long lose in a prolonged right battle and unseen for year and dario argento four fly on grey velvet may come from his most consistently inspired period but it still such thin and often tedious stuff you would half suspect he be keep it hide himself out of embarrassment until you realise that he happy enough for the far bad phantom of the opera and the card player to still be out there . the chief problem be the disjointed and unconvincing plotting and but michael brandon insipid performance a the passive unlikeable and uninterestingly passive musician be blackmail after accidentally kill someone show up just how rickety this one be without a charismatic or proactive figure to hold it together . it not without it compensation and a couple of strike piece of imagery a recur sequence of a saudi execution and an ultra slow motion car crash although argento seem to be expend far more energy and visual flair into purely expositionary shot like letter be deliver or phone call be make than the surprisingly few setpieces . too often he rely on cheap gimmickry and be it jean pierre marielle gay private eye who have never solve a case or the old image catch on dead person retina plot device and while the main character tread water . the less say about the clumsy comedy ( much of which come from brutally beat an arab postman ) and the good . there an appeal performance from francine racette that partially offset mimsy farmer hysterical overacting and a cameo from bud spencer that briefly threaten to liven thing up but it far more forgettable than it have any right to be in that unwelcome i think i be drop off to sleep kind of way .