Movies: The giallo (gialli)

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Knocked a few of these out over the weekend.

The Killer is One of 13. Perhaps a debatable inclusion? Shudder classifies it as such. There is a black gloved killer moving around a circle of well-to-do men and attractive women. A pretty good title. It's an Agatha Christie And Then There Were None set-up. A woman invites a group of friends and associates to here remote home on the anniversary of her husband's death and at the opening dinner reveals ... ONE OF THEM KILLED HIM! Ok. Good set-up. But this is all concept, no delivery. It doesn't work as a compelling giallo or a Christie-style locked room. It's an hour of discussion before anything happens and once stuff starts to go down it's still only barely rises above tedious. If I had a kid, I'd just throw this on and let them fall asleep to it.

Torso. Starts strong and I like the idea of the last 30 minutes or so even if I didn't fully love the execution. I hate to come across as a degenerate but there's a big moment of violence toward the end it simply cuts away from. Now the logistics of said scene might have been hard to actually film and justify. But it was a bit of a jarring cut to me. Oh that just happened? It's the middle stretch that really dragged this down for me. Solid enough but I'm not sure I hold it in the same regard as its biggest fans.

Strip Nude for Your Killer. Edwige Fenech is one of the most beautiful women to have ever walked this earth. This one delivers the goods in a very basic way, so to speak, but other than Fenech's presence and a pathetic slob with a deflated sex doll I don't imagine this is going to stick with me in any meaningful way. Bit of a by-the-numbers affair. I do like to imagine the writer of Home Alone watched this and lifted the idea of an intruder turning on water faucets for the Wet Bandits.

 

[Nakatomi]

Some of these films are questionable as gialli (see comments), but I've included all of the films that I watched because they were considered part of the genre. The ranking doesn't match my ratings, because the films I rate 1/10 films (so bad they're good) are often a lot more fun than the plain bad ones.

1) Deep Red (Profondo rosso, Argento, 1975) – 9/10
2) The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo, Argento, 1970) – 8.5/10
3) Blood and Black Lace (6 donne per l'assassino, Bava, 1964) – 8/10
4) Footprints on the Moon (Le orme, Bazzoni, 1975) – 8/10
5) Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (Il tuo vizio è una stanza chiusa e solo io ne ho la chiave, Martino, 1972) – 7.5/10
6) Who Saw Her Die? (Chi l'ha vista morire?, Lado, 1972) – 7.5/10
7) The Fifth Cord (Giornata nera per l'ariete, Bazzoni, 1971) – 7/10
8) The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (Lo strano vizio della signora Wardh, 1971, Martino) – 6.5/10
9) The Cat o' Nine Tails (Il gatto a nove code, Argento, 1971) – 6/10
10) All the Colors of the Dark (Tutti i colori del buio, Martino, 1972) – 5/10
11) What Have You Done to Solange? (Cosa avete fatto a Solange? Dallamano, 1972) – 4.5/10
12) Eye In the Labyrinth (L'occhio nel labirinto, Caiano, 1972) – 4.5/10
13) Strip Nude for Your Killer (Nude per l'assassino, Bianchi, 1975) – ??/10
14) Damned in Venice (Nero veneziano, Liberatore, 1978) – 4.5/10
15) Short Night of Glass Dolls (La corta notte delle bambole di vetro, Lado, 1971) – 4.5/10
16) Delirio Caldo (Delirium, Polselli, 1972) – 1/10
17) Torso (I corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale, Martino, 1973) – 4/10
18) Paranoia (Orgasmo, Lenzi, 1969) – 4/10
19) A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (Una lucertola con la pelle di donna, Fulci, 1971) – 4/10
20) Amuck (Alla ricerca del piacere, Amadio, 1972) – 3.5/10
21) The Iguana With the Tongue of Fire (L'iguana dalla lingua di fuoco, Freda, 1971) – 1/10
22) The Case of the Scorpion's Tail (La coda dello scorpione, Martino, 1971) – 3.5/10
23) The New York Ripper (Lo squartatore di New York, Fulci, 1982) – 3.5/10.
24) The Bloodstained Shadow (Solamente nero, 1979, Bido) – 3.5/10
25) Don't Torture a Duckling (Non si sevizia un paperino, Fulci, 1972) – 3.5/10
26) Puzzle (L'uomo senza memoria, Tessari, 1974) – 3.5/10
27) The Case of the Bloody Iris (Perché quelle strane gocce di sangue sul corpo di Jennifer?, Carnimeo, 1972) – 3/10
28) French Sex Murders (Casa d'appuntamento, Merighi, 1972) – 1/10
29) So Sweet... So Perverse (Così dolce... così perversa, Lenzi, 1969) – 3/10
30) Naked Girl Murdered In the Park (Ragazza tutta nuda assassinata nel parco, Brescia, 1972) – 3/10
31) Watch Me When I Kill (Il gatto dagli occhi di giada, Bido, 1977) – 3/10
32) Knife of Ice (Il coltello di ghiaccio, Lenzi, 1972) – 2.5/10
33) Le Foto di Gioia (Delirium, Bava, 1987) – 1/10
34) A Quiet Place to Kill (Paranoia, Lenzi, 1970) – 2.5/10
35) One on Top of the Other aka Perversion Story (Una sull'altra, Fulci, 1969) – 2.5/10
36) Black Belly of the Tarantula (La tarantola dal ventre nero, Cavara, 1971) – 2.5/10
37) Death Carries A Cane (Passi di danza su una lama di rasoio, Pradeaux, 1973) – 1.5/10
38) The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (La dama rossa uccide sette volte, 1972, Miraglia) – 1.5/10

I am so glad I stumbled across this thread again.

I just watched The Red Queen Kills Seven Times and I must say, your review gave me a good chuckle. It is certainly not a great film, but I think it has some moments worth appreciating. The fun fashion of the time, the solid soundtrack, the castle setting. Of course a ton of beautiful women and the unintentional (or maybe intentional?) hilarity of Italian social mores. Certainly not an all-time classic but if it is the worst giallo, I have a lot to look forward to! I'd have probably rated it somewhere in the 4 or 5 range, personally.

The others I just picked up that I've yet to see are Don't Torture a Duckling, The Cat O Nine Tails, and Deep Red. I think I will watch them in that order too.

Interestingly, any time I have ever heard of "Who Saw Her Die?" I mostly just wanted to re-watch Don't Like Now rather than see it. But with the two positive reviews in this thread about it, maybe I need to give it a go.

For whatever it is worth, my favorite films in the genre are:
Suspiria
Tenebre
Blood and Black Lace

The latter two might flip flop for second, but that Goblin soundtrack and just the opening scene alone of Suspiria get me hooked every time. Seeing the 4K restoration was a revelation.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I need to rewatch Tenebrae and rank it here. The Three Mothers films certainly rank very high in Argento's filmo (well at least the first two), but they are not gialli.

 

[shadow1]

StageFright (1987) - 7/10

A stage production locked inside a theater is stalked by a serial killer.

Barbara Cupisti stars as Alicia, a struggling theater actress starring in a murder-mystery musical called The Night Owl. The rest of the large cast, which includes Betty (Ulrike Schwerk), Brett (Giovani Lombardo Radice), Danny (Robert Gligorov), Laurel (Mary Sellers), and Sybil (Jo Ann Smith), are equally as desperate for success, as is the verbally abusive director Peter (David Brandon). After a tragedy on set, Peter and the rest of the cast decide to rehearse all night, unaware they're being stalked by a deranged psychopath...

StageFright, aka Deliria, was directed by Michele Soavi and written by Lew Cooper and Sheila Goldberg. This was the feature directorial debut for Soavi, who was a protege of Dario Argento, having served as Second Unit Director on films like Tenebrea (1982), Phenomena (1985), and Opera (1987). He also directed the documentary Dario Argento's World of Horror (1988). How does StageFright fare?

Let's address the elephant in the room: is this Gialli? It seems to be heavily debated but is considered a late-era entry by some. StageFright was included in the Troy Howarth book series "So Deadly, So Perverse" as an entry in the genre. Maybe @Pranzo Oltranzista can shed more light. I don't think this review on a hockey forum is going to provide a definitive answer, but this still feels like the appropriate thread to post it in.

The biggest reason this is a question is because StageFright is more slasher than mystery. It's not a mystery in all, in fact. Despite what I believe to be a perfect set up for a whodunit - a member of the cast wearing the owl costume - the audience and the characters know who's stalking them. Their only mission is to escape the theater they've been locked in, which also makes this a good entry into the siege subgenre of horror movies.

And StageFrieght has a lot going for it. It's photographed beautifully, and the movie makes great use of the theater setting. The film is also extremely gory. I've watched 23 movies for this year's "Hooptober" so far, including the entire Child's Play series, and this movie is probably gorier than the other 22 films combined. Add in the unique look of the killer, and you've got a real winner.

Do I have any complaints? Not a ton. As mentioned, I thought it was a missed opportunity not to make this a whodunit. But critiquing the film as-is, there are a couple of idiot-plot moments. Not the most egregious movie ever in that respect, but one moment comes to mind in which the remaining characters could've stayed in place and would've been relatively safe, but then the movie would be over. There are also a few subplots that go nowhere (largely because those characters are turned into bird food), and the backstory of the killer is very convenient...but now I'm nitpicking.

Overall, StageFright is a recommended slasher/seige/pseudo-giallo horror movie. Made for an estimated $1M, the film underperformed according to director Soavi, though I couldn't find any earnings information. A Canadian film of the same name and similar premise came out in 2014, but it is not considered to be a remake.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Screen Drafts is a fun movie podcast that is in my rotation. They did an episode where the two guests ranked their the top 7 Giallos. Amusing discussion.

Here's a link to the results:

Giallo

"Giallo" is the 61st episode of Screen Drafts. Guest G.M.s Rebekah McKendry and Elric Kane selected the seven best giallo movies. The following films were drafted: 7. Torso by Elric Kane 6. Don't Torture a Duckling by Elric Kane 5. The House with Laughing Windows by Rebekah McKendry 4. The Bird...

screendrafts.fandom.com

(Stage Fright made me think of this because it made their list and is one of the ones I haven't seen).

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Maybe @Pranzo Oltranzista can shed more light.

I haven't seen it since the early 90s, and was under the impression that it was more of a (pretty good) slasher, but found this interesting thingy:

Influence is not a one way street. It wasn’t just American filmmakers absorbing (and outright stealing) giallo elements, as when Friday the 13th Part II famously replicated two entire kills right out of A Bay of Blood. Through the golden era of the American slasher film in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Italians were also watching our own output, and they were learning a thing or two simultaneously. And that is how you end up with an odd beast like 1987’s Stage Fright (also known under many titles such as Bloody Bird, Aquarius and Sound Stage Massacre), the most perfect 50-50 fusion I’ve ever encountered of American slasher and colorfully outlandish Italian giallo sensibilities, a veritable horror chimera that reflects every influence of the decade before it. It’s somehow both things, and more.​

So you were certainly right to include it in here (some of the films I listed are way more questionable) - and I should watch it again for sure (Aquarius is the title we had in Quebec).

 

[shadow1]

I haven't seen it since the early 90s, and was under the impression that it was more of a (pretty good) slasher, but found this interesting thingy:

Influence is not a one way street. It wasn’t just American filmmakers absorbing (and outright stealing) giallo elements, as when Friday the 13th Part II famously replicated two entire kills right out of A Bay of Blood. Through the golden era of the American slasher film in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Italians were also watching our own output, and they were learning a thing or two simultaneously. And that is how you end up with an odd beast like 1987’s Stage Fright (also known under many titles such as Bloody Bird, Aquarius and Sound Stage Massacre), the most perfect 50-50 fusion I’ve ever encountered of American slasher and colorfully outlandish Italian giallo sensibilities, a veritable horror chimera that reflects every influence of the decade before it. It’s somehow both things, and more.​

So you were certainly right to include it in here (some of the films I listed are way more questionable) - and I should watch it again for sure (Aquarius is the title we had in Quebec).

It definitely has that 80's Argento vibe. Without saying too much, it felt legitimately like a giallo at the very end of the film. It reminded me of another movie, but I can't put my finger on exactly which one. Possibly Opera (1987).

 

[shadow1]

The Bloodstained Shadow (1978) - 6/10

Decades after an unsolved murder, a village is tormented by a mysterious killer.

Lino Capolicchio stars as Stefano, a college professor who's traveled from Venice to visit his priest brother Don Paulo (Craig Hill) at a coastline village, befriending writer Sandra (Stefania Casini) during his journey. Don Paulo warns Stefano of the town's collection of nefarious characters, while Stefano himself struggles with the memory of an unsolved murder he witnessed as a child. During a dark and stormy night, Don Paulo witnesses a murder from his bedroom window and finds Stefano absent from his room. Shortly after, the priest begins receiving threatening letters...

The Bloodstained Shadow was directed by Antonio Bido, and written by Bido, Marisa Andalo, and Domenico Malan. This was Bido's second gialli, following 1977's Watch Me When I Kill. How does it fare?

It's filler giallo, but decent enough. I don't have a ton to add to @Pranzo Oltranzista's review on page 1 (aside from a slightly more favorable score). As stated, the film borrows a lot from Deep Red (1975) and doesn't bring a ton new to the table. But it's serviceable. Unlike my last review, this is unquestionably a gialli film, practically a by-the-numbers one. Someone can't remember something they've seen; meanwhile, a killer is on the loose. It's Giallo 101; we've seen this before.

But we want to see it again, and The Bloodstained Shadow scratches that gialli itch pretty well. I think the mystery is pretty good and the ending surprised me. I think the twist has some similarities to that of a much more famous, much better film. But that particular film hadn't come out yet, so kudos to this movie for surprising me and giving a satisfying ending.

With that said, part of the surprise is because things get messy at times. There's a major character introduced very late in the film, which I wasn't a big fan of. Even less so considering The Bloodstained Shadow is needlessly long at 104 minutes. There are at least a few filler scenes, including a gratuitous sex scene featuring a horrible cacophony of 70s-sounding adult film music. That's pretty much what most of the music in this film sounds like actually, which doesn't do the movie any favors.

Overall, The Bloodstained Shadow is the white rice of giallo films. If you've seen the classics and need a filler option, this isn't a bad choice. I've got it at a light 6 thanks to a decent mystery that kept me guessing, but the movie is far from original and drags at times. I couldn't find any budget or earnings information for this film.

 

[shadow1]

A Blade in the Dark (1983) - 7/10

A horror movie composer's rental property is stalked by an unknown killer.

Andrea Occhipinti stars as Bruno, a composer who's been hired to work on a horror movie. Being that he's new to the genre, the film's director, Sandra (Anny Papa), rents Bruno a secluded villa to help boost his creativity. Once settled in, Bruno learns the previous tenant disappeared under mysterious circumstances. After a series of unsettling finds, Bruno believes a murder occurred at the property...

A Blade in the Dark was directed by Lamberto Bava and written by Elisa Briganti and Dardano Sacchetti. This was Bava's second directorial effort, being offered the role while assisting on Tenebrae (1982). The film was originally shot as a four-part miniseries, but was converted into a movie after the Italian TV networks rejected it for being too violent. How does A Blade in the Dark fare?

I love it... but I'm a mark for this film. A Blade in the Dark is a bottle movie, with almost every scene set at a villa (which the film was written to shoot around). Our composer hero is alone in his creepy rental house, which features a mysterious locked room, a bunch of missing light bulbs, and a series of small but escalating incidents. What's not to love?

A Blade in the Dark contains some of the visual look of Tenebrae, though it has nothing close to the style of Dario Argento. However, it does have a great mystery. The film has a small roster of only seven main characters, and the movie casts suspicion on almost everyone to keep you guessing. The kills are solid too, helping to amplify the mystery. Speaking of characters, I've watched so many Italian movies lately that I'm starting to get overlap, with Michele Soavi (StageFright, The Church) and Giovanni Frezza (our good friend Bob from The House By the Cemetery) having supporting roles in this film. One unique thing about A Blade in the Dark is the music being composed by Bruno is also used as the theme for this film. I thought that was interesting... though the theme is overplayed quite a bit.

If I can go off on a tangent, I figured out the killer really early in this movie, based on almost no evidence. I thought A Blade in the Dark had a bit of cachet, but having now seen it, it doesn't seem to have a ton of fanfare. I *think* what happened is I nearly watched this years ago for one of the Hooptober categories and may have inadvertently discovered the ending but forgot about it? Either that or I'm slowly evolving into Sherlock Holmes. I'm rambling.

As far as negatives go, there were a couple moments early on in which (different) characters were blind as a bat. One was a situation where a person missed something critical inches in front of their feet; another was when a person is attacked, but they reasonably should've seen it coming, even though the audience couldn't. There were also moments where I thought the main character had more than reasonable cause to call the police. I wouldn't say Bruno acts illogically; he does get scared, but is just a little too casual in my opinion. If I went to use the bathroom and came back to find my beloved Saul Goodman bobblehead had been decapitated, I'm pretty sure I'd be arming myself, while hiding in the corner, while having a heart attack, while calling the police. On top of all those things, I'd probably need a diaper if the incident occurred when I was alone in a huge, empty rental property.

Overall, A Blade in the Dark was a joy to watch. It's far from a masterpiece, but it's got a memorable setting and strong mystery. I'm rating a bit up by giving it a "7", but IMDB (5.9) and Letterboxd (3.0/5) are a half-star too low for my liking. I couldn't find any budget or earnings information for A Blade in the Dark.

 

[shadow1]

Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971) - 7/10

A man recounts the story of his girlfriend's disappearance.

Jean Sorel stars as Gregory, a reporter whose body has just been discovered. But he's not dead! As Gregory tries to regain his consciousness and alert the hospital of his vitality, he recounts the events leading up to his predicament. An American reporter working in Prague, Gregory develops a serious relationship with local woman Mira (Barbara Bach). One night, Gregory is called out on a false news tip, returning home to find Mira missing. The police believe she's simply left Gregory, but the reporter disputes this due to her clothes and passport being left behind. With the help of co-workers Jacques (Mario Aforf) and Jessica (Ingrid Thulin), Gregory sets out to find Mira...

Short Night of Glass Dolls was directed by Aldo Lado, and written by Enzo Doria and Dieter Geissler. The film marked the directorial debut for Lado and went through several drafts, eventually being set in Prague after location scouting the region for a different movie that was never made. How does Short Night of Glass Dolls fare?

It's good, though more flawed than my score my indicate. As @Pranzo Oltranzista stated, this film is on the bleeding edge of being considered gialli. The movie is very light on violence and there's no mysterious killer - there's not even a body. But there's still a big mystery to solve, with fish-out-of-water characters conducting an informal investigation to get to the bottom of it, and it's painted with a stylized brush. Things start feeling more like a part of the genre towards the end.

Short Night of Glass Dolls (a title that makes zero sense, by the way) almost feels like an anthology film, with Gregory's time in the morgue serving as the wraparound story. This is the most memorable and unique part of the movie. The thought of being alive, yet on the verge of being autopsied, is horrifying. It's not the first time it's been done, but it's done well here.

The more by-the-numbers part of the film is just okay. There are a couple of scenes that are nicely stylized, along with a heavy emphasis on the communist government and corrupt police force trying to stop the investigation of our heroes. But this portion of the story isn't quite as interesting as the events at the morgue. Additionally, I personally found the twist to be a letdown, but your mileage may vary. When all the cards were on the table, I found the film to have some serious logic flaws that significantly impacted the entire product. Obviously I can't say more than that without spoiling things.

Overall, Short Night of Glass Dolls is a good movie that's more thriller than giallo most of the time. But I do think it's part of the genre, and a unique entry at that. Because of its memorable "wraparound" story, and in spite of some obvious shortcomings, I'm going with a light "7". I couldn't find any budget or earnings information for Short Night of Glass Dolls.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Obviously I can't say more than that without spoiling things.

I love how you manage to avoid saying too much while I went right for the punch in my 4 sentences comment.

Spoiler alert: don't read my comments.

 

[Nakatomi]

Not sure if it is just for cyber monday, but all the following are on sale for $3.99 on AppleTV in the US:

Death Walks on High Heels
Torso (in 4K!)
The Suspicious Death of a Minor

Any thoughts on them @Pranzo Oltranzista ? I thought there were recent reviews of that third one here on the site but I can't seem to find them if they exist.