The Horrible Dr. Hichcock

Cemeteries, black cats, premature burials, female spirits in the night – although the classic Gothic repertoire is fully exploited by Riccardo Freda (credited as “Robert Hampton”), “The Horrible Dr. Hichcock” transcends those genre boundaries to become a work intrinsically steeped in psychoanalytic reverberations (Dr. Lowe claims to have taken notes from Freud in person).

In fact, emphasizing the unbreakable nature of the mind-body connection and making sexual impulses the driving force behind the events, the film immediately rejects metaphysical questions (“So much time has been wasted in attempts to analyze the soul, while the mechanical, material side of our beings remains an unknown universe“) to focus on the psychopathological deviations of an individual who is incapable of controlling a form of paraphilia so intense that it leads to a progressive impairment of his daily functioning.

In order to avoid censorship – given the film’s extremely delicate subject matter – the director opts to suggest rather than show, through a skillful use of cuts and omissions. The result is a definitely original product characterized by a decent level of suspense and acted with fine gusto by a capable cast (the always exceptional Barbara Steele takes on an atypical role as a victim).

Noteworthy cinematography by Raffaele Masciocchi (credited as “Donald Green”). Equally noteworthy is the sumptuous art direction by Franco Fumagalli. The screenplay certainly doesn’t excel – it’s a bit thin and drags at times – but with such a stylish film, those considerations fall by the wayside.