Devil Has Seven Faces, The / Il diavolo a sette facce (1971)

2.5 out of 5

With a title such as The Devil Has Seven Faces and lead roles from giallo favourites Carroll Baker and George Hilton many come to this feature expecting a traditional giallo. Those with such expectations may be a little disappointed.

The Devil Has Seven Faces is a film that is prepared to borrow from giallo but in execution it veers so far towards poliziotteschi that it should be considered a hybrid. In practice the film owes more to the heist movie subgenre that produced titles such as Grand Slam or The Burglars. Though admittedly in terms of style and content it does try to cast it's net as widely as possible.

While The Devil Has Seven Faces is a movie that is not without it's critics some excellent locations and the delightful, though somewhat familiar, Stelvio Cipriani score lift this film as does the presence of a strong genre cast that includes Daniele Vargas, Lucretia Love, Franco Ressel and Luciano Pigozzi.

Maurizio Merli header graphic courtesy of Paddy O'Neill of Foxyfide Graphics