Census Bloodbath: Strangler In A Strangle Land

 Note: This movie was only available to me in unsubtitled Greek, so take my review with a grain of salt. Also, I don't have access to translated credits, so unfortunately not every role will be properly credited.

Year:
1989
Director:
Dimitris Tzelas
Cast:
Apostolos Souglakos, Stella Bonatsou, Helen Kelly
Run Time:
1 hour 27 minutes

Plot: The Strangler of Syggrou follows a strangler (Apostolos Souglakos) whose dark backstory (which includes an abusive mom and a wife who died mid-coitus) causes him to relive the story of 1980's Maniac, complete with an apartment full of mannequins augmented with the grisly spoils of his murders, as well as a budding, danger-laced romance (with a woman who creates displays for department store windows)

Analysis: This Greek remake of Maniac is one of 16 movies that director Dimitris Tzelas made between 1986 and 1990. Let's just say that it shows. I certainly wasn't expecting it to be as nasty-hearted and sleazy as the original (downgrading the killer from a scalper to a strangler already accomplished that, right from the jump), but there's no vim or vigor in the presentation of this story at all. It's delivered with all the screaming terror of a man running errands on his way home from work.

However, there is a bit more diversity in the type of kills doled out by The Strangler than I was expecting. It's certainly a more entertaining array than what we got in the Turkish slasher Psikopat, which has a similar premise and budget level. Additionally (SPOILER ALERT), he kills his love interest far earlier than I expected, in a perfunctory scene that is rendered more shocking due to the matter-of-fact nature of the filmmaking.

Overall, like many low-budget 1980s slashers, it's more enjoyable as a campy curio than as a horror movie. The Strangler of Syggrou is peppered with quite a few unexpectedly off-kilter moments, including the reveal that The Strangler has a cute, tiny dog at home, the Sopranos tracksuit that he's constantly wearing, and everything about the Barbarella Disco (which is the setting of quite a few scenes).

The only thing that unequivocally works about the movie is the propulsive synth score, which gives the movie every last scrap of tone and texture that it possesses, crafting a dark, dangerous atmosphere around The Strangler and his exploits. Of course, that music is largely (and perhaps entirely) stolen from Giorgio Moroder's score for 1982's Cat People. But hey, if you're gonna steal, steal from the best! 

Killer: The Strangler (Apostolos Souglakos)

Final Girl: Spoiled Daughter

Best Kill: The Strangler closes a car window on a woman's neck, which is still amusingly on theme (she asphyxiated, so I guess it counts as a strangulation) while reminding me of Tatum's cat door death in Scream.

Sign of the Times: Tina Turner's "Simply the Best" loudly plays over a conversation at a bar.

Scariest Moment: When the final girl hides from The Strangler in the morgue, she pretends to be a body under a sheet and begins hyperventilating with fear, giving the game away instantly. This goes so badly that The Strangler doesn't even bother doing the classic slasher killer thing and trying the other sheets first before uncovering her.

Weirdest Moment: There's a random interlude about 12 minutes before the end of the movie where a duo led by a man in his underwear and a fluffy black wig perform a minutes-long musical number at the discotheque.

Champion Dialogue: N/A

Body Count: 9

1. Dock Woman is strangled.
2. Cab Driver has a car window closed on her neck.
3. Masked Assailant has his head smashed on the sidewalk.
4. Dominatrix is strangled.
5. Dominatrix's John is strangled.
6. Department Store Lady is strangled.
7. John #2 is strangled.
8. Strangler's Wife dies during sex in a flashback.
9. The Strangler is shot.

TL;DR: The Strangler of Syggrou is a pretty unremarkable Greek remake of Maniac.

Rating: 4/10