Alicia I love this movie so much

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Prof-Hieronymos-Grost Alla ricerca del piacere aka Amuck!(1972)Silvio Amadio***some slight spoilers***A young American woman Greta Franklin (Barbara Bouchet,Don't Torture a Duckling,Red Queen Kills 7 Times)gains employment as a secretary near Venice Italy. Her new employer is Richard Stuart (Farley Granger,Strangers on a train,Rope) an author, who lives on a remote island with his wife Eleanora (Rosalba Neri,Hercules in the Haunted World,Slaughter Hotel), even the servants are sent home off the island night, so it is no surprise that Eleanora tells Greta of her desperate loneliness. Greta has an ulterior motive for taking the job though, as her lesbian lover Sally was the previous incumbent in the job, who mysteriously disappeared without trace. On her first night in the house, Greta overhears a conversation between Richard and his friend the Commissioner of police, in which Sally's disappearance is discussed, Greta when the opportunity arrives, grabs the chance and tells him of her quest to find her friend, he warns her that it could be very dangerous and that she should leave the house, she ignores his pleas. Before her disappearance Sally sent a letter to Greta, which contained her fears and stated that she was a sex slave and that she was constantly demeaned in this house of perversions, but somehow the Franklin's had a hold on her and she couldn't escape, no matter how hard she wanted to.Greta goes to bed but is startled when a giant of man appears at her window, her screams are answered by Richard who tells her it was only the local fisherman Rocco, he then puts her in the capable hands of his wife Eleanora who gives her a drink of water into which she sprinkles an unknown powder, in the ensuing moments Eleanora makes some moves on Greta ,she responds and they spend the night making love. Next morning Greta is unsure if it was all a dream as the glass of water she knocked over during their passion is now replaced, was it all a dream?..or had she been taken advantage of, after being drugged?Greta then stumbles on a party that is happening elsewhere in the house, she's invited in, it a swingers party with drugs in abundance, Greta gets cosy with a guest who knew Sally, in order to garner some more information of her disappearance, but is then shocked when she sees Sally in a porno film being screened there, now Greta's fears for her friend grow ever more pronounced. Richard then surprises Greta by ceasing the work on his current book, in order to begin his tale of a missing girl who is murdered by the local psycho and dumped in the lagoon, this is the final straw , as this story bears more than a resemblance to the truth.Silvio Amadio was a director perhaps best known for his comedies, so this was not his usual light hearted affair, he still managed though to create a semi-thrilling and erotic tale of debauchery, he showed great skill in directing the infamous lesbian liaison which could so easily have been tacky, but is here rendered in an sublimely erotic way. Both Neri and Bouchet excel in their roles, Neri as the dark predatory and sexual deviant and Bouchet as the wide eyed and stunningly beautiful innocent, an innocent you can't help but want to be deflowered, especially when she turns up in a highly stimulating baby doll dress. Granger on the other hand is probably as wooden as he always was, but this strangely works in his favour here, although we never quite believe he is capable of anything too debauched. Highlights of the film are undoubtedly the sexual tryst between Neri and Bouchet, a finely handled duck hunting scene in the marshes, the Little Red Riding Hood porno film within the film, Greta's reminiscing of her and Sally's first love making under a waterfall and of course the final reveal. Teo Usuelli's score is at times nothing short of naff and seems to belong to some long forgotten sci/fi film, perhaps even in an elevator, but he also wrote some really funky and enticing little opuses within the film, especially the main theme which is playful and perfect in its execution. Its hard to tell though if Aldo Giordani's cinematography is any good as the Eurovista DVD is just taken from an old pan and scan VHS and a washed out one at that.Amuck! is though an enjoyable romp and a must see for all fans of the Giallo genre.

Coventry Basically, you only require two main reasons to make this "Amuck!" priority viewing, namely the starring of both female leads Bouchet and Neri, so all the cool story lines, nifty camera-work and bizarre sense of humor are just welcome bonuses. But let's focus on the sexuality aspects some more, first! The very first lesbian sequence involving both aforementioned beauties is so HOT that it nearly burnt holes in the screen of the TV. It's redundant eroticism, but extremely elegant and pictured quite tastefully. Bizarre sexual tendencies and decadence are the most prominent themes in this early 70's giallo (at least, I assume it qualifies as a giallo) and fans that like to see explicit sleaze combined with gory murders will be sorely disappointed since there isn't any of that. Young Greta travels to Venice to work as a secretary for the famous novelist Richard Stuart but her main mission is to personally investigate what happened to her vanished lesbian lover Sally. She was previously employed by Richard and Greta suspects that she had become too much of a burden in the sex-parties that involve all of the writer's acquaintances. Richard knows what Greta is looking for and messes with her mind by making the story of his new book suspiciously sound like Sally's presumable fate. The story is compelling enough to keep you interested, but some sequences, like the swamp-hunting, feel a bit overlong and tedious. A bit of gore would have been nice too, though. Still, this is a very enchanting film, professionally directed by Silvio Amadio and benefiting a great deal from the charisma of its two lead lead actresses.

Jason-98 A twisted tale of control and seduction involving the lovely Greta (Barbara Bouchet) who is hired by a perverted writer Richard with an even more kinky wife, Rosalba. Greta however has a reason for being there as her friend/former lover Sally who happened to be the previous secretary hired and who has disappeared. On the way to discovering what happened to Sally, Greta has various adventures from being drugged and seduced by the bisexual wife in a wonderfully surreal, slow motion scene to almost getting swallowed up by quicksand whilst being "hunted" in the marshes. Interesting movie to say the least.

david melville A tacky low-budget (un)dress rehearsal for Paul Schrader's sublime The Comfort of Strangers. A couple of jaded swingers live in a crumbling Venetian palazzo. Having little else to do, they lure unwary strangers into their web of kinky games. Alas, any comparison with Schrader's masterwork ends with the plot. Amuck! is one of those sad films that constantly threaten to intrigue us, but never quite do.The heroine of this mess is a pert but stupefyingly dull blonde secretary played by Barbara Bouchet. (She looks like a cross between Jerry Hall and Elaine from Ally McBeal.) Hot on the trail of her vanished best friend, she gets a job with that girl's one-time employers. A voyeuristic American writer (Farley Granger) and his bisexual nympho wife (Rosalba Neri).The key to the mystery is gratingly obvious from the start. The direction is flat and the acting is abysmal, apart from Granger. Incredibly, the camerawork in this film makes even Venice look and drab and stale. No mean feat.Amuck! does offer some surprisingly full-on lesbian lovemaking between Neri and Bouchet. Also a porno home-movie version of Little Red Riding Hood - good for a giggle in the right circles. Unless either of these sets your pulse a-racing, this is one Venice movie you should cross a thousand canals...to avoid.David Melville