A HYENA IN THE SAFE: The Groovy Side of Giallo

A HYENA IN THE SAFE (Blu-ray)

1966 / 92 min

Celluloid Dreams

Review by Mr. Paws😼

Now here’s a rare - and weird - piece of Italian giallo. While also incorporating heist, mystery and psychedelic elements, A Hyena in the Safe is an interesting obscurity from the mid-60s that I suspect few fans of the genre have seen…much less heard of. 

Months after a massive diamond heist, the international crew who committed the robbery gather at mansion to open the safe where they're being kept. Each person has a key, but the safe can only be opened if all six are used. However, there are complications. First, one of the crew, Boris, has since died and supposedly gave his key to sultry wife Anna, who no one entirely trusts. Worse yet, cocky, drug-addicted safecracker Albert has apparently lost his key, leading to more suspicion, especially of Jeanine, the girlfriend he brought along. 

Then one-by-one, people start dying. Everyone is a suspect, including Boris, whom some are convinced isn’t actually dead. Part of the fun of watching this is we suspect everyone, too. Throughout the narrative, we don’t know who to trust, especially with damn near each character teaming up with another to screw over the rest…at least until one of them dies. In fact, it may not be just one person doing all the killing.

"She came with the jacket."

While logic and plausibility may not be in large supply, that’s never been a prerequisite for good giallo. Watching the story unfold is pretty entertaining - as is the morally questionable behavior of its characters - and comes to an amusingly ironic conclusion. Overall, the performances are quite good, featuring a cast of largely unknown actors, many of whom didn’t go on to do much else. But the film’s strongest assets are aesthetic. A Hyena in the Safe has great production design and stylish cinematography, along with a few creative death scenes. Appropriately, this disc features an excellent restoration that nicely captures the colorful psychedelic vibe prevalent throughout the film.

A Hyena in the Safe isn’t some lost classic. Director Cesare Canevaro is certainly no Argento or Bava, nor does his film hold a candle to the best giallo of the era. But it’s a lot of devious fun in the moment and worth discovering for genre fans. In addition to a nice batch of revealing bonus features, ordering this disc through the Celluloid Dreams website will also nab you a series of 12” x 8” lobby card replicas.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - 7 Guests for a Massacre is a good 50-minute retrospective featuring interviews with director Cesare Canevaro, and others; The Mysteries of Villa Toeplitz takes a look at the mansion location today.

VIDEO ESSAY - Schrodinger’s Diamonds is an interesting analysis by Andy Marshall-Roberts.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By critic Guido Henkel.

TRAILER

IMAGE GALLERY - With posters and lobby cards.

REVERSIBLE COVER