A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971, Italy/France/Spain)
I adore Lucio Fulci's A Lizard in a Woman's Skin. Does its story logic fail to hold up in multiple viewings? Possibly. Are its killer hippies unintentionally funny? Sure. Is Anita Strindberg's nudity a bit over-utilized? Probably. Does any of that hamper my love of the film? Nope!
Every other Fulci movie I'd recommend (or not recommend) is blandly filmed, half-leaden, half-gross, one-quarter-WTF, glorious crap, which is why I find Lizard so thrilling. Lucio really assembles a grown-up film. He seizes the giallo genre by the testicoli, stuffing it with eroticism, psychedelia, fake psychoanalysis, gory dogs, and one giant goose. And the police procedural isn't half bad.
Carol (Florinda Bolkan), has been having sexy dreams about her drugs-and-sex party-throwing neighbor Julia (Ms. Strindberg), which is all very well and good until Carol dreams of murdering Julia......and the sultry neighbor is found dead in exactly the same fashion the next morning. The police make a genuine effort to sort this out and Carol comes apart at the seams. Throats are cut, heads are shot, and the murderer is caught in the final scene.
Lizard gained international notoriety when the filmmakers were taken to the Italian courts because a show-stopping scene of disemboweled dogs looked much too real. Carlo Rambaldi — yes, the man who created E.T. — had to prove in court that those poor pups were just props. The scene is unnecessary to the plot, but the effects really are remarkable for their time. And perhaps they were a hint of Fulci films to come.
Aside from Stanley Baker's solid turn as Inspector Corvin, the women steal the show. Their characters and performances are much more complex than that of their male counterparts, rendering much of the film's underlying misogyny weak in their wake.
I wonder what happened to this version of Fulci. Using the entire frame and wide-angle lenses, he builds real cinematic imagery in Lizard, without stealing too much from Bava and Argento. He even offers one split-screen moment that would make DePalma proud. After this, things got bleak in his films, and not the fun kind of bleak.
Verdict - One of my top 5 gialli!
The whiskies on the other hand......
I've hit the point of Westland exhaustion, and look forward to returning to Scotch Land soon. Here's a pair of very young Seattle single malts:
Westland 2 year old 2012, cask 242
Distillery: Westland
Region: Seattle, Washington
Age: 28 Months
Mashbill: The five-malt mix
Yeast: Belgian Saison Brewer’s Yeast
Fermentation: 144 hours
Maturation: New American Oak, 18-month air-dried staves, #3 char
Release: October 2014
Outturn: 223 bottles
Alcohol by volume: 54.25%
Region: Seattle, Washington
Age: 28 Months
Mashbill: The five-malt mix
Yeast: Belgian Saison Brewer’s Yeast
Fermentation: 144 hours
Maturation: New American Oak, 18-month air-dried staves, #3 char
Release: October 2014
Outturn: 223 bottles
Alcohol by volume: 54.25%
NEAT
Nutty and bready notes arrive first in the nose, followed by apple skins, vanilla, and brine. Almond extract and walnuts stick around the longest. The palate mixes apples and pears with white chocolate and butterscotch chips. Pears, butterscotch, and a hint of malt finish things off.
DILUTED to 46%abv, or 1 tsp of water per 30mL whiskey
The nose shows pears, caramel, barley, and watermelon rind. Malt, caramel, and a vague tartness form the palate. It finishes tart, sweet, and sort of malty.
WORDS WORDS WORDS
This whiskey doesn't go too far down the Craft road with overwhelming oak covering immature spirit, thankfully. It's essentially the standard American Oak release at a bolder strength, without any of the flair or quirks that a single cask can bring.
Rating - 79
Westland 2 year old 2012, cask 266
Distillery: Westland
Region: Seattle, Washington
Age: 27 Months
Mashbill: The five-malt mix
Yeast: Belgian Saison Brewer’s Yeast
Fermentation: 144 hours
Maturation: New American Oak, 24-month air-dried staves, heavy toast/light char
Release: October 2014
Region: Seattle, Washington
Age: 27 Months
Mashbill: The five-malt mix
Yeast: Belgian Saison Brewer’s Yeast
Fermentation: 144 hours
Maturation: New American Oak, 24-month air-dried staves, heavy toast/light char
Release: October 2014
Outturn: 220 bottles
Alcohol by volume: 54.5%
Alcohol by volume: 54.5%
NEAT
The nose is similar to 242's, but with more vanilla powder and a slightly skunky note, as well as hints of confectioner's sugar and cardamom in the background. The palate is a mix of vanilla, champagne vinegar, and ethyl. Bits of malt and bitterness peek out here and there. It finishes with pear and ethyl.
DILUTED to 46%abv, or 1 tsp of water per 30mL whiskey
The nose is just vanilla, malt, and cardamom. More sweetness and tangy vinegar, with ethyl and malt staying back in the palate. It's all sweet caramel in the finish.
WORDS WORDS WORDS
This one wasn't done cooking, yet there's a lot of vanilla. It's raw, but not as good as the distillery's new make. Unsure why they picked this cask to release, I would happily choose the standard American Oak expression over this whiskey regardless of the price.
Rating - 75
Fulci wins, and I am grateful that only one more Part remains in this series.
