Rent The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire (1971)

A Dublin-based giallo - The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire review by NP

Watching this film begins like a textbook example of why I love gialli so much. Stunning locations, a strident soundtrack (Stelvio Cipriani is the maestro here), shrieking women and bloodiest blood you ever saw. What is lacking here compared to other giallo films, however, is the usually meticulously manicured leading man – thick of moustache, lustrous hair, heavy of eyeliner – possibly because instead of a sundrenched Mediterranean location, events here take place in a chilly, often rain-soaked Dublin. Instead we have cigar chomping Anton Diffring, who may as well have ‘villain’ tattooed on his forehead, and exotic Dagmar Lassander - and a ubiquitous pair of smoky sunglasses, which always comes accompanied by a glassy sting of doom-laden music.

Despite the change in scenery, this is a typical, striking, solid giallo business as usual: an occasionally muggy storyline, some nasty moments and exotic kills in rooms with high ceilings, a seemingly sluggish police force and sporadic bouts of nudity.

Although the inevitable reveal in the finale was a let-down for me, the surrounding scenes are embellished with a real sense of perverse evil and fast-paced violence typical of the genre. My score is 6 out of 10.