Most of Lucio Fulci’s career is comprised of odd dichotomies. Work earlier than the 1988 film Touch of Death attempted to retain the gore inherent in the director’s American counterparts in low budget horror films, but still worked towards a sense of being present and engaged in current times and trends.

Touch of Death isn’t detached from modern problems – the protagonist has a nasty gambling habit which serves as the impetus for most of the action here. But the film does ape a tone that’s confusing when contrasted with the nature of Lester Parson, the flick’s hero/killer, problem.

Having a film dubbed doesn’t ever help it transcend the language barrier and compounding that fact is the late eighties looking mighty dated today. But even with that, there’s an occasionally comedic tone to the whole thing.

As viewers first come up Lester, he’s preparing a huge piece of steak – comically large. Even with out sidedishes, there’s really no way that one person’s going to be able to swallow it down. Of course, as we figure that Lester’s simultaneously watching a film he made of a women who he later killed, cut up and fed his pigs with, the meal takes on a tongue-in-cheek thing that crops up sporadically throughout the rest of the feature.

Again, with the film being dubbed, on occasion some of the jokes must have been lost to translation, especially judging by some of the facial expressions Lester takes on. But even as he’s trying to throw some jive at his bookie about needing a loan and coming closer to loosing everything, the recorded messages he leaves for himself and his reactions to them are humorous to say the least.

The reason for those recordings? Well, to negate whatever impact slicing all these people up to rob them blind and hock their goods, Lester’s blocked it all out and created a sort of shadow figure. It’s his mind playing tricks on him, but what’s worse is that there’s a mounting body of evidence which sooner or later has to lead cops to his door.

That nagging gambling problem persists and necessitates Lester to keep scouring the classified section for more suitable murder/theft candidates. It’s all a commentary on modern fixations on property, wealth and well being. Granted, Lester has problems ‘pleasing’ some of these women before offing them, but even the disdain his face displays is choked back in order to make a living.