| Krimi #11:The Crimson Circle aka The Red Circle |
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| This is one of the early West German Edgar Wallace based thrillers.For some reason it doesn't get a lot of attention.That is too bad because this is a crackerjack thriller. After narrowly avoiding the guillotine a master criminal returns to London and wreaks havoc.Blackmail and murder are the trademarks of the Crimson Circle.25 people will die in his (or her) spree. A private investigator by the name of Derrick Yale is called in to help Scotland Yard after 18 people fall prey to the Crimson Circle. Inspector Parr is deemed to be too old and behind the times to apprehend the murderer.Parr asks for and is granted special authority to carry out his plan.However it seemingly backfires in his face and 7 more people meet their grisly fate. Involved is a neer do well of one of the rich victims, a young lady of villainous ways who always seems to be in the middle of the murderous action, suspicious police officials and a shady Frenchman.Even Inspector Parr has the nasty habit of being around when several of the victims meet their doom.Who is the Crimson Circle? Eddi Arent plays against type and instead of being the comic foil plays a police man who seems to be quite suspicious himself.As usual there are suspects and red herrings not to mention quite a few corpses and a kidnapping plot that may or may not be the work of the Crimson Circle. The plot is fast paced and there is plenty of action. The cast is up to the task and the vehicle is well directed.A nice little surprise awaits at the end.Even after viewing so many of these I didn't see this one coming. On a side note I picked up the dvd-r from Sinister Cinema.I already had the vhs of this and wanted to do a comparison.The vhs had some sound problems that started about twenty minutes into the film and lasted for about half an hour.The dvd-r sound was excellent and in fact didn't have to be turned up as loud as a factory dvd.The picture was also much sharper than the vhs. There was only one spot of slight pixellation near the end of the dvd. As a bonus there is a very clear trailer for the krimi Dead Eyes Of London that is in great shape.One only hopes that Sinister will turn out more Well worth seeking out for an evening's entertainment. |
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