Alex Cord is a recovering alcoholic archaeologist excavating Etruscan tombs when a killer begins attacking people in some way tied to the dig, or to the family of an eccentric composer (John Marley) whose household includes the archaeologist’s former lover (Samantha Eggar). The movie is rather slow going in the middle, with weird behavior piled upon weird behavior and odd characters — who may be suspects, although evidence points to the archaeologist as the killer, perhaps during blackouts — and a bit disappointing in the ending. The attentive viewer will likely anticipate the resolution of the mystery in The Dead Are Alive! (original title: L’etrusco uccide ancora), but the unsympathetic characters make one unlikely to care very much by that point. Still, kudos to the filmmakers for making use of Etruscan myth to ramp up the potential for horror.

Mildly recommended. Otto judiciously thinks this movie is OK for giallo fans, but probably lacking in appeal for others.