Mario Bava himself repeatedly stated that this is the worst film he was ever involved in, so luckily enough there still are some loyal and naive fan-boys (like myself) to reassure the public that "5 Dolls for an August Moon" nonetheless remains a worthy purchase and definitely better than your average horror/mystery from the early 70's. Even though this giallo can't possibly reach the brilliance-level of nearly every other Bava film (the list is enormous, with "Black Sabbath, Kill Baby
Kill", "Blood and Black Lace, "Black Sunday"
), it's a light-headed and often ingenious effort. The plot is a very simple variation on Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians", set on an island inhabited by rich and utterly greedy bastards. The island's owner, George Stark, invited a bunch of businessmen and their wives over for a weekend of million-dollar-deals and adultery. One of the guests invented a groundbreaking formula (something about resin) and the others make it a sport to bid the most money for it. They aren't even ashamed to throw in their sexy wives as an extra. The party really gets interesting once the invitees' bodies turn up brutally murdered one by one. "5 Dolls for an August Moon" indeed looks more like a satire instead of a suspenseful giallo and it's obvious that Bava didn't put much devotion into it. The murders are mainly committed off screen but the emphasis lies on the comical storage of the cadavers, namely in a meat-locker and clumsily wrapped in plastics. The dialogs are weak yet almost the entire film is foreseen of a jazzy soundtrack, which actually makes "5 Dolls for an August Moon" Bava's most swinging horror movie (the über-cool "Danger: Diabolik" is falls into a class of its own). The totally unpredictable twist at the end is fantastic, in my opinion. The cast is more than interesting, particularly because the unearthly beautiful Edwige Fenech hops around in bikinis and lingerie most of the time. She's a good actress, but she's even a better nude model. For just this one time, don't listen to the master-director himself and watch this film! You won't regret it, especially not if you miss the typical tastelessness of the 70's.
Review of Five Dolls for an August Moon
