When I started watching Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (epic name, but will now be referred to as Your Vice), I wasn’t entirely sure I was going to like it. It starts off pretty damn weird, with a bunch of hippies dancing around, singing and a guy abusing his wife. All scenes which really don’t connect. However, as the movie gets going, the film starts to gel together and by the end, I was hooked big time. I loved how this movie ended, just absolutely loved it. I, of course, won’t spoil it for you, but I will go into details on a few things in my review of this phenomenal Blu-ray release from Arrow Video.
As mentioned in my Lucio Fulci’s Black Cat review, Your Vice is featured in Arrow’s phenomenal Edgar Allan Poe’s Black Cats Limited Edition. The Arrow Box set is limited to 3000 copies and comes with an impressive limited edition 80-page booklet containing new articles on the films, Lucio Fulci’s last ever interview and a reprint of Poe’s original story. The box set contains the two films in a nice hard cardboard case and each film also has reversible sleeves showcasing the original and newly commissioned artwork. It’s a stellar package and worth the price.
PRODUCT INFORMATION
DISCS: 2 (1 Blu-ray, 1 DVD)
RUN-TIME: 96 min
ASPECT RATIO: 1.85:1
RESOLUTION: 1080p
AUDIO: English/Italian: Uncompressed PCM Mono 1.0
SUBTITLES: English/English SDH
REGION: A/B
RATING: NR
PRODUCTION DATE: 1972
RELEASE DATE: Oct 27, 2015
PLOT SUMMARY
In Martino’s classic giallo Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key, teacher Oliviero (Luigi Pistilli, A Bay of Blood) finds himself under suspicion for murder when one of his students – and mistress – is found brutally murdered. As more bodies start to pile up, the arrival of Oliviero’s attractive niece (Edwige Fenech, Five Dolls for an August Moon, All the Colours of the Dark) brings with it complications of its own.
MOVIE
Besides both movies in the box set being based on Edgar Allan Poe’s Black Cat story (or freely based in Your Vice’s case), the two movies don’t have much in common, save for a black cat. Your Vice does do a better job at adapting the story a little more closely, with a few twists and turns along the way, which I loved. Some of the plot points are a little out there and placed in there just to confuse you and make you think one thing is happening when actually something else entirely is taking place. It actually works once the film’s end credits roll around, so you just got to stick with the flick to have everything figured out.
I do want to mention how much sexuality is coursing through this movie’s veins. There are copious amounts of nudity, lesbian love scenes and a tiny dash of incest. Edwige Fenech, who plays Floriana is basically in the movie to seduce every single person and boy, does she do an amazing job at it. I can’t blame anyone for wanting to sleep with her, as she emits raw sexual energy whenever she is on screen.
I wish I go could into more detail with Your Vice, but mentioning anything specific would ruin the experience and that would be a damn shame with this movie. Besides a shaky beginning and some random scenes that make no sense, Your Vice works to tell a fantastic, twisty tale that does justice to Poe’s story.
BLU-RAY
Pretty much a perfect experience with Arrow’s Blu-ray release. The video is phenomenal, the audio is blissful and the features are plentiful. I can’t say one negative thing about this disc. In fact, the entire package of Black Cats boxed-set is to die for and every bit of money they are asking, which, yes, is pricey, is worth every penny.
Your Vice features a good helping of lengthy interviews with cast and crew members. The features don’t just talk about Your Vice, but also about Sergio Martino’s impressive career. I really enjoyed the sit down with Eli Roth and how Martino’s work has inspired him. It’s all great stuff and worth the watch. Oddly enough, though, no commentary is included.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key Features:
- Through the Keyhole – a brand new interview with director Sergio Martino
- Unveiling the Vice – making-of retrospective featuring interviews with Martino, star Edwige Fenech and screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi
- Dolls of Flesh and Blood: The Gialli of Sergio Martino – a visual essay by Michael Mackenzie exploring the director’s unique contributions to the giallo genre
- The Strange Vices of Ms. Fenech – film historian Justin Harries on the Your Vice actress’ prolific career
- Eli Roth on Your Vice and the genius of Martino
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin
- Limited Edition boxed-set (3000 copies) containing Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key and The Black Cat
- Brand new 2K restorations of the films from the original camera negatives
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
- Original Italian and English soundtracks in mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-rays)
- Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtracks
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtracks
- Limited Edition 80-page booklet containing new articles on the films, Lucio Fulci’s last ever interview and a reprint of Poe’s original story
VERDICT
Of the two movies, Your Vice was the one I enjoyed the most. It had plenty of flesh to look at, gore to please and twists to thrill you. Overall, it was a fantastic flick and I think if you give it a chance, you’ll agree. And what better way to do that than with the superb Arrow Black Cat’s Boxed-set. Pick it up today!
RATING
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| Rating is for both the movie and Limited Edition boxed-set. |