In an aesthetically displeasing block of flats in Italy, a crazed, homicidal creep is hard at work dispatching young female victims with a series of metal set-squares (of all things). The detective on the case is a weary female (Mirca Viola), who tires of having to deal with a pompous magistrate (Antonio Petrocelli) who's got blinders on when it comes to this case. Involved in the plot are an eccentric artist (Florinda Bolkan) whose works tend towards the macabre, and a faded pop star (Eva Robins) whose bisexual lover / agent (Elisabetta Cavallotti) hits upon a scheme to have Robins "benefit" from the crimes by pretending to receive death threats from the monster.
This 21st century attempt by director Pierfrancesco Campanella and his co-writers to play in the same sandbox popularized by Italian Gialli of the 1960s and 1970s works out fairly well. It's not as stylish nor nearly as memorable as the best from this genre during those decades, but it checks some boxes (namely, gore, sex, and nudity) adequately. It also tries to inject a little substance into its screenplay by addressing the idea of artists who profit from exploiting real-life horrors, such as Bolkans' Mirta Valenti. One reasonably amusing subplot has Mirta earning the wrath of young Donatella (Elisabetta Rocchetti) by hiring the girl to "kill" her and then screwing her over.
The performers on screen aren't really bad, but they ARE hurt by lousy dubbing. At least Campanella earns some goodwill by casting some veterans of the genre, like Ms. Bolkan ("Don't Torture a Duckling") and the great Franco Nero ("The Fifth Cord"), who's hilariously cast as a long-haired doomsayer / vagrant. Aficionados of Italian genre cinema will remember Robins from Dario Argentos' "Tenebre".
At the very least, "Bad Inclination" offers some good use of locations and a wonderful score by Alberto Antinori.
Five out of 10.
