For years, a movie has taunted me, begging me to give it a viewing despite my reservations. The image on the poster of a hand breaking through the head of a mannequin is disturbing enough, but what of the title: Spasmo. I suppose it’s a variant of spasm, a tightening of the muscles by forces beyond one’s control. This Spasmo is a giallo movie from 1974 and it is directed by Umberto Lenzi.

The movie begins with a young couple finding a mannequin hanging from a tree near the beach. Seriously, who does this sort of thing? Why not take up a hobby such as model ship building or join a local bowling team? A handsome man named Christian (Robert Hoffmann) visits this same beach the next day with his girlfriend, Xenia. The two of them are startled when they notice a dead body face down in the sand. It turns out this body isn’t actually dead and is quite the conversationalist. Her name is Barbara (Suzy Kendall) and Christian is quite smitten with her. Too bad she’s married (or maybe she has a sugar daddy) to a middle-aged man named Alex.

Even though the two of them seemingly have significant others, Barbara invites Christian back to her bungalow for a night of no strings attached passion. However, she insists that Christian shave his beard if he wants to get lucky. While shaving it off, a hitman shows up in the bathroom, gun with silencer in hand. I think he’s there to kill Barbara. Christian tries to wrestle the gun away from him, but shoots the assassin in the process. Barbara is a bit alarmed that Christian has just killed a man in her bathroom. She suggests they get out of there, but Alex stops by, displeased that Barbara has had an affair with this young man.

Alex suggests they all go out for a drink, but on the way to the lounge, Christian realizes he left his necklace on the bathroom sink counter. He retrieves his necklace, but is puzzled by the absence of the assassin on the bathroom floor. The next day, Christian and Barbara take a trip to her friend’s house by the ocean. Barbara breaks into the place, but says they can always pay for the glass. Her friend will understand. Then a suspicious guy in a speedboat gazes up at them with a pair of binoculars before speeding off again. At this point, I’m suspicious of everything I see, but more importantly, I have no idea what’s going on!

An old man named Malcom (Guido Alberti) and a young woman named Clorinda (Monica Monet) show up at the house claiming to be renters. They almost call the police, but believe Barbara’s story about being a good friend of the owner. Christian becomes strangely fixated on Clorinda, insisting that they’ve met, but she has no idea who he is. Turns out she was the nurse zapping him in the mental hospital. Oh, never mind. You’re not supposed to know that yet. Yes, there’s a bit of conspiracy revolving around Christian and he eventually pieces it all together. I think I’m having a brain spasm just piecing this together myself. 

Jeff Shuster (episode 47, episode 102, episode 124, episode