Luciano Ercoli

Death Walks on High Heels Luciano Ercoli

Although less celebrated than some of his better known giallo peers such as Dario Argento, Mario Bava and Sergio Martino, late producer-turned-director Luciano Ercoli contributed three hugely entertaining and memorable entries to the genre - including this, his 1971 sophomore effort, Death Walks on High Heels. Spanish-born model and actress Nieves Navarro stars as Nicole, an exotic dancer who finds herself terrorized by a black-clad assailant determined on procuring her murdered father's stolen gems. Fleeing Paris in hopes of evading her knife-wielding pursuer, Nicole arrives in England only to discover that death stalks her at every corner. With the scene-stealing Navarro at it's center, Death Walks on High Heels manages to subvert the conventions of the giallo film by having a ballsy, well-rounded female protagonist to root for - representing a welcome departure from the neurotic stereotypes found elsewhere within the genre.