This second entry in Dario Argento’s “Animal Trilogy” found the young talent further refining his distinctive style and cementing his reputation as master of the giallo. Featuring another nerve-jangling score by the great Ennio Morricone, THE CAT O’ NINE TAILS remains one of Argento’s most suspenseful and underrated films.

When a break-in occurs at a secretive genetics institute, a blind puzzle-maker (Karl Malden, ON THE WATERFRONT) overhears an attempt to blackmail an institute scientist shortly before the robbery, and teams up with intrepid reporter Carlo (James Franciscus, BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES) to crack the case. Soon the bodies pile up, and the two amateur sleuths find their own lives imperilled in their search for the truth. Worse still, the puzzle-maker’s niece (Cinzia De Carolis, CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE) is in the killer’s sights…