Can anyone resist a title as lurid as Strip Nude for Your Killer? Yeah, probably, but I couldn’t, so the 1975 thriller wound up on my playlist.

A fashion model goes for an abortion but doesn’t survive the procedure. Her doctor (Filippo La Neve) attempts to cover up her demise and he ends up murdered.

After this, more killings occur, all of which relate to the agency where the dead model worked. Photographer Magda (Edwige Fenech) pursues the killer, a mysterious maniac who always wears a motorcycle helmet.

Whereas Nelson Muntz felt the title of Naked Lunch inaccurately described the film’s contents, he’d encounter no such disappointment with Killer. A tawdry mix of skin and violence, the title accurately conveys what the viewer will find.

Especially in terms of the nudity, as Killer comes chock-a-block with nekkid ladies. Like any self-respecting Italian production of the 1970s, the camera discretely pushes away when males might reveal their junk, so anticipate a heavy dose of female pulchritude.

The film’s giddy embrace of nude women represents arguably its only positive. As a display of attractive, unclothed women, Killer titillates, but as a thriller, it fizzles.

While the movie attempts to become a mystery, it does poorly in that regard, though not necessarily because we easily deduce the culprit’s identity. Oh, when we find out, it comes as little surprise, but the story doesn’t telegraph this element too badly.

Instead, the film struggles because we simply don’t care whodunnit. The victims tend to be cartoon characters to whom we attach no emotion, and the slayings themselves feel drawn out for no reason.

I guess the filmmakers thought long scenes of this sort would inspire tension and suspense, but they don’t. Instead, they just feel sluggish and dull.

Kind of like the rest of Killer. The murders lack anything to make them entertaining, and the pursuit of the mystery seems oddly meandering and disinterested.

Even when the movie attempts drama, it feels limp. For instance, one murder features a character who just yells “no no” as the perpetrator approaches – couldn’t the victim grab something and fight back?

Nah – that’d offer the potential for actual thrills, and Killer can’t risk the disruption of its eternal sense of ennui. Slow, dull and without drama, Killer lacks much merit beyond all the naked women.

Footnote: Killer earns a serious You Can’t Do That Anymore Award for a scene in which a guy forcibly sodomizes a woman against her will – and plays it for cute laughs. I know the culture of 2019 differs from that of 1975, but great googily-moogily – how was that scene ever “okay”?

Strip Nude for Your Killer appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie came with a pretty good transfer.

Overall sharpness appeared positive. At times, the image could be a little on the soft side, but it usually boasted appealing delineation and clarity.

I saw no issues with jagged edges or shimmering, and edge haloes remained absent. In addition, print flaws failed to appear.

With its fairly low-key palette, the colors of Killer didn’t leap off the screen, but they worked fine. The hues came across as reasonably full and well-depicted.

Blacks were fairly dark and dense, while shadows displayed solid smoothness. All of this led us to a better than average presentation.

Note that the Blu-ray includes an option for a slightly different version of Killer. This one adds a heavy blue tint to the movie’s first two minutes, 12 seconds. It’s not abundantly clear why some prints used this color scheme, and it adds nothing to the film, but I’m glad Arrow presents it as an option.

I thought the film’s PCM monaural soundtrack held up well given its era. Music lacked a lot of range, but the score seemed fairly full and well-rendered.

Effects followed suit, with tones that came across as acceptably accurate, if a bit thin. Though the dubbed nature left the lines as a bit unnatural, speech remained acceptably concise, without issues connected to edginess. I felt this was a perfectly satisfactory mix for a cheap flick from the 1970s.

Note that the comments above addressed the film’s Italian version. This disc also included an English edition, but I didn’t think much of it.

Given that the original looped all the lines – as was the tradition in Italian cinema – the English version didn’t suffer from speech that appeared less natural. However, the English performances fared much less well, as it often felt like the producers hired the cheapest – and worst – actors they could find. Unless you hate subtitles like the plague, stick with the superior Italian edition.

When we shift to extras, we launch with an audio commentary from Horrorpedia.com’s Adrian J. Smith and David Flint. Both sit together for this running, screen-specific view of aspects of the production as well as the genre.

Commentaries like this offer some aspects of the film historian vein but they tend to more accurately offer fan commentaries. These can produce interesting moments, but I prefer a more traditional piece that digs into the movie’s creation and related domains.

Smith and Flint don’t do much to touch on those topics, as they instead tend to focus on their impressions of the movie and thoughts about the genre. On the positive side, Smith and Flint show an uncommon willingness to criticize the film in question. Most commentaries ladle out the praise, so their ambivalence toward Killer comes as a pleasant surprise.

Otherwise, both men seem earnest and invested, but I can’t claim I learned much from their chat. It’s a passable way to spend 98 minutes but not something likely to educate the listener.

A video essay called Sex and Death With a Smile runs 23 minutes, two seconds and features author/critic Kat Ellinger. She discusses Italian cinema and the giallo genre, with an emphasis on actor Edwige Fenech.

At times Ellinger manages to offer useful historical notes. However, much of “Sex” feels like an annotated Fenech filmography, so it doesn’t come with a ton of insights.

An archival interview with actor Nino Castelnuovo appears under the banner A Good MA for the Murders. This piece lasts 14 minutes, 32 seconds and provides Castelnuovo’s thoughts about his career, with a little about Killer. This ends up as a fairly interesting overview.

Next comes The Blonde Salamander, an 18-minute, 30-second chat with actor Erna Schurer. She discusses her time in films and a little about Killer. We get a nice array of memories.

The Art of Helping goes for 44 minutes, 18 seconds and features assistant director Daniele Sangiorgi. Like the actors, he talks about working in movies and Killer. Sangiorgi gives us some solid material, but 44 minutes feels too long for a chat like this, so the interview gets old after a while.

Finally, Jack of All Trades delivers a piece with actor/production manager Tino Polenghi. The reel fills 21 minutes, 50 seconds with Polenghi’s thoughts about his career and Killer. We get another fairly informative discussion.

In addition to two trailers - one English, one Italian – we find an Image Gallery. This section shows 16 publicity elements. It’s a decent compilation.

As a display of naked women, Strip Nude For Your Killer succeeds. As a thriller, it flops. The Blu-ray comes with generally positive picture and audio as well as a fairly useful set of supplements. Despite the alluring title, Killer doesn’t merit much attention.