Craving Desire

Graffiante Desiderio

Craving Desire

Italy 1993

D: Sergio Martino

P: Alessandro Loy Danà for Dania Film & Devon Cinematografica//St & Sc: Sergio Martino & Maurizio Rasio//DP: Giancarlo Ferrando//E: Eugenio Alabiso//M: Natale Massara//Art D: Stefano Massimi//Costumes: Silvio Laurenzi//Makeup: Giuseppe Ferranti, Francerco Napoli, & Gilberto Provenghi.

Cast: Vittorio Belvedere, Ron Nummi, Simona Borioni, Riccardo Perrotti, Viviani Polic, Barbara Cavallari, Serena Bennato, Antonio Ferrante, Alessia Franchini, Gabriella Barbuti, Hal Yamanouchi, Andrea Roncato, & Serena Grandi.

Luigi is a yuppie with everything going his way. He's successfully moving up the ladder at work and is about to marry Cinzia, a rich socialite from a successful family. That is until his cousin Sonia walks into his life. She has returned from living in Venezuela and looks to Luigi for comfort and guidance. Before long she succeeds in getting him into bed and having him call off his marriage to Cinzia. The next thing he knows, she has him participate in shoplifting, armed robbery and having sex with anonymous strangers. When one of those strangers turns up missing, Luigi begins to suspect there is something seriously wrong with his cousin. She causes him to lose his job, has an affair with his boss and generally makes life a living hell for the poor guy. When he discovers the body of the missing girl in the freezer, it's almost too late as Sonia knocks him out and begins to torture him. Will the police rescue him in time or will Luigi become another victim of the crazed Sonia?

Sergio Martino proves with this erotic thriller that not only can he compete with such U.S. fare as Adrian Lynn's FATAL ATTRACTION, he can surpass such lame affairs with ease. What a shame that today's audiences don't realize that what they are getting are warmed over plots from Italian thrillers made in the seventies. Martino has succeeded in today's American dominated marketplace, unlike most current Italian filmmakers, by producing (along with his brother Luciano) his own films. Because of this, he is able to stay active whereas talents such as Umberto Lenzi and others remain inactive. This film features a fine performance by Vittorio Belvedere as the cousin from Hell! She is erotic when she needs to be (such as seducing Ron Nummi's hapless character) and makes for a convincing killer when her secret (she murdered her own family) is about to be revealed. Nummi's character is a kindred spirit to Griffin Dunne's in Scorcese's AFTER HOURS. His precipitous fall from grace is quick and irrevocable, all because of a woman's seductive powers. Martino even kinks things up a bit by mixing in a little cannibalism to the plot. The look on Nummi's face when Sonia tells him he ate one of her victims in a meal she prepared earlier speaks volumes. I doubt you'll see that in an American thriller! Finally, Serena Grandi's erotic cameo as the boss' wife out to seduce Nummi is a welcome return by her to the screen.