In 1974, Francis Girod directed Infernal Trio (aka Le Trio Infernal) a film that is difficult to categorize as it spans multiple genres. From black comedy, Infernal Trio takes on the tones of a grotesque thriller, fading into the erotic and, in the finale, even into horror with macabre tones.
Plot: Lawyer George Sarret (Michel Piccoli) and two German sisters, Philoméne (Romy Schneider) and Catherine (Mascha Gonska), make a living swindling Life Insurance Companies by performing identity substitutions. The success of their fraudulent actions will drive them to be guilty of murder. In fact, the trio kills a wealthy couple by later dissolving their bodies in acid. The dangerous game, however, will backfire on the impostors.
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Infernal Trio enjoys a complex and well-articulated screenplay by Francis Girod and Jacques Rouffio. The story, full of scams, sex and perversion, is well played by an excellent trio of actors consisting of the beautiful Romy Schneider and Mascha Gonska, led by Michel Piccoli, the latter in the role of a perverse and calculating man who can maneuver anyone for his thirst for money.
Michel Piccoli steals attention for the spontaneity and naturalness of his performance. Driven by greed, his character surprises with the unpredictability of his actions that result in murder. The final part of the film, surely the most appreciated by lovers of the horror genre, takes place in a somber setting, capturing the horror in two extraordinary and unforgettable moments: a man shot in the face while he is reading the newspaper and the dissolution of his corpse along with that of his wife in the acid-filled bathtub (a detail reminiscent of Beyond the Darkness by Joe D'Amato). An icy Michel Piccoli, here the personification of cruelty, will also remain imprinted when, with the use of a ladle, he disposes of bodily fluids.
Perhaps a bit excessive in duration and repetitive in its long series of scams by the three main characters, Girod's film nevertheless is a perfect mix of genres. Indeed, it proves to be an enjoyable title, capable of both entertaining and, at the same time, impressing the audience.
In the cast: Michel Piccoli (Leonor), Romy Schneider, Mascha Gonska, Philippe Brizard, Jean Rigaux, Monica Fiorentini, Hubert Deschamps, Monique Tarbès, Andréa Ferréol and Francis Claude.
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Infernal Trio is available for home video as of April 20. Distributed by CG Entertainment, the film is offered in DVD format by Sinister Film for its "Art-house Horror" series. A title definitely worth rediscovering.
DVD EDITION.
Video: 16/9 1.66:1
Duration: 101′
Audio: French Dolby Digital Dual Mono | Italian Dolby Digital Dual Mono
N. Discs: 1
Subtitles: Italian
Extras: Photo Gallery
