This rare Giallo was Luciano Ercoli's follow-up to the rather tame but nonetheless enjoyable "Le Foto Proibite di una Signora Perbene" (Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion in English; Frauen bis zum Wahnsinn gequält in German, which means "Women tortured to insanity"!!!).
There are some similarities in the storyline, but overall, "La Morte Accarezza a Mezzanotte" is obviously superior. After a powerful start, when Susan Scott as Valentina has a murder vision during a drug trip she suffers for her journalist colleague (who makes a photo session out of the "experiment" to publish it in the junk paper he's working for - that she initially does NOT know!), the film becomes a little bit slow moving as Valentina is suddenly stalked by numerous strange persons. But the second half of the film delivers more than many other thrillers together - suddenly, the bodies are piling up and there's also enough time for action and fist fights that could easily find place in Your average police drama of its decade.
The uncovering of the fiend is really surprising, more so if one considers that one thinks to know the face of the real killer after seeing the above mentioned drug trip sequence (to make things more clear here would give away too much).
Last but not least, there is also an exceptional musical score by Gianni Ferrio, a typical yet unique Giallo score including, of course, a lush main theme song.
To wrap it all up: This film is one of the many fine Italian thrillers of the 1970s that deserve to be rediscovered by an interested audience.
