Il tuo vizio è una stanza chiusa e solo io ne ho la chiave

Plot synopsis:
Oliviero Rouvigny (Pistilli), a failed writer and an alcoholic, lives in a crumbling mansion with his wife Irina (Strindberg), who is scared of Oliviero's cat, Satan, that used to belong to his late mother. To fight boredom, Oliviero organizes decadent parties for local hippies and humiliates and abuses Irina in front of the guests. After his mistress, a young student, is found murdered, Oliviero becomes the primary suspect. When he finds their maid dead on the premises, he decides to conceal it to avoid further suspicions.
With no-one knowing the identity of the murderer, Oliviero's paranoia builds and leads to more abuse of Irina. Then Oliviero's niece Floriana (Fenech) suddenly arrives for a visit. Irina finds comfort in Floriana's arms and bed, and the two decide to find a way to deal with Oliviero.
After Irina kills Oliviero with scissors, Floriana reveals that she has been after the jewelry that Oliviero had stashed in the mansion. Irina humbly gives her the jewelry and the two part ways. However, Irina also had a plan of her own and she turns to Walter (Ivan Rassimov), the original murderer. Walter kills Floriana and her boyfriend making it look like an accident. Later, Irina pushes Walter off a cliff to have the jewelry all for herself. When Irina returns to the mansion, she finds the police there. An old woman had filed a complaint for animal cruelty, as she had seen Irina stabbing Satan. Inside the mansion, the police officers notice that the cat seems to be mewing in agony inside a wall. As they tear down the wall, they discover the cat and the dead body of Oliviero inside.

Tags: cruelty, murder, cult, horror, violence, haunting, flashback, insanity, revenge, storytelling

Review:
Sergio Martino's effort "Your Vice is a closeted room and only I don't have the key" is a crossover between the giallo genre, horror and sexy atmosphere as they were many during the 70's in Italy.
Then it suddendly cools down as the story sticks around with the Black Cat thing.The screenplay developped a maniac on the loose killing young girls (again) in a very nasty way (gore galore!) while Anita Strindberg fights with drunken & debauched husband Luigi Pistilli.
Oh, and there's still weird Ivan Rassimov as the mysterious stranger (as usual) snooping around Strindberg's house : he was already  in Martino's previous TUTTI I COLORI DEL BUIO.Apart from the screenplay's weaknesses and incapacity of bringing something fresh and new to the Poe's story, this Martino flick is quite memorable and fun to watch.But as it tries to link several genres, it really doesn't know where to go and who to please and finally ends up as a curisoity from the 70's.
Because it's a masterly and highly original Giallo, whose plot mixes the two types of Giallo (a mysterious killer murders one victim after the other in order to keep his or her secret / a troubled couple from which one half - mostly together with his or her lover - wants to get rid of the other permanently, which spawns intrigues, distrust and, of course, murder) with elements of Edgar Allan Poe's probably most filmed story, the thoroughly Gothic "The Black Cat".The result is astonishing: It works perfectly.
Anita Strindberg and Edwige Fenech (the latter in an unusual genre role for her) lead the female cast, Luigi Pistilli (giving an outrageously daring performance) and Ivan Rassimov lead the male.
The Black Cat. The decadent and alcoholic writer Oliviero Rouvigny (Luigi Pistilli) has Oedipus complex and is the abusive husband of the submissive Irina (Anita Strindberg) that is frequently humiliated.
"Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key" is a giallo with despicable characters and a good story based on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat".
Possessing what could be the second-best title in film history (after 1963's "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies," of course), "Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key" (1972) reunites director Sergio Martino and stars Edwige Fenech and Ivan Rassimov, who had previously collaborated on such wonderful films as "The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh" (1970) and "All the Colors of the Dark" (1972).
This time around, though, the story mainly concerns a decadent writer, Oliviero, well played by Luigi Pistilli, who spends most of his days drinking booze and abusing his wife (giallo regular Anita Strindberg) both physically and emotionally.
The film concludes very neatly, though, with some nifty surprises, and always keeps the viewer intrigued by combining a truly decadent atmosphere with bits of Poe's "The Black Cat," echoes of Clouzot's "Diabolique" (1955), some jolting murders, soft-core lesbianism and, typical for gialli, some red herrings.
Luigi Pistilli plays Oliviero Rouvigny,a writer who humiliates his wife Irena and any other female that crosses his path.One of Oliviero's mistresses is viciously murdered while waiting to meet him and so the investigating inspector considers the ex-writer a prime suspect.As the killings continue Mr. Rouvigny's guilt becomes nearly unquestionable, however the truth is not that simple."Gently Before She Dies" is obviously influenced by the writings of Edgar Allan Poe.The film is very tense and suspenseful and there is enough gore,nudity and sleaze to satisfy fans of Italian gialli.The soundtrack by Bruno Nicolai is prefect and the acting is great with Luigi Pistilli,Edwige Fenech,Ivan Rassimov and Anita Strindberg to boost.This wonderful giallo is not easy to find,but if you are a fan of Italian horror you can't miss it..
Boasting one of the most outlandish titles of the giallo genre, Sergio Martino's Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key is yet another loose adaptation of one of Edgar Allen Poe's most famous titles, The Black Cat. Like most Poe adaptations, the film shares little with its source material, apart from the presence of the titular black cat, here named Satan.
While it is chocked full of narrative stumbles and frustrating red herrings, Martino's refusal to bend to the genre rules of the giallo makes Your Vice an extremely interesting entry into the genre, avoiding being bogged down with drawn-out set pieces and mind-bending visuals, and instead focusing on the psychological - and physical - interplay between its two leads.Bored writer Oliviero (Luigi Pistilli) spends the majority of his time throwing drug and alcohol-fuelled parties for the local hippies, and enjoys mentally and physically abusing his long- suffering wife Irina (Anita Strindberg) in front of them.
Oliviero (Luigi Pistilli) is an alcoholic, sadistic and despicable has-been writer, whom has recently lost his mother, regularly abuses and humiliates his wife Irina (Anita Strindberg) and engages in illicit relationships at any given opportunity.
When one of his mistresses is found brutally murdered the suspicions of both the police and his wife fall on Oliviero whose problems are confounded by the arrival of Floriana (Edwige Fenech), his young and beautiful niece with an unclear agenda.Following on from the success of his earlier gialli with the name being a reference to 'The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh (1971)', director Sergio Martino presents this sleazy, violent and thoroughly nasty film which experiments with new ideas and style while remaining true to the elements of his previous work that yielded such positive results.
Even by gialli standards this movie is pretty off-the-wall, but it is also, strangely enough, probably the most faithful adaption of the Edgar Allen Poe story "The Black Cat" that I have ever seen.
I already was a great fan of director Martino, whose other Gialli, "The Strange Vice Of Mrs Wardh", "Torso", "The Scorpion's Tail" and "All Colors Of The Dark" were entirely fantastic films, and since this film is a Giallo (loosely) based on the writings of the almighty Edgar Alan Poe, I was sure it would be excellent.
This film is brilliant in all aspects and an absolute must-see that no lover of Italian Genre-cinema or Horror-fan in general could possibly afford to miss.Oliviero Rouvigni (played by the great Luigi Pistilli), a burned-out and alcoholic writer, lives in a rural mansion with his beautiful wife Irina (Anita Strindberg), whom he likes to maltreat and publicly humiliate in front of his eccentric friends.
This gem is perhaps the least overwhelming one of the bunch, but it definitely is the most dared film and probably also the most intelligent one, since Martino mixed the passionate-murder plot with Edgar Allen Poe's legendary story "The Black Cat".
Fenech is somewhat a giallo-regular and worked with some of the most eminent directors in the field, like Mario Bava ("5 Dolls for an August Moon"), Andrea Bianchi ("Strip Nude for your Killer") and twice more with Sergio Martino ("All the Colors of the Dark", "The Strange Case of Mrs. Wardh").
This, the fourth Giallo to be directed by Sergio Martino between the years 1971 and 1973 is one of the best Italian horror films that I've seen and a must for cult fans!
I saw Sergio Martino's excellent The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh recently, and although I wasn't expecting as much from Your Vice is a Locked Door and Only I Have the Key; I was surprised to find that it might even be better than the aforementioned Giallo classic!
The film takes it's ridiculously long title from a written phrase in The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh, but it's plot comes mostly from Edgar Allen Poe's classic story 'The Black Cat'.
Sergio Martino fuses Poe's backdrop with a rural-set Giallo plot line, which follows burnt out alcoholic writer Oliviero Rouvigny as he starts a decent into madness when one of his mistresses is found brutally slaughtered.
Things heat up again when his niece, Floriana, turns up and ends up pitting him against his wife Irena in order for her to get what she came for.Edwige Fenech is undoubtedly a beautiful woman, and that has never been truer than in this film!
That Darn Cat. For those of you sitting with their trousers round their ankles and a Kleenex nearby waiting for Edwige - she don't turn up until half an hour into the film.Sergio Martino once again proves he actually might be the master of the giallo by presenting us a film that mixes in the gloved killer of babes standard plot with the late sixties plot of rich folk fighting over money with a bit of Gothic Horror mixed with a whole lot of domestic abuse for good measure.
I forgot to mention Ivan Rassimov, who is hanging around staring at things and has white hair, which is never explained.This is a very well handled film that balances Luigi Pistilli's madness and violent abuse of Anita with a giallo plot (which is solved well before the end!) plus other elements of the old 'inheritance' plot.
Martino wastes no time at all getting into the crazy in this one — Oliviero Rouvigny (Luigi Pistilli from Bay of Blood, Iguana with the Tongue of Fire, Death Rides a Horse) is a dark, sinister man, a failed writer and alcoholic who lives in a mansion that's falling apart (If this all feels like a modernized version of a Poe story like The Fall of the House of Usher, it's no accident.
He asks his wife to help him get rid of the body.Oliviero's niece Floriana (Edwige Fenech, pretty much the queen of the giallo) is in town for a visit, learning how Oliviero hasn't been able to write one sentence over and over again for three years, stuck in writer's block (and predating The Shining by 5 years in book form and 8 years away from Kubrick's film).
While many horror thrillers fall victim to becoming predictable, this is anything but and features some surprising twists and turns and enough red herrings to keep you guessing as to what's going on throughout.The cast here are excellent and special nods go out to its 3 main leads, Luigi Pistilli takes on the troubled role of Olivero the abusive husband who appears to be a bloodthirsty madman whose plagued with a troubled past who has an odd obsession with his dead mother, he makes for a fascinating lead and does a wonderful job with the complex material showcasing a great range of emotions throughout the film.
Then finally there's the ever wonderful Edwige Fenech who really shakes things up who takes on the role of Floriana the seductive niece who comes to visit and immediately steals the show with her painfully alluring and sexy nature, a true sensation in this role and was tailor made to bring this role to life.All in all 'Your Vice Is A Locked Room' is atmospheric, suspenseful and erotic all at once, and while it may lag in a few places, there's enough going on to keep you interested..
Behind the dynamic title of this Sergio Martino giallo is an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poes' 'The Black Cat', albeit a rather loose one for a while.
Complicating matters is the arrival of Olivieros' sultry niece Floriana (genre star Edwige Fenech).Martinos' film does go on longer than it needs to, with a subplot about Florianas' romance with a delivery man / motorbike racer not really adding anything to the story.
(Those opening credits are particularly well done.) This definitely hits its stride once Fenech shows up, and the story more closely follows the classic Poe tale.The acting is solid from all concerned (Ivan Rassimov plays a mystery man named Walter, Franco Nebbia the standard police inspector character you always get in this sort of entertainment), with special mention going out to Ms. Strindberg.
YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM AND ONLY I HAVE THE KEY is a fairly typical example of the giallo genre, directed by old hand Sergio Martino.
Things do pick up the last half hour, where it gets very good with some shocking plot twists and turns, and it's a pity the rest of the film wasn't of the same quality.As with so many productions, the script is based on Poe's short story THE BLACK CAT, although this is only an incidental part of the narrative as these things go.
A wonderful combination of Martino's previous "Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh" and Poe's "The Black Cat".
"Il tuo vizio e una stanza chiusa e solo io ne ho la chiave" (Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key) portrays Oliviero Rouvigny (Luigi Pistilli), a failed writer who likes to hold parties and humiliate his wife Irina (Anita Strindberg) in front of the guests.
The arrival of Oliviero's niece Floriana (Edwige Fenech) further complicates things.This was Martino's fourth giallo movie.
It isn't long before the maid is slashed down the middle of her belly.Olivero's niece, Floriana (Edwige Fenech) arrives, and things are bound to get a whole lot more interesting.Fenech (Hostel Part II, The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh) and Strindberg (The Senator Likes Women, Lizard in a Woman's Skin) soon become allies and bed mates.
Production values, modest though they may be, help considerably in creating a generally disquieting mood  odd angles, a gloomy central location, good score (by the ever-reliable Bruno Nicolai), disorienting editing (notably repeated quick cuts to the peering eyes of the black cat, even more effective after it has been blinded in one of them!).The cast includes several genre stalwarts: Ivan Rassimov (in an unflattering silver wig) isn't in any way stretched by his all-too-brief appearance as a mystery man; sexy Edwige Fenech  sluttish and conniving  is belatedly introduced into the proceedings but gets a meatier role than usual here.
However, the acting honors go to the two nominal leads  Luigi Pistilli as the washed-up author with a mother complex who's also given to alcoholism, decadence (in the form of wild parties as well as extra-marital affairs with much younger girls, including niece Fenech!) and contempt for wife Anita Strindberg; he's matched by the latter, though (whereas she's usually merely a decorous presence in such films), with her insecurity (being easily swayed into a lesbian relationship with Edwige who, together, plot the death of Pistilli a' la LES DIABOLIQUES [1954]) and pathological fear of her husband's pet feline (leading to her viciously attacking it with a pair of scissors, an instinctive reaction which eventually seals her own fate).This film has been given a variety of lurid titles (alternates include GENTLY BEFORE SHE DIES and EXCITE ME); unsurprisingly, its makers opted to exploit the giallo angle rather than the Poe name (adaptations of his work are pretty rare in Italy though, at least, three more versions of "The Black Cat" followed Martino's  all made by equally noted directors  and, in fact, one of them came hard on the heels of this viewing!).
Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972) ** 1/2 (out of 4) This giallo from Italian director Sergio Martino mixes up various genres, which were staples in Italy during the 1970s.
You've got a sexy thriller mixed with horror elements with the typical giallo style killings and all of it is centered around Edgar Allan Poe's story "The Black Cat" with a pinch of "The Tell Tale Heart" thrown in for good measures.
When Oliverio's maid, another of his conquests, also turns up dead, Oliviero convinces his long-suffering wife Irina (Anita Strindberg) to help him hide the body in the cellar, fearing that the police will also suspect him of the second killing.The subsequent arrival of Oliviero's beautiful niece Floriana (Edwige Fenech) only goes to complicate matters further, the young woman seducing her aunt, uncle and local delivery man Dario (Riccardo Salvino) in a ploy to lay her hands on some precious family heirlooms.
Not just notable for having one of the most insane titles, even for an early 70's giallo, Sergio Martino's Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I have the Key is unusual in that it is a part reworking of the Edgar Alan Poe story The Black Cat. It concerns a sadistic mother-fixated alcoholic wife-beating writer who is a murder suspect as a result of a series of violent killings of young women.
This is a fine little giallo which borrows from and credits Poe for elements from The Black Cat. However, that comes about halfway through the tale, which makes you wonder if this was two partial plots made into one for a full film.You have a struggling writer who has a rather brutal relationship with his wife and they live together in a nice old château.
Their beautiful niece Floriana (Edwige Fenech, a perfect cross of Audrey Hepburn and Natalie Portman) then turns up, uninvited, to stay for a while and things get very twisted as the bodies pile up and a black cat called Satan watches from the shadows.It's an interesting movie that will keep you hooked as it glides from one over-the-top scene to the next, never crossing the line into camp while staying focused on a sinister trinity of characters each with their own agenda and motives without forgetting to build to a "tut-tut" morality play climax in the tradition of Edgar Allan Poe (and, later, Tales from the Crypt, for that matter).
Sergio Martino directs and brings 2 of the hottest Italian actresses together to steam up the screen in this very erotic, very mysterious, very depraved and very good film.Anita Strindberg stars as the wife of a burned out writer who appears to have a little to much sorrow after the death of his mother/lovers death (yeah you heard me incest is the best for this guy).