We continue our long-running series on “films where Edwige Fenech is pursued by a killer while wearing fur.” If I had a nickel for every time this has happened… I’d have 2 nickles, but it’s kinda strange it’s happened twice. So, be sure to suggest The Case of the Bloody Iris as your next film club theme night double feature, along with Strip Nude for Your Killer.
Besides, I need to get the blog back on track simping for Edwige Fenech.
The Case of the Bloody Iris – The Film
Italian giallo film, also known as Perché quelle strane gocce di sangue sul corpo di Jennifer?, lit. “Why those strange drops of blood on Jennifer’s body?” The IMDb thinks the title of Jennifer’s Body references this film. The film follows model Jennifer as she moves into a building where the lady corpses are starting to pile up, and it turns out, gasp, she’s a lady!
The Case of the Bloody Iris – The Furs
As a thriller, it needs to ratchet up both the suspense and the quality of the furs, so we start low with some sheepskin trim on resident Mizar (Carla Brait). She finds the first victim in the elevator.
We get some definite improvement as Jennifer (Edwige Fenech) experiences hallucinations after meeting her old cult leader (red herring, you say?) She’s a little topless on a fur spread.
Jennifer moves into murderville with her friend and fellow model Marilyn (Paola Quattrini), who I’m sure will live a long, fulfilling life as supporting-female-cast-in-a-giallo. Marilyn has a descent, probably a gray fox coat, on display in this scene.
After more bodies pile up, Jennifer gets a police interview, and we get a sample of the main event: the silver fox fur vest. It’s not exceptionally well shot in this scene, but the film more than makes up for it later.
Oh, no, it turns out I was mistaken about Marilyn’s long-term prospects regarding her continued status as “alive.” She goes out in style while wearing a white mink coat.
Minor tangent, but Marilyn’s demise is… unintentionally hilarious. She’s lightly poked in the midsection by a scalpel in what amounts to a “walk-by stabbing.” She proceeds to fall over and die. While I don’t claim to be a medical expert, I do not think a small incision, however deep, in the midsection, suffered in the middle of a central metropolitan area with easy access to emergency medical facilities, would prove quite so… fatal.
Anyway, Marilyn’s demise pushed back the main event, which is not the film’s actual climax, but it’s where you can hop off when it’s over.
I am referring to the almost ten-minute sequence of Jennifer first prowling around a junkyard while stalked by the killer.
And second, returning to the murder hut to continue to be menaced by the killer. All while wearing her silver fox fur vest.
She meets up with Sheila (Annabella Incontrera), who quickly falls victim to “being around the main character in a giallo.”
This is not the film’s climax, but it might as well be, as Jennifer no longer wears fur after this point.
Comparisons to Strip Nude for Your Killer are inevitable, so I’ll start. This one is slightly better. The fur is around even longer, and no one chopped off Edwige Fenech’s gorgeous mane of brunette hair. While I hesitate to go on record saying anything could diminish the ethereal beauty that is Edwige Fenech… that haircut put in some work.
The Case of the Bloody Iris serves up around thirteen minutes of fur, most of which is the silver fox vest. That tips it over ten percent, making it a very decent time investment. Should probably note the plot is not entirely up to modern standards, and the killer’s motivations involve a severe lack of appreciation for lesbians.
- Fur Runtime: approx 13 minutes
- Film Runtime: 94 minutes
- On-Screen Ratio: 13.65%
Find-a-Fur: The Case of the Bloody Iris, 1972
(all times are approximate and are affected by the cut of the film)
- 04:50 – sheepskin trim
- 15:15 – blanket
- 17:20 -“
- 18:00 – sheepskin trim
- 39:35 – 41:10 – grey? fox coat
- 53:20 – EF silver fox vest
- 1:03:00 – 1:04:40 – white mink coat
- 1:17:10 – EF 1:26:00 – silver fox vest
Fur Fashion Gallery: The Case of the Bloody Iris, 1972
