Kriminal 4K 1966

"Kriminal" explodes immediately with awesome, mega-cool opening credits. They're half comic-book and half live-action, guided by a gloriously psychedelic and rhythmic tune. This is an anti-(super-)hero movie in the same vein as Mario Bava's "Danger: Diabolik", and that just happens to be one of my favorite movies of all time. It's colorful, swinging, boisterous and just downright ecstatic! The plot is convoluted and you have to remain quite alert to keep up with all the plot twists. Glenn Saxson, who sometimes looks like he could be the twin brother of Franco Nero, plays the title role. He's a masked anti-hero who kills in the most incredible and imaginative ways. He seduces old horny women and subsequently boils them in their own saunas paid by they money they inherited after the suspicious death of their husbands. Kriminal is also a regular David Copperfield! He makes the best exits and I never saw someone vanish in the crowd without being noticed like he does. Last but not least, Kriminal wears the coolest outfit ever. He's dressed like a skeleton. That looks reasonably creepy and it glows in the dark, which comes in quite handy during his nocturnal escapades. Screw Batman and Spiderman, the Kriminal skeleton is the way to go! It's a bit of a shame that this film isn't more commonly known, because the outfit would make a terrific costume for kids to wear on Halloween. Speaking of which, I wouldn't be too surprised if Kriminal's outfit stood model for the character of Jack Skeleton in Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas". Too bad the outfit is criminally – pun intended – underused. Considering the time of release, the film is also stuffed with obligatory James Bond imitations, like sequences set inside casinos and villainous characters that resemble Ernst Blofeld. Luckily enough the script is solid and intelligent enough to stand alone as an independent success, full of action, humor and lewdness. Director Umberto Lenzi might be most commonly known for his repulsive cannibal flicks ("Cannibal Ferox", "Nightmare City") and excessively violent cop thrillers ("Almost Human", "Violent Naples"), but this rarely seen so- called crime caper is definitely worth seeking out.