Interesteg What makes it different from others?

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

GL84 Following a series of abductions, a local police officer in Venice investigating the disappearances is continually stumped about the nature of the crimes, and as the abductions continue a break in the case allows him to solve the identity of the strange killer and races to stop him.This one wasn't all that awful a giallo effort. One of the finer points of this one is the fact that there's quite a strong number of abduction sequences place throughout here. Starting off rather quickly with the opening showing off several quick abductions, this comes off really nicely with the multiple women getting targeted and kidnapped while out in the city or near the water to get the mystery going in a big start, and once the action shifts to the maniac's headquarters below the city the underground catacombs have the appropriately dark and wet atmosphere throughout here. Since there's a nice bit of work done to enhance the atmosphere of the location with the dead women who are stuck inside the glass cases forever embalmed through the gruesome ideas contained within here. The later investigation scenes in the basement of the hotel or the backstage scenes of the club manage to feature some solid suspense moments, with the abduction off the boat amongst the crowded tourists is quite an impressive sequence. The other big point here is the big action in the finale where the tense and utterly chilling stalking in the underground sewers, as well as the confrontations in the crypt where it takes on some great work with the killers' disguise and the chases throughout the tunnels, give this a fun, action- packed finale. These here give this one enough to like to hold it up over it's few minor flaws. The biggest issue with the film is the absolutely dreadful pacing here, which really ruins the film more than anything. Although the inclusion of the girls' tourist trip to the city adds bodies to the killers' list, the fact that this stops the film cold to show off the usual tourist locales of Venice are far too obviously designed to pad out the running time, brief as it is. There's no real need for this one to go to that kind of duration dealing with the type of fodder as this one does, and once it moves forward with them running around to all the tourist locations and events the film has run through too much time to get back to the action in the remaining part of the film. That really does limit the action to a few scenes here alongside the other big flaw as the film's reliance on abductions over killing does hurt as well so this one does feel tamer than what came before. Although it does look cheap and somewhat low-budget in the worst ways, these here really do bring this one down.Today's Rating/PG: Violence.

jadavix Dino Tavella's "Monster of Venice" is another would-be shocker.This one has a killer who wears scuba diving gear abducting beautiful women in Venice.The main source of fear in horror films - the moment of the actual murder - is deprived us in this one and we are just left to assume that the women die from drowning.The killer looks absolutely ridiculous and not in the least terrifying in the diving suit, padding around like a frogman. There is nothing scary about a man in scuba diving costume.The movie also lacks a single interesting character, or scene.

ferbs54 Pop quiz: Can you name a film in which a serial killer stalks the byways and canals of Venice? If your answer is Nicolas Roeg's 1973 film "Don't Look Now," a glass of Chianti for you! If you came up with the more obscure film "Who Saw Her Die?," a giallo picture directed by Aldo Lado in 1972, well, you've just earned yourself two glasses of Marchesi Antinori! And if your response was the extremely obscure "Monster of Venice," a B&W thriller directed by Dino Tavella in 1965, well, YOU deserve an entire bottle of Nero d'Avola! In this one, the titular madman's MO is to put on scuba gear and either abduct his teenage female prey right off their gondolas or as they're walking near the canals. When he isn't busy actually snatching his pretties, he can be found in his underground catacomb lair, injecting his latest catch with embalming fluid (the film's American title IS "The Embalmer") and adding her to his ranked collection standing along the wall; his so-called "Temple of Beauty," he says out loud, his face hidden behind a skull mask and cowl. Whereas the dim-witted Venetian cops don't see a connection between the rash of teenage disappearances, a young, hunky-dude reporter, Andreas (Luigi Martocci, listed in the credits here as Gin Mart, which, coincidentally, is where I buy all my vino!), most certainly does, and sets out to capture the fiend. The advent of a group of young female students on holiday, shepherded by their pretty chaperone (Maureen Lidgard Brown), proves a distraction, though, for both Andreas AND the killer....Anyway, "Monster of Venice" boasts little in the way of plot, other than a series of abductions and gloatings, and the identity of the monster is fairly easy to deduce. Still, it remains a moderately pleasing entertainment, its saving graces being a suspenseful windup (as the chaperone and Andreas independently penetrate the killer's lair) and an extremely ingratiating performance from Martocci. Handsome, suave and genial, he almost comes across here like the Sean Connery of the early '60s; too bad he doesn't fight as well as an 00 agent! And too bad, also, that Martocci's only other screen appearance seems to have been an uncredited one in 1963's "Cleopatra." Playing Andreas, he looks "as slick as a movie idol," as one of his fellow reporters tells him. The film also sports some at-times interesting direction from Tavella, but the background music of Marcello Gigante was a problem for this viewer. It is effectively suitable here and there, but at other times, the big-band jazz seems out of place; almost non sequitur. At a mere 83 minutes long, the picture goes by fairly easily, yet is still padded somewhat by musical numbers and some halfhearted travelogue sequences. And the dubbing here is just atrocious; the film in its original Italian, with subtitles, would have been a vast improvement. As for the current DVD incarnation of this relatively unknown film, the one from RetroMedia, the print offered looks just fine, with minimal damage, its only extra being a trailer for "The Embalmer." And truth to tell, we're not likely to get a better offering of this film anytime soon. That's a shame, as "Monster of Venice," modest entertainment that it is, still deserves a wider renown. It's nothing great, but is certainly a decent night's time killer. And if you should happen to partake of a few glasses of Italian red before venturing in, why, then, all the better! Alla salute!

bensonmum2 A deranged frogman is kidnapping the most beautiful women of Venice and taking them to the sunken cathedral that serves as his lair. Once there, he dons a hooded robe and skull mask and embalms the young women in an attempt to preserve their beauty. The police are so ineffective that it's up to a local reporter to crack the case. And when his sweetheart goes missing, he steps up his efforts to discover the whereabouts of the missing women and the crazed killer.What Works: The Chase Scene. The final chase scene through the cathedral does provide a few suspenseful moments. It also provides the only real memorable image from the movie. The scene where the hooded, masked killer hides himself among the decaying corpses of the monks is easily the highlight of The Monster of Venice.What Doesn't Work: The Acting. In a word, it's abysmal. I don't think it's just a case of bad dubbing – these people couldn't be convincing if their life depended on it.The Travelogue. While Venice is undeniably a beautiful city, much of the movie appears to have been directed by the local tourism bureau. We are treated to scene after scene of the lovely buildings and waterways of Venice. While they are certainly some nice looking moments, they have nothing to do with the movie and bring an already dull script to a screeching halt.The Killer's Monologue. The hooded killer loves to go on and on about preserving the beauty of his captives. It quickly becomes pointless and repetitive. And why does he feel the need to deliver these soliloquies? There's no one around to hear his words. He has embalmed his only audience.The Beautiful Women. This may sound shallow, but if these are the most beautiful women Venice has to offer, I would hate to see the rest of the populace. I would have trouble going so far as to say that any of the women approach being mildly attractive, let alone beautiful.I give up. I could probably continue to list more individual weaknesses, but what's the point. Everything you could name – plot, characters, action, atmosphere, dialogue, etc. – are bottom of the barrel. Other than the finale, this is one incredibly dull film. If you really feel the need to watch The Monster of Venice, do yourself a favor and fast-forward the movie to the final 10 minutes. You'll thank me for this piece of advice.