Macchie solari

 (1975)

by Tuna

Macchie solari (1975), or Sun Spots, is a giallo that has been variously called Autopsy, The Magician, Sun Spots, Tarot, Tension and The Victim. The title this time around is Autopsy, which is a heinous bit of exploitation which, when coupled with a specially edited trailer, would lead you to believe this is a horror film having to do with re-animated corpses on a killing spree. While the opening scene features an autopsy and several suicides, the morgue and what goes on there are only tangential to the plot.

Mimsy Farmer plays an intern in forensic pathology. She's working on a method to distinguish real suicides from murders made to look like suicides. She has a busy night, due to a large number of suicides, which reporters try to blame on increased sun spot activity, hence the original Italian title. She begins to hallucinate that the corpses are coming back to life.

Definitely time to go home.

In her building she runs into her upstairs neighbor. Imagine her surprise the next day when the woman turns up at the morgue. Not only that, but she strongly suspects the neighbor's death to be a murder made to look like suicide. Together with a flaky father, her father's ex girlfriend, a priest and her own photographer boyfriend, she tries to unravel the mystery.

Like most gialli, the scriptwriters don't include enough real clues to allow viewers to solve the mystery, but once the solution to the puzzle has been revealed, all the pieces fit. The new region one release marks the first time this film has been available uncut in North America, and there is a lot of nudity to savor in a very nice transfer, backed by a musical score from the omnipresent Ennio Morricone. You have a choice of Italian with English subtitles or dubbed English,

 

 Our Grade:

If you are not familiar with our grading system, you need to read the explanation, because the grading is not linear. For example, by our definition, a C is solid and a C+ is a VERY good movie. There are very few Bs and As. Based on our descriptive system, this film is a:

C

A solid, competent giallo.

 

DVD INFO

* widescreen anamorphic

* excellent transfer

* dubbed English or Italian with subtitles

 

 

 

 

THE CRITICS AND ACADEMIES

There are no major reviews online, but IMDB links reviews from several genre sites.

THE PEOPLE

   
5.5 IMDB summary (of 10)

THE BOX OFFICE

Unknown

NUDITY REPORT

  • Mimsy Farmer shows breast and buns on many occasions

  • Cindy Girling and Gaby Wagner show everything as victims

  • There is full frontal nudity from an unidentified naked woman in the morgue

 

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