What Have You Done to Solange? 2002 Horror Movie Review

  “What Have You Done To Solange?” is one of the greatest entries in the Italian Giallo genre.  It has everything that a giallo should have including a suspenseful, intricately woven plot:  A black-gloved killer is stabbing to death beautiful girls at a Catholic high school in London.  How are the deaths connected?  Most importantly, who is the mysterious Solange and what happened to her?  If you like movies centered around vigilante justice or revenge, you will enjoy this feature from director Massimo Dallamano (who also directed the sequel, “What Have They Done to Your Daughters?”)


  “What Have You Done to Solange” has a great cast of actors that includes Italian hunk Fabio Testi who is the star of numerous crime dramas and Italian Spaghetti Westerns (Lucio Fulci`s “Four of the Apocalypse”); Testi is a teacher at the high school and is the number one suspect.  He is having an affair with one of his pupils, Christina Galbo.  (Galbo is one of my favorite euro babes.  She is the star of such Spanish horror fare as “The House That Screamed” and “Let Sleeping Corpses Lie;” she also starred in the Italian giallo, “The Killer Must Kill Again.”)  A young, child-like Camille Keaton (niece of Buster Crabbe) is Solange; she later became the star of the notorious “I Spit On Your Grave.”


  A haunting score is provided by Ennio Morricone who has provided the scores for over 400 movies in his long, illustrious career.  (Read the collectable booklet that is inside the DVD case.).  Despite the beautiful scenery, the film is dark and depressing.  The ending is tragic and will stay with you long after the movie is over.  It reminded me of the ending for “Watch Me When I Kill,” another giallo favorite of mine involving revenge.


  If you enjoy gialli that take place at a private girls’ school, you will also want to see Narcisco Ibanez Serrador’s uncut masterpiece of “The House That Screamed” (not the Elvira version) and Antonio Margheriti’s “Naked You Die.” 


  Shriek Show, as always, has done a wonderful job of restoring “What Have You Done To Solange?”  My only regret is that it doesn’t contain the original Italian audio with English subtitles.  The Amazon listing is wrong.  At the price of $24.95, you think it would have.  Shriek Show’s release of “A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin” had the Italian audio with English subtitles.


  “What Have You Done To Solange” is highly recommended for anyone who loves Italian gialli.  In my opinion, it ranks up there with Dario Argento’s “Deep Red,” Emilio Miraglia’s “The Red Queen Kills 7 Times,” and Sergio Martino’s “Torso.”