Torso(1973)
1973 · Sergio Martino · 93 min
A masked serial killer with psychosexual issues strangles female coeds with scarves before dismembering them. When a wealthy student identifies one of the scarves and thinks she has a lead on a suspect, she becomes the killer's next target, retreating to her family's remote cliffside villa with three of her girlfriends.
Horror · Thriller · Mystery
6.6228 votes
TMDB score
3/5
Intensity
3/5
Gore
2/5
Stays with you
How Torso scares
The first half plays like a moody whodunit, all lingering looks and suspicious glances among a college crowd, before the movie shifts gears into a slower, more isolated stalking nightmare once the setting moves to a remote villa. The pace is deliberate rather than jumpy, building unease through quiet hallways and the sense that someone is always watching. There's real tension in feeling hunted and trapped, especially in the back half, but the scares lean more on dread and suspense than sudden shocks. It's stylish giallo territory: a human killer, some bursts of violence, and a slow tightening of the noose rather than a rollercoaster of jolts.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Torso rates psychological 3/5, visceral 3/5, gore 3/5, lingering effect 2/5, and overall intensity 3/5.
- Psychological: 3 of 5
- Visceral: 3 of 5
- Gore: 3 of 5
- Lingering: 2 of 5
- Intensity: 3 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 15 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 95 of 100 — leans Real-world
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 55 of 100 — balanced
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A moody giallo mystery that simmers with scattered shocks before tightening into a sustained, nerve-wracking final stretch.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4.
How scary is Torso?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, Torso rates 3/5 — solidly scary, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. It works on both fronts, unsettling the mind while going for the body. Expect it to be moderately gory and scary but not punishing. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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