Casa d'appuntamento

Lore & Background

The film follows Antoine, a petty criminal who is blamed for the murder of a prostitute at Madame Collette's exclusive whorehouse in Paris. Sentenced to death by guillotine, he swears revenge on those who convicted him. He escapes from prison but is decapitated in a motorcycle accident. A scientist, Professor Waldemar, obtains the severed head from the morgue for experimentation. Subsequently, the judge who sentenced Antoine and the prostitutes at Madame Collette's begin turning up murdered, leading everyone to believe Antoine is wreaking vengeance from beyond the grave.

Reader's Guide

The French Sex Murders is a 1972 Italian giallo film directed by Ferdinando Merighi under the pseudonym 'F. L. Morris' and edited by Bruno Mattei. It features a cast including Anita Ekberg, Rosalba Neri, Barbara Bouchet, Howard Vernon, and Gordon Mitchell. The actor playing the police inspector, Robert Sacchi, was a professional Humphrey Bogart lookalike, which explains the alternate UK title 'The Bogey Man and the French Murders.' Special effects technician Carlo Rambaldi handled the throat slashings and beheadings. Critical reception has been mixed: Robert Firsching of AllMovie called the script 'contrived' and 'completely off the hook,' while DVDTalk noted that the production particulars are more interesting than the film itself, criticizing the poor lighting, direction, and unconvincing special effects.

Did You Know?

• The film was edited by Bruno Mattei.
• The actor who played Inspector Fontaine, Robert Sacchi, was a professional Humphrey Bogart lookalike.
• The film was released under the title 'The Bogey Man and the French Murders' in the United Kingdom.