opening scenes, but beyond that we are in the complete (and almost crystal) clear. Once things get rolling there is really no evidence of print damage whatsoever. Nice bright colors fill the screen, and the scope framing does this film more justice than one could have ever imagined. Simply put, this film looks absolutely gorgeous (almost as gorgeous as Ms. French, Reeoowwwrr! Hubba hubba!).

Sound is equally impressive as the outstanding image quality. The mono soundtrack is crystal clear. The great 70's soundtrack sounds incredible, and dialogue is nicely balanced. There is no hiss or distortion whatsoever to be found. Effects are never overpowering, all of the audio appears to be nicely balanced. The dubbing is atrocious, but what else would you expect? Deal with it.

Extras are extremely limited (no interviews like the other giallo releases in the series). We get a theatrical trailer in decent shape as well as an "alternate stabbing scene", which just looks like a shorter cut of one of the murders. Things are rounded off with a brief filmography for the films director, Anthony Ascott. A key point of interest is that the trailer appears to offer different cuts of a few key scenes in the film. In the trailer, the drowning victim is wearing a bra, while in the film, she is topless (perhaps for an alternate clothed version of that scene for a foreign market?). There is also a much better shot of a throat slitting in the trailer than in the film. In the trailer you can actually see the skin from the neck separate like a true throat slitting, whereas in the actual film, it's not nearly as visible, curious to say the least. I'm sure that someone else must have noticed this so it would have been nice to see some sort of an explanation (or at least an attempt at an explanation). As it stands, it's not too much of a big deal, it's just that inquiring minds want to know!

Once again, I must commend Anchor Bay for not only giving us the rarest of the rare on DVD, but for presenting it with such love and care. This Giallo Boxed Set is truly magical. The only way to get The Case of the Bloody Iris is to buy the actual boxed set itself, which includes 4 films. The other 3 films are available individually; however, this film is only available to those of us who purchase the boxed set. Very clever Anchor Bay, you got my $$! The Case of the Bloody Iris is my second favorite of the set (my first being Who Saw Her Die) at about 40 bucks for the 4 films, you can't go wrong.