Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 14, 2015

Sergio Martino's "Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key" a.k.a. "Il tuo vizio è una stanza chiusa e solo io ne ho la chiave" arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video. The supplemental features on the disc include a new video interview with Sergio Martino; new video piece with film historian Justin Harries; new visual essay by Michael Mackenzie; and more. In English or Italian, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region A/B "locked"..

Floriana

Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Room is included in the Edgar Allan Poe's Black Cats: Two Adaptations by Sergio Martino & Lucio Fulci Blu-ray box set.

The film is based on a popular story by Edgar Allan Poe, but it is definitely Sergio Martino’s signature edgy style that gives it its identity. It does feel dated, but mostly because the uncompromising tone seems rather awkward in the current era of political correctness.

Middle-aged writer Oliviero (Luigi Pistilli, A Bay of Blood, Machine Gun McCain) is a monster who likes to humiliate his beautiful wife, Irina (Anita Strindberg, Who Saw Her Die). He also mistreats their elegant black maid, Brenda (Angela La Vorgna), who lives with them and loves reading dirty magazines. The two women tolerate his behavior because they think that it is only a matter of time before he overcomes his demons and concentrates on his work.

When someone cuts the throat of Oliviero’s young mistress, Fausta (Daniela Giordano, The Girl in Room 2A), a local detective (Franco Nebbia, Double Game) begins asking questions that further complicate his relationship with Irina and he begins drinking even more. Then the mysterious killer strikes again and Oliviero and Irina discover Brenda’s cold body in a puddle of blood. They decide to hide it in a cellar and tell everyone that she has quietly left them.

For a while life in the secluded villa where Oliviero and Irina live goes back to normal, but then Oliviero’s young and very sexy niece, Floriana (Edwige Fenech, Strip Nude For Your Killer), appears and he instantly falls under her spell. Irina also finds Floriana irresistibly attractive and quickly jumps in her bed.

While Floriana enjoys the company of her hosts, in the nearby town the killer cuts the throat of a young prostitute (Enrica Bonaccorti, Love and Anarchy) who has just started working in the only brothel in the area.

Martino’s Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key does not quite fit the traditional giallo profile. It does have the right atmosphere, but it is an odd Trojan Horse that unapologetically borrows elements from a variety of different genres in order to excite and surprise. Indeed, immediately after the opening credits it forces the viewer in a guessing mode, but the game is different here. Instead of focusing on the killings, the film constantly redefines the profiles of the major characters and in the process creates the impression that the killer could be the only one that deserves some sympathy.

Poe’s black cat also has a different role here. The initial close-ups are quick and appropriately unsettling, but as the film progresses the viewer begins to wonder whether the cat symbolizes something else. Could it be that the cat actually sees exactly what the viewer does -- which is that everyone in the villa has a dark side and can’t be trusted?

There are some wilder and a lot more extreme films in Martino’s filmography, but Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key is arguably the most stylish amongst them. And it isn’t so much the quality of the visuals that separates it from the rest -- The Case of the Scorpion's Tail and Torso are both very nicely done -- but the fact that its subversiveness actually enhances its authenticity. In a way, it is politically incorrect entertainment for adults who do understand that naughty films can be just as good as serious films when they are done right.

Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Sergio Martino's Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video.

During the daylight footage clarity and detail are vastly improved. Predictably, image depth is also superior. Contrast and sharpness levels remain stable. Colors are also stable, but there is a very obvious shift towards an overall notably warmer range of warm color tonalities that I don't find convincing. For example, during the outdoor footage warm yellows and cyan nuances have overtaken all whites (see screencaptures #10 and 13). The effect is also visible during select indoor sequences (see screencapture #8). It has impacted even the balance of black levels and introduced very light crushing (see screencapture #18). There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. Overall image stability is excellent. Finally, the film looks healthier now -- big damage marks, cuts, and debris have been effectively removed. However, some small blemishes and larger vertical lines remain. All in all, in terms of detail and depth the improvements are substantial, but the color grading is unconvincing. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free A/B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A, Region-B, or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. Optional English SDH and English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless English track is excellent. There are some very small dynamic fluctuations, but they were almost certainly introduced during the post-production dubbing. Clarity and depth are good. Bruno Nicolai's music is well rounded and balanced. There are no pops, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in our review.

Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Through the Keyhole: An Interview with Sergio Martino - in this video interview, director Sergio Martino explains what inspired him to shoot Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key, and discusses Edgar Allan Poe's story and its adaptation, the Fenaroli Crime (a popular criminal case in Italy at the time that influenced him), the casting of Edwige Fenech, the film's reception in Italy and France, how some of the sequences with the black cat were filmed, etc. The interview was conducted by Roberto D'Onofrio. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (35 min, 1080p).

• Unveiling the Vice - in this archival featurette, director Sergio Martino, Edwige Fenech, and screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi discuss the atmosphere, eroticism, and stylistic appearance of Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (24 min, 1080i).

• Dolls of Flesh and Blood - this new visual essay takes a closer look at Sergio Martino and his body of work as well as the evolution of the giallo genre. The essay was created by Michael Mackenzie. In English, not subtitled. (29 min, 1080p).

• The Strange Vices of Ms. Fenech - in this featurette, film historian Justin Harries takes a closer look at Edwige Fenech's career and some of her more memorable roles. Included in it are clips from various films. In English, not subtitled. (30 min, 1080i).

• Eli Roth on Your Vice - in this new video piece, director Eli Roth offers his thoughts on Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key and highlights some of its unique qualities. In English, not subtitled. (10 min, 1080p).

Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key is arguably the most stylish film in Sergio Martino's filmography. It has that special atmosphere that these genre films are known for, but it is quite subversive. It is why I like it. It has an attitude that has been basically wiped out from contemporary cinema. The technical presentation of Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key is a bit frustrating. The film looks very healthy and vibrant, but the new color grading isn't convincing. RECOMMENDED (with reservations).