Sex, slaughter and gory thrills galore figure in this super-sleazy giallo, which for all its many foibles rates as the most accomplished movie made by Italian exploitation hack Andrea Bianchi. Things get off to a typically classy start with a gynaecological procedure shot from the doctor’s point of view. The unfortunate woman dies on the operating table, forcing the abortionist and his seedy pal, Carlo (Nino Castelnuovo - a long way off from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)) to dispose of her body.
A photographer by day, creepy Carlo takes note when gorgeous Lucia (Femi Benussi) sashays poolside in a skimpy two-piece and lures her into the sauna, to strip off for some steamy sex play. Carlo secures a modelling contract for Lucia at Studio Albatross where she promptly becomes the lesbian lover of domineering agency boss, Gisela Montani (Giuliana Cecchini) whose fat husband Maurizio (Franco Diogene) is pursuing an affair with model Doris (Erna Schurer). Aspiring photographer Marta (giallo queen Edwige Fenech) sets her sights on romancing Carlo, but when a leather-clad killer begins bumping off models and agency staff on by one, she turns sleuth and uncovers a particularly sordid mystery.
Bianchi’s infamous zombie gut-muncher The Nights of Terror (1981) and softcore exorcist romps Malabimba (1979) and La Bimba di Satana (1982) are ropey stuff, but relished by Euro-trash fans because they deliver the exploitation goods. Similarly, Strip Nude For Your Killer does what it says, namely provides a shameless excuse to ogle popular Euro-starlets as they get naked for plentiful sex scenes and gory slayings. The convoluted plot offers yet another retread of Mario Bava’s trendsetting Blood and Black Lace (1964), with ridiculous red-herrings (Carlo nearly strangles Marta when her suspicions turn his way; Maurizio takes Doris for a hair-raising ride in his new car) and a killer hidden beneath a motorcycle helmet that recalls the superior What Have They Done to Your Daughters? (1974).
Deeply cynical about the fashion industry, this panders to conservative ideals about sex-hungry photographers and models who are either bitchy and self-serving or ditzy idiots, yet revels in their nudity. Beautiful Femi Benussi was more memorable as the topless jungle heroine of Tarzana (1969) and Three Supermen in the Jungle (1971), but scores points for performing the majority of her scenes completely naked, including a lengthy cat and mouse stalking. Talented genre superstar, Edwige Fenech is equally undressed or else scantily clad, yet grievously wasted in a role that has her mostly screaming “help me, Carlo!”, when the actress is capable of much more.
While the film boasts plenty of well-timed scares, tense sequences and satisfyingly sick plot twists, it is regrettably centred around Carlo. One of the most nauseating “heroes” in any giallo ever, the abusive, self-centred Carlo keeps taking pictures while one victim is stabbed to death and barks orders over the phone to Marta while she’s fleeing the killer. The amusingly sick ending weaves in a breathless fistfight and a incestuous lesbian twist, but also suggests Carlo may be responsible for impregnating the abortion victim in the opening scene. There follows a jaw-dropping “comedy” ending where he tries to coax Marta into anal sex (“Better not to run any risks”)!
