Nostalgia Kinky

Now available from Italy’s Rustblade as a splendid 50th anniversary edition Blu-ray/DVD, Luigi Cozzi’s excellent 1975 Giallo/Noir hybrid L’assassino è costretto ad uccidere ancora has been unleashed fully uncut in HD with new special features. Known as The Killer Must Kill Again, Cozzi’s film remains surprising and vital half a century after its rather muted initial release.

The Killer Must Kill Again announces itself as a very unique Giallo from its unforgettable opening scene, where we find Cozzi delighting in revealing the film’s murderer removing the usual ‘mystery’ any fans of the genre might typically expect. Cozzi in fact plays with genre throughout occasionally leaning heavily into the type of Italian thriller he’d been working in with Dario Argento in the years leading up to The KIller Must Kill Again as well as the classic American Noirs of the forties. A strange beast of a film, The Killer Must Kill Again is an accomplished work from the director who by the end of the decade was creating some of the most ridiculously entertaining films of the era like Star Crash (1978) and Contamination (1980).

Often billed as his debut, The Killer Must Kill Again is actually Cozzi’s second feature, as he’d previously directed a little seen experimental work several years previously with 1969’s Il tunnel sotto il mondo (Tunnel Under The World). Cozzi mentions that film in the lengthy interview found on Rustblade’s release, as well as his early work with Dario Argento that put him on the path to The Killer Must Kill Again. While Cozzi is primarily known for his later more over-the-top films, the intelligent and subtle The Killer Must Kill Again owes much more to the excellent Il vicino di casa (1973), a television film from the Argento produced La porta sul buio. Like that film, a key plot point for The Killer Must Kill Again is a focus on a man’s attempt to get rid of his wife, aping the many American noirs Cozzi loved. Cozzi has even noted that he initially designed The Killer Must Kill Again as an extension of sorts to Il vicino di casa.

Featuring an impressive cast, including cult-favorites George Hilton, Femi Benussi and Cristina Galbo, The Killer Must Kill Again is an especially satisfying work well-directed and co-scripted by Cozzi. Loaded with memorable locations (including an absolutely unforgettable abandoned seaside house), The Killer Must Kill Again can now be viewed as Cozzi’s defining film although it was relatively underseen for decades.

The details of The Killer Must Kill Again’s troubled production and release is well-covered on Rustblade’s disc. Despite the fact that the film is a relatively tame work compared to some of the wilder Italian genre films of the period, censors had their knives out for Cozzi’s film and the only reason we have an uncut version now is due to Cozzi’s own saved copy, initially released on VHS. The troubles were particularly upsetting considering the major casting compromises Cozzi originally had to make, including losing out on a young Ornella Muti in the role Galbo eventually played.

The production’s troubles aren’t on the screen though as The Killer Must Kill Again is a smart, well-performed, scored and shot thriller. Utilizing the color yellow as much as any Giallo from the period, cinematographers Franco Di Giacomo and Riccardo Pallottini both give the film a deeply satisfying visual palette. The Killer Must Kill Again also benefits greatly from the evocative score by Nando De Luca, who sadly only worked on a half dozen or so films as a composer. A founder of Italy’s I Cavalieri, de Luca had much success as a jazz musician throughout the sixties and early seventies. He’d end up working with popular Italian singer Nina by the end of the seventies but briefly in the mid-part of the decade he worked on a number of film scores, with his score for The Killer Must Kill Again being exceptionally memorable. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear that any of De Luca’s scores are currently available, which is a pity.

While Cozzi was initially disappointed with some of the casting for his 2nd feature, the actors he ended up with are in actuality amongst the strongest aspects of his film. This is especially true of the very talented Galbo, who is so good in the film that Muti is (amazingly enough) not missed. The Spanish born Galbo was 25 at the time of filming The Killer Must Kill Again and she was fresh from the set of Jorge Grau’s 1973 masterpiece Non si deve profanare il sonno dei morti (The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue) when she arrived for Cozzi’s film. Galbo was one of the best young actresses that came out of the seventies and it is a shame she didn’t work more outside of the decade.

Galbo was just one of a number of cast members in The Killer Must Kill Again already well connected to the Giallo films audiences were flocking to. Galbo had a key role in Massimo Dallamano’s terrifying and traumatizing 1972 masterwork Cosa avete fatto a Solange? (What Have You Done to Solange) and handsome George Hilton was a staple of Sergio Martino’s incredible films from the early seventies. The Killer Must Kill Again features a fairly large cast and Cozzi and editor Alberto Moro help ensure strong performances across the board.

Originally titled Spider and set for a 1973 release, Cozzi’s film was delayed by two years due to its troubles with the censors. Despite some acclaim upon its 1975 release, the newly titled The Killer Must Kill Again got lost in the shuffle of the mid-seventies genre explosion. By the eighties, the cut version of the film appeared via battered full-screen showings that did the film no favors. By the nineties, poor quality grey-market versions with the uncut version appeared for collectors. Cozzi’s once obscure film finally found its way uncut to American home video more than twenty years ago when Mondo Macabro released the film on DVD. Mondo’s The Killer Must Kill Again is a fine DVD for the time and they did gather together some still exclusive extras like an interview with Cozzi and commentary track (not found on Rustblade’s new disc) but a new HD reissue has long been overdue.

Rustblade’s new edition marks The Killer Must Kill Again’s HD debut on home video allowing the film’s colorful photography finally a chance to shine. Looking like nearly a different film from its past releases, The Killer Must Kill Again sparkles in this new transfer although I must admit Rustblade’s restoration work is a bit too clean and smooth for my taste, personally speaking. The label doesn’t offer any specifics about the source of the print or their restoration process so it is hard to directly comment on it. What I can say without pause is that The Killer Must Kill Again has never looked this sharp before and while I’d prefer a bit more grain and filmic imperfections, Rustblade have done an excellent job here.

Going along with the restored uncut HD print, Rustblade have kindly kept their new Blu-ray English friendly for international customers offering both English and Italian (with English subs) audio options. In fact all of the extras on the disc thankfully offer the option for English subtitles, making this all-region release most accessible. Sadly the original Pete Tombs commentary with Cozzi from Mondo’s release has not been ported over, so fans of the film will want to hold off to that copy.

While the missing Tombs led commentary is unfortunate, Rustblade’s excellent new 30 minute conversation with Cozzi serves as a valuable replacement. Cozzi details the early days of his career, the film’s pre and post production as well as the many issues the censor’s gave the young filmmaker. There isn’t much Cozzi doesn’t touch on in this excellent supplement. Just as strong is the tribute given by Italian film historian Federico Frusciante, who packs a remarkable amount of information into a 15 minute essay and, correctly, calls this Cozzi’s finest work. Especially satisfying in the disc’s location featurette in which we are taken to the evocative seaside location that looks nearly identical to the way it did 50 years ago! A few other extras are on hand, like the English language credit sequence and some trailers. A limited edition Bundle is also available from Rustblade with some added goodies as well.

The Killer Must Kill Again is a terrific work from Luigi Cozzi long too underseen and underappreciated. This new Rustblade special edition is a very welcome one. Copies of both the Blu-ray and DVD, along with the limited bundle, can all be ordered directly from Rustblade. State bound residents looking to order here can get copies on sale at MVD. The Killer Must Kill Again is highly recommended, as is this new Rustblade disc.

-Jeremy Richey, October 2025-