Cinematic fascination with serial killer stories goes back many decades. For an Italian take on the topic, we head to 1977's The Monster.

Valerio Baragazzi (Johnny Dorelli) struggles both in his personal life and in his career as a newspaper journalist. However, his status at work starts to change when he finds a letter from a potential murderer.

In this missive, the writer claims he will conduct killings and he does so. This leads Valerio to additional correspondence that improves his position on the newspaper but that also brings him into possible danger as he gets close to the psychotic person behind the slayings.

Director Luigi Zampa's career started in the 1930s and ended two years after the release of Monster. This Blu-ray becomes the first time I'd ever heard of Zampa, so the question became whether or not the film would prompt me to want to look back at the filmmaker's prior career.

The answer comes back as a yes, though not because Monster offers a great serial killer flick. Indeed, much of the focus falls elsewhere.

Monster exists more as an indictment of an ugly society than a thriller. In particular, we get an emphasis on the cynicism of the media.

72 at the time of the film’s release, it feels like Zampa found himself fed up with the world and took out this disdain via his art. If so, it works, as Monster turns into a barbed and darkly comedic take on society.

That leaves this as an odd form of serial killer movie. We get few real hints related to the identity of “The Monster”, as Zampa seems almost utterly disinterested in that side of the tale.

Instead, Zampa takes more interest in pointing out the world’s selfishness and nastiness, traits that come straight to the fore via our theoretical protagonist. From the start, Valerio comes across as an angry jerk.

Granted, Monster softens him some as the film goes, and we see how he eventually questions the “profits before people” motives of his newspaper bosses. Still, Valerio remains a less than sympathetic lead.

And that makes sense for the movie’s tone. A more likable Valerio wouldn’t work for the story Zampa wants to tell.

Really, it becomes tough to find any enjoyable characters here. Even those who seem likable at first turn out to come with dark sides.

That would enter spoiler territory to get into further, of course. Suffice it to say Monster comes with some nice twists, even if the reveal at the end shouldn’t shock anyone.

Zampa likes to toy with expectations in a variety of ways. Many characters aren’t what they seem, such as the “kindly TV grandpa” who turns out to be an egotistical prick in real life.

The societal elements of Monster remain depressingly relevant nearly 50 years later. For instance, we see that the newspaper wants the killings to continue because that news gooses circulation.

That remains valid in 2026. Ratings/sales still become the bottom line, even if that means the media takes a “kid gloves” approach to the most horrible politicians.

If there’s a buck to be made, morals and ethics be damned! That message pervades the film.

The blackest of black comedies, Monster doesn’t turn into much of a serial killer film. However, its dark lens on society ensures that it packs a punch.

The Monster appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The film brought a solid presentation.

Sharpness usually worked fine. A smidgen of softness materialized along the way, but the movie usually seemed accurate.

No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects appeared, and I saw no edge haloes. Grain felt appropriate as well, and outside of a gate hair and a vertical stripe late in the film, I saw no source defects.

Monster opted for a palette that seemed natural. The colors came across as well-rendered within those choices.

Blacks felt deep and tight, while shadows were positive. Overall, I thought this ended up as an appealing presentation.

As for the film’s LCPM monaural soundtrack, it fared less well. Like pretty much all Italian movies of the era, it featured looped dialogue, and that meant the lines could sound less than natural and integrated.

Speech suffered from a fair amount of edginess and brittleness. Effects also came with a rough vibe much of the time.

Though the score worked a bit better, it still felt tinny and without range. Given the movie’s age, this turned into a “C-“ mix but it bordered on “D+”, as it seemed weak.

As we move to extras, we open with an audio commentary from film historians Rachel Nisbet and Peter Jilmstad. Both sit together for a running, screen-specific view of the project’s development, genre areas, cast and crew, some production elements and the movie’s release/reception.

At times, this feels like an annotated discussion of IMDB credits. Still, Nisbet and Jilmstad give us a fairly appealing view of the film and they make the chat worth a listen.

A 2022 documentary called Hell Bent Forward runs 43 minutes, 50 seconds. It offers info from makeup artist Pierantonio Mecacci and actors Sydne Rome, Renato Scarpa and Enzo Santaniello along with a little archival footage of actor Johnny Dorelli.

The program covers aspects of the shoot, cast and performances, makeup and character visuals, general memories of the production and its release. The limited roster of participants restricts the diversity of insights, but this still becomes a show with a reasonable number of useful details, even if Scarpa doesn’t remember his scenes and never saw the film!

Along with the movie’s trailer, we also find an Interview with Italian crime expert Richard Dyer that goes for 33 minutes, 46 seconds and offers Dyer’s thoughts about the movie’s title, story/characters/themes, subtext and interpretation, cast and performances, social context and genre domains,

A little of this repeats from the commentary, but not a lot. Dyer gives us a thoughtful look at the film.

An unconventional take on the serial killer genre, The Monster becomes a provocative affair. It keeps us off-guard as it critiques society and delivers an involving tale. The Blu-ray brings good picture and some useful supplements but audio seems iffy. Despite that, I like the movie and recommend this release.