The Perfect Killer (1977) (original) (raw)
Synopsis
Betrayed by his girl and best friend, thief Harry Chapman takes the fall for a racetrack robbery. While in prison, he is offered a chance to participate in an escape plan. What he doesn't know is that once he is on the outside, the group responsible for the prison break has Harry in their debt and they use him as a hit-man. Naturally, he grows tired of the job and splits because he is hellbent on getting revenge on the former partners. So the mob puts young hit-man Luc on Harry's trail.
Cast
Popular reviews
I saw this flick in a double feature with Mother's Day. Always had memories of it because it causes an impression! Lee Van Cleef is the old hitman that's betray...oh fuck it, rips off Point Blank and The Mechanic but so what? What it lacks in originality, budget and more talent it makes up on badassery and tons of sleaze. The young hitman is insane, so crazy is almost hilarious, guy hates women so much! Alberto Dell' Acqua nutso performance is crazy shit. 🤣 Hates them! There's fighting transvestites, lots of sniper shots, some good car stunts, especially at the end. The final twists are ripped off shamelessly. I don't care about that. My second watch now after 44 years. 👍
See you in Hell, kitten.
The Holy Trinity of the Obscene Lee Van Cleef Films is complete.
Sex: Quel Pomeriggio Maledetto
Drugs: Captain Apache
Rock’n’Roll: Bad Man’s River
It’s seventies softcore porn. And about 40% stock footage and filler material. Edited correctly, this film would be about 25 minutes shorter. The vibes in this film are deranged, if the average Marvel movie is plain water then this is everclear. There’s a gang of trans women and a man gets hit in the face with a parrot, leaving a parrot shaped imprint. A woman who listens to way too much Lana Del Rey gets shot in…
I have been looking for The Perfect Killer for over 2 years everywhere and it was just on Tubi the entire time. Execution of this story was poor + very bad editing.
A mutual from Twitter shared a track from the score with me and I instantly fell in love with it. I had it on repeat for months. I would do anything for that first time listen again.
I have a pretty strict rule that I do not listen to film scores before watching the film but I had to go against it for this. Stelvio Cipriani gives you a wonderful personal experience with his music.
pretty sure this film’s soundtrack just slapped me across the face and called me a whore. so obviously i’m ordering the vinyl. [didn’t actually rewatch the film, just revisited the score bc i had an hour to burn]
- Couldn't be simpler,
cross the sea, then kill someone.
Nothing's that simple.
...
Pair with Hit Man (2023)
really cool audio experience loved the parts where the it cut out entirely
I'm not sure why this Lee Van Cleef assassin opus is impossible to find in a version that doesn't look like complete garbage. It's also known as SATANIC MECHANIC and while that title is nonsense, there are some echoes of THE MECHANIC here. It's mainly the old guard assassin who wants out being challenged by a young psychopath (Alberto Dell'Acqua, in a one-note performance). Not a lot of suspense or style here, but compelling enough and quite sleazy in spots. Lee's rug was a bad idea.
One of those existentialist hitman pictures that were so popular in the '70s, like THE MECHANIC and THE OUTSIDE MAN. The interest in this subgenre was probably off the back of Melville's 1967 perfection LE SAMORAĂ.
On American home video markets THE PERFECT KILLER is also known as the SATANIC MECHANIC. Presumably to capitalize on its resemblance to the aforementioned Bronson film and a weirdo reference to THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW in the hopes they'd get that audience as well? I don't know. Just spit-ballin' here.
Whatever the case, it is the best of Van Cleef's three Eurocrime vehicles. It is also the sleaziest, which is probably why it is the best.
Lee Van Cleef VS a misogynist
Not very good, but still pretty cool (it is Italian after all).
Streamed on Tubi
"In this place only one thing is forbidden. Don't bother the bird!" - John Ireland
Lee Van Cleef pulls a Point Blank here in this heavily styled, kinda slimy "through a poliziottesco lens" tale about a professional robber turned revenge-minded contract killer / assassin. It's a standard setup with a couple of small wrinkles to spice things up a little.
Abandoned and fucked over and essentially left for dead (by girlfriend Krista and bff Jack) our hero Harry (Lee Van Cleef) receives the dubious assignment of paying for his escape via contract killing. As told through a couple of quick pseudo-flashbacks, we also learn that Harry hates his situation and as a result, the bosses that sprung him feel indebted…
An aging hitman faces betrayal and danger while on assignment in Europe.
Funky '70s score, great Euro locations and a vibe of appropriate sleaze and cynicism aren't enough to save this feature from the waning days of Van Cleef's Continental career. The star’s onscreen appeal is diminished quite a bit by the awful hairpiece and garish disco fashions he wears: he doesn’t look like a “tough guy” at all. The story is pretty convoluted, as LVC faces double-crosses from his criminal partner, gal pal, and a rival gunman.
To be honest, I had a real hard time keeping track of the action, and whether things were happening in real-time, flashback, or concurrent. What's more, they've got boyish stuntman Alberto ("Robert…