The Washing Machine
Italy/Bulgaria/France 1993. Director: Ruggero Deodato
Cast: Philippe Caroit, Ilaria Borelli, Barbara Ricci
Aka: La Lavatrice

You can't wash away the terror. Ruggero Deodato makes sure it sticks around. And the plot, ridiculous as it it may sound, has nothing to do with any Stephen King novel whatsoever. Three sisters - Ludmilla, Maria, and Vida - are living together in an appartment. One day one sister find their pimp dead in the washing machine. Suspecting Inspector Starcev arrives. The body is gone. Starcev is stuck with three sisters and three different stories to choose from. Add some healthy doses of red herrings and naked girls and you have it. Fortunately Deodato is a razor-sharp filmmaker and knows hot to tell a simple story, probably thanks to his day-work as director of commercials. Sometimes he fails, but most of the times he does fair work with a story that perhaps doesn't deserve it. I've read somewhere that Deodato himself isn't very happy with The Washing Machine, that he considers it to be just an experiment that failed, but I can't see how it could have been done much different. Obviously it's not as disturbing as some other Deodato movies I can mention but won't, just a slightly better than expected thriller, beautifully shot in Budapest and with a fair cast. Not to forget another great score by Claudio Simonetti. Recommended if not indispensable.