Inspector Luca Peretti (George Hilton) is called in when a man named Paradisi (Francesco Di Federico) is beheaded by an excavator machine which he had rented to dig into a swamp. Peretti discovers that Paradisi was an insurance investigator, and had been assigned to a case where a little girl, Stefania, was kidnapped, with dire results. As Peretti tries to learn more about this case, there are a whole series of other killings, with the victims always being somehow involved with the kidnapping even in oblique ways. One teacher is attacked by an assailant wielding a portable saw. Peretti gathers the suspects together and confronts them with a surprise bit of evidence that the child herself was directly responsible for.
My Dear Killer is a complex, often fascinating giallo that seems a touch far-fetched at times but never goes completely over the edge. George Hilton [The Dark is Death's Friend] is fine as the detective, as is William Berger [The Murder Clinic] as one of the suspects. Both actors appeared in a number of international productions and horror films. Ennio Morricone's musical score is quirky and unnerving and adds much to the film's effectiveness. Director Tonino Valerii stages some sequences quite well and the film is undeniably creepy and suspenseful. Not quite on the Dario Argento level but interesting.
George Hilton investigates
Verdict: Imperfect but effective giallo with some striking sequences and an interesting plot. ***.
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