Strip Nude for Your Killer Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Strip Nude for Your Killer Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 23, 2025

Andrea Bianchi's "Strip Nude for Your Killer" (1975) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shameless Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include archival program with star Nino Castelnuovo and archival program with actress Emma Costantino. In English or Italian, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free

The film begins with a short sequence in which a beautiful woman dies while undergoing an abortion. Shortly after, she is placed in a bath tub by two men. Before they disappear into the night, it is revealed that the woman was a fashion model.

The rest of the film follows a number of different characters who know each other through their work at the same studio where the late model used to work: Carlo (Nino Castelnuovo, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg), an ambitious photographer who knows how to convince a woman to take her clothes off, even when she does not want to, without using his camera; Magda (Edwige Fenech, The Case of the Bloody Iris), Carlo’s assistant and part-time lover, who has recently started fantasizing about being a cover model; Lucia (Femi Benussi, The Italian Connection, The Hawks and the Sparrows), a new girl hoping to become a model, who has just ‘auditioned’ for Carlo; Gisella (Amanda, Supersexymarket), the studio’s extravagant bisexual owner; Maurizio (Franco Diogene, Midnight Express), Gisella’s overweight husband, who desperately wants to sleep with Doris (Erna Schurer, Deported Women of the SS), another ambitious model; and Stefano (Gianni Airò), Doris’ abusive partner.

After a photographer employed by Gisella is brutally murdered, Magda becomes seriously concerned about the safety of everyone working in the studio. Soon after, together with Carlo, she begins looking for clues that would reveal the identity of the killer. Meanwhile, the killer strikes again.

Andrea Bianchi’s Strip Nude For Your Killer is a standard Eurotrash piece that delivers all of the goodies such a genre film should -- plenty of nudity, dated effects (which help the graphic killings appear quite stylish), cheap suspense, and beautiful melodies that make it a lot easier to enjoy the visuals. The international cast is, unsurprisingly, very attractive, and again, unsurprisingly, all of its members are dubbed. (This was a standard practice for all Italian genre films that were made during the '70s and '80s).

While the suspense is pretty decent, the film's biggest strength is its atmosphere. Once the leather-clad killer emerges from the shadows, the kitsch that materializes pushes the film in multiple directions and produces several intriguing character transformations. So there is enough material to impress fans of the classic gialli, but also enough spicy/kitschy material to intrigue additional viewers that do not typically rush to see such films. The end product is a bipolar thriller that is somewhat predictable but at the same time quite entertaining.

Fenech and Benussi look good, but both have had major parts in better and far more coherent genre films. The elegant Schurer, who appeared in a number of cult Eurotrash films during the ‘70s, has a small yet memorable cameo. Castelnuovo does what he is supposed to as the suave photographer, while the late Diogene plays another smutty character.

Berto Pisano’s psychedelic soundtrack does a lot to help the desired atmosphere. It features several outstanding sax and bass solos that easily could have emerged from now-considered classic soundtracks composed by the likes of Piero Piccioni (Camille 2000), Piero Umiliani (Baba Yaga), Riz Ortoloani (Day of Anger), and Armando Trovajoli (Scent of a Woman).

Cinematographer Franco Delli Colli’s (Hanna D: The Girl from Vondel Park) lensing is simple yet effective. However, a few of the lighting choices during the final third of the film are quite puzzling.

Strip Nude for Your Killer Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Strip Nude for Your Killer arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shameless Entertainment.

This release introduces a recent 2K restoration of Strip Nude for Your Killer that had its premiere in America via Arrow Video in 2019. You can see our listing and review of the first release of the 2K restoration here. However, in America, the film made its high-definition debut with this release, produced by Blue Underground, in 2012.

The 2K restoration gives the entire film a healthy, very attractive appearance. While in certain areas density and even clarity fluctuations can still be observed, it is even easier to tell now that they are introduced by the original cinematography. For example, in the final third, this becomes too obvious because several sequences feature pretty strange lighting choices. Close-ups and well-lit wider shots look a lot better. Also, there are many smaller nuances in various areas that look a lot better. The previous presentation of the film was plagued by light scanner noise that is nowhere to be seen now. Also, color reproduction and the dynamic range of all visuals are vastly superior. I feel that in a few spots the blacks are a tad too prominent, so minor adjustments could have been made to retain more subtle details, but there is still plenty to see. Image stability is excellent. There are no age-related imperfections to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your plater regardless of your geographical location).

Strip Nude for Your Killer Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the former. Optional English subtitles are provided for the latter. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The English track is the original audio track for Strip Nude for Your Killer. It is very good, especially if you compared it to the lossy track from this DVD release. However, you need to keep in mind that it features overdubbing, so in some areas there is small yet noticeable unevenness. Additionally, in a couple of places, the delivery of the lines is not perfect, and a few could be slightly late. The music sounds wonderful.

Strip Nude for Your Killer Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Emma - in this recent program, actress Emma Costantino explains when and why she adopted the alias Erna Schürer, and discusses the evolution of her career in the Italian film industry, her lasting desired to be like Glanda Jackson and Vanessa Redgrave, and only appearance in a giallo film, which was in Andrea Bianchi's Strip Nude for Your Killer. Costantino also discusses her friendship with Edwige Fenech, the genre films she appeared in, and the reason(s) they were successful and became cult films. The program was produced by Federico Caddeo for Freak-O-Rama in 2022. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (16 min).

• The Sweetest Memory - in this archival program, star Nino Castelnuovo discusses his background and acting career, the most consequential parts he did early in his career (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg), and involvement with Strip Nude for Your Killer, which appealed to him because he liked the classic gialli. Castelnuovo also states that many years later the different genre films/gialli he appeared in look even better and deserve to be considered cult films, and praises the charismatic and always hilarious character actor Franco Diogene. The program was produced by Federico Caddeo for Freak-O-Rama in 2006. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (19 min).

• Alternate Scene - the new 2K makeover of Strip Nude for Your Killer can be viewed with an alternate opening scene.,

• Cover - a reversible cover with original Italian poster art for Strip Nude for Your Killer.

Strip Nude for Your Killer Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Italian directors produced some truly intriguing films during the '70s and '80s. Most did exactly the opposite of what the older Neorealist directors did before them -- they started looking for inspiration outside of Italy. For example, many frequently imitated and borrowed from what they thought were big trends overseas, only to eventually realize that their work was also imitated across Europe and America. Andrea Bianchi's Strip Nude for Your Killer is a rather entertaining Eurotrash experiment, which essentially blends the aesthetics of giallo and erotica. Its plot is fairly basic, but not its atmosphere, which is unquestionably its biggest strength. I enjoy films like it a lot because they are almost never politically correct and therefore quite revealing about the various obsessions and taboos that defined post-war Italian culture. Shameless Entertainment's Blu-ray release introduces the recent 2K restoration of Strip Nude for Your Killer with two wonderful programs featuring Nino Castelnuovo and Emma Costantino. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.