Soon after, Philippe's mother introduces her children to Gerard (Le Coq) -- a wealthy local businessman who appears interested in pursuing her.

Philippe presents a news article about a dead tramp as proof that he has done the deed, and Senta, in return, tells him that she has killed Gerard.

Philippe returns to Senta's house, and she confesses to him that she has killed a young woman who wanted to steal her previous boyfriend.

"[3] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 74 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

But the filmmaker has never been as interested in the machinations of plot as much as aberrant human nature... its rewards come from sustained concentration rather than from relaxed observation.

[5]Ty Burr of The Boston Globe: The film reveals its secrets slowly, and Chabrol tightens the screws not according to the rules of Hollywood suspense but with a cool, level gaze.

Of the great filmmakers of the French New Wave, he may have changed the least over the years, and there's a continuity of tone and morbid inquiry that runs from Le Boucher (1970) through La Ceremonie (1995, and also based on Rendell) to The Bridesmaid.