udar55 Review of Tulpa: Demon of Desire

Tulpa: Demon of Desire (2012)

Well made modern take on the giallo subgenre

[6/10 · 25 September 2023]

Italian businesswoman Lisa Boeri (Claudia Gerini) lets off steam by going to an exclusive, member's only sex club. Meanwhile, a killer in classic giallo garb is running around Rome violently killing folks. Their only connection is that they all came in contact with Lisa at the club. I'm not up to speed on the neo-giallo sub-genre (having only seen the Cattet/Forzani films and Argento's soul crushing entries), but a friend mentioned this one and it sounded interesting. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect is that veteran Italian screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti is co-credited with the story. There is a cool metaphysical angle as Lisa goes to the club and is told to "release your Tulpa." If that sounds like some weird Buddhist thing, well, it is. It is a being that can be created and released by your metaphysical powers. That makes you think this will be a cool take on the giallo genre with a Cronenberg twist. Unfortunately, writer-director Federico Zampaglione and co-writer Giacomo Gensini use the metaphysical angle as a distraction and the film embraces the old giallo trait of "the killer is just some random person you saw for a second earlier." The end result is something that vacillates between good and bad. There are some cool sequences, but the business world drama falls flat. Tulpa-and-a-half stars out of five.