Murders are being committed in Milan, Italy. In charge of the investigation is Inspector Paolo Scaprella (Paul Naschy). Each murder victim is in some way connected with Milan’s underworld. Drug addicts, prostitutes and minor crime bosses are being killed in various bloody ways. On each victim is a small sculpture of a dragonfly. It appears as if the killer is single handedly trying to clean up the city.
The latest victims are the son of a well known man who passed out after having a drug induced orgy with a couple girls. Clutched in the hand of the man is a fancy button used in high fashion garments. Paolo’s girlfriend Silvana (Erika Blanc) is friends with people in the fashion industry. Her friend, Vittorio Darucchi (Ramon Centenero), is a designer and Paolo hopes that he may be able to find out who uses that particular type of button. Perhaps a lead can come from it.
Paolo and Silvana attend a cocktail party where the subject of the murders comes up. Vittorio is at the party and promises to see what he can find out about the button. Paolo mentions the dragonfly statues being soaked in the blood of the victims and placed on the bodies. One of the party attendants, Professor Sandro Campitelli (Eduardo Calvo) remembers a story about an ancient civilization that used the dragonfly symbol sewn into the clothes of anyone they deemed immoral as sort of a brand.
As the investigation progresses more people are killed. The killer branches out and begins killing members of the elite that have been indulging in various vices, including some of those that were at the party. Anyone who could possibly identify the killer is also eliminated.
Vittorio finds out some information about the button. Before he can tell Paolo about it he is also killed. At the crime scene Paolo finds a drawing Vittorio made before he died. It appears to be the arm of someone with an unusual birthmark, tattoo, or scar. Silvana says that she recognizes the mark but can’t remember where or on whom. As the investigation continues Silvana begins her own investigation to try to remember where she saw the mark bringing her closer to being on the killer’s hit list.
“A Dragonfly for Each Corpse” AKA “Una libélula para cada muerto” was released in 1974 and was directed by Leon Klimovsky. It is an Italian and Spanish crime psychological thriller and a giallo.
It’s not the greatest giallo out there but it does have a lot of the standard tropes, at least enough to qualify as giallo. The premise is also pretty standard. There is gratuitous nudity, but it’s giallo, so it’s expected. The music is canned and character development is minimal, mostly because many of the characters end up dead in various violent ways. Those various ways in which victims are dispatched are an additional draw. It also has a rather impressive number of kills. There are also a couple red herrings, but they end up being victims rather quickly.
The movie has Paul Naschy as a hard-boiled homicide detective, which may be a little different for fans who are used to seeing him as a werewolf or a vampire. Naschy also developed the story.