Perversion Story (1969) - Lucio Fulci

Lucio Fulci's Perversion Story is a devilishly enjoyable psychological thriller; a mystery full of stylish excess and narrative intrigue that encapsulates the era of late-1960s San Francisco, one which had been transformed due to the sexual revolution, with Fulci offering up a vivid snapshot of a time in which sexual freedoms were having far-reaching impacts on the general zeitgeist of American culture.  Fulci's transfixing artifice is on full display, as Perversion's Story's stylish excesses subvert and seduce the viewer; with every flourish the perfect juxtaposition for its narrative, one which follows a prestigious doctor attempting to discover the mystery behind his wife's death.   Fulci offers up a transfixing snapshot of San Francisco in the late 1960s, a document of the time period, in which the Italian filmmaker both observes and projects the culture of the area, as the film interjects many of the cities more iconic landmarks into the narrative, making the city a character itself in his story. A filmmaker whose always shown an interest in carnal desire, in particularly the psychological power which lust and sexuality can have over morality and logic, with Perversion Story Fulci places hedonism front and center, challenging the puritanical influences of American society through the normalization of sexuality.  The best example of this is how our main protagonist is a prestigious and well-respected doctor;  He is a man who himself is hedonistic, yet good-natured, one which effectively challenges the puritanical order of what defines a good member of society.  The plotting of Perversion Story sees this character traverse the underbelly of San Francisco, one in which sexual liberation is front-and-center; as he attempts to prove his innocence to the authorities which suspect fair play.  Perversion Story's narrative offers up enough twists and turns to keep the viewer engaged and mysterious from start-to-finish, yet what makes this Fulci effort so intriguing is what it offers up as a document of the time-period, one in which hedonism was becoming socially acceptable due to the sexual revolution of the 1960s.