31 Days of Horror 2024 Day 22 The Card Player

 

TITLE-The Card Player

SOURCE-Scorpion Releasing Blu Ray

Yea I know latter era Argento. And this is one most don't like. Having seen and enjoyed some of the lesser liked Argento movies,Phantom of the Opera is one,I took a chance when this OOP release was on sale at Kino.

A killer is challenging the police to games of poker over the internet. If the killer wins a women ,who is on webcam gets multilated. 

Once a British tourist gets put into this deadly game of chance two top detectives get put on the case. And we get a modern era Giallo.

Ok yea this feels like a sleazier episode of one of the many detective shows on the air. Call this CSI Giallo or as I have seen a few do CSI Rome. 

It is the sleaze and sometimes well done kills that make this stand out. Yea we aren't getting peak Dario Argento. Even average Argento is so much better than most of the horror crap clogging up shelves when this came out in the early 2000s.

Now yea the lower budget hinders the CGI FX. With the scene near the end with the train cutting off someone's head,And then the head rolling,looks cheap andd takes what should be a nice kill to end the film and make it not have the impact it should have.While not top 5 Argento this is for me Top 10 Argento. 

The blu ray has a decent commentary. And a few other extras nothing of which stood out much. The transfer looks nice. 

The Card Player gets a C+