#giallo film review

[kjudgemental]

Malignant - Horror Movie Review

Director: James Wan Production Compant: Atomic Monster/New Line Cinema/Starlight Media Inc/My Entertainment Inc Country: USA Year: 2021 James Wan, along with his regular co-conspirator Leigh Whannell, has redefined the modern Hollywood paranormal movie. With their names behind the Insidious and Conjuring franchises, their legacy over the past decade will be felt for decades to come.…

[eeterlik-naine]

Not sorry, but Art the clown is actually the best horror character pretty much ever and is even better than the horror characters that came before him. The simplicity of the character design mixed with the almost innocently naive and silliness to his acts of violence is terrifying and oddly charming. Idc about the lack of depth to the films. The films are true fun and scary horror. My favorite one is the one simply named Terrifier. It's gritty and creepy and mysterious like a Giallo film but is also as silly as a Marx brothers film. Art the Clown was created by a director who simply loves horror. Damien Leone reminds us that Italians make the best horror films. Italians (even if he's an American Italian) will always make horror films that are aesthetically pleasing while not shying away from gore. As much as I appreciate the A24 quality of horror, I can also appreciate horror that's campy as a low budget grindhouse, Giallo film.

[claygoestothemovies]

⭐️⭐️⭐️

After Ti West’s X and PEARL instantly solidified themselves as two of my favorite horror films from the past twenty years or so, MAXXXINE, as you can imagine, was one of my most anticipated films of the year. Was this going to be a perfect trilogy? Expectations were through the roof. The end product, while gorgeous, left a bit to be desired.

MAXXXINE picks up six years after the events of X, in 1985, with Maxine Minx (Mia Goth, excellent again) working her popular butt off to move forward from her past trauma and make damn sure everyone will know her name. She’s quite successful in the adult entertainment industry, but now she’s got her sights set on Hollywood. What follows is Ti West’s take on the giallo.

The vibes are exquisite. The eighties aesthetic alone is worth the price of admission! The story, however, centering on Maxine taking in a role in a new horror film with an intense (female!) director (Elizabeth Debicki) while the Night Stalker is terrorizing the streets is paper thin, as most giallos tend to be. The audience knows who the killer is practically from the opening scene, so the reveal in the third act lands with the weight of a wet pasta noodle. You wonder why the requisite cop duo (Bobby Cannavale and Michelle Monaghan) are so bad at their job.

The horror elements all work to great effect, West is in his wheelhouse here. The kills are fantastic, with a body count appropriate to a third film in a horror franchise. Mia Goth turns in another powerhouse performance, her work in this trilogy is some of my favorite acting of all time. It’s also got a fun supporting cast, Kevin Bacon in particular is clearly having a blast with the material. Unfortunately none of the characters are really given anything to do, so it largely feels like a waste of talent.

By the time the credits rolled, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. I still greatly enjoyed it, and it’ll definitely be something I’ll revisit for the vibes alone. This is definitely the weakest entry, but that’s only because the first two were SO strong - if this were a horror film released in a vacuum I think I would have loved it more. That being said, if you weren’t quite as hot on X or PEARL, maybe this one will be the one that works for you! There’s only one way to find out - go to the movies and see it on the big screen.

3/5

[beachballlz]

if letterboxd ever did a variation of Spotify wrapped I'd literally kms because why have I spent thousands of hours sitting consuming actual brainrot just call me a loser to my face

(I can't stop watching giallos)

[moviesandmania]

THE CASE OF THE BLOODY IRIS Reviews of quintessential Giallo plus 4K details

The Case of the Bloody Iris is a 1972 Giallo horror-thriller film directed by Giuliano Carnimeo (RatMan) [as Anthony Ascott] from a screenplay by Ernesto Gastaldi. The original title – Perché quelle strane gocce di sangue sul corpo di Jennifer? – translates as “Why Are There Strange Drops of Blood on Jennifer’s Body?” The movie stars Edwige Fenech, George Hilton, Paola Quattrini and Giampiero…

[watching-pictures-move]

Movie Review | Giallo (Argento, 2009)

Here’s how you know the killer is one twisted motherfucker. He’s sitting at his table, looking at bestiality hentai in a glossy trade paperback, when he decides to pull up photos of his victims on his computer and start jacking it, all while sucking on a pacifier. Most movies would rely on just one or two of those things to establish how messed up he is, or just let you settle for the torture and murder he metes out. But he’s noted to be a “redundant killer” who practices “overkill”, and here you see that principle in motion. Later he does whippets and pees in a sink. What a sick fuck.

He’s played by Adrien Brody in chunky makeup that makes him look like Robert Z’dar with Jheri curls. Brody also plays the hero, a detective haunted by traumatic flashbacks tinted piss yellow. I watched this on Tubi under the title Color of Fear, and those scenes and the villain’s jaundiced complexion provide the answer. Apparently Brody doesn’t think too highly of the movie, but I enjoyed his work here. His commitment to both characters keeps this pretty watchable, even if Argento’s direction doesn’t really support his performances or the ones by Emmanuelle Seigner and Elsa Pataky.

This is nobody’s favourite Argento, but I didn’t think it was that bad. The maestro’s classic style is nowhere to be seen, and instead we have something more televisual, which makes the violence additionally pungent. But I do think there’s something to the torture porn violence being juxtaposed not just against the usual grubby interiors the genre is so fond of, but the worn, crumbling architecture of the less picturesque parts of Turin that this takes us to. I wish Argento got more visual mileage out of this dynamic, but I found this watchable enough.

[itscodebaby]

Welcome to my humble blog!

Here you will find the absolute best (and WORST!) of what the 80s and 90s had to offer. If you were born in the 2000s and beyond and are curious about how your parents lived

OR

You want to revisit some of the things that shaped the person you are today, you've come to the right place!

I also have a YouTube channel where I watch B-movies for the first time and give my take on them. I grew up watching B-movies, but because I was so young in their heyday, I missed out on a lot of classics. My mission is to catch up on what I missed and share the joy of B-movies with those who have never watched them.

[rae-arachne]

🕸the spider's gaze: horror film reviews🕸

Welcome to the spider's gaze, where I pluck something from the Cave of Carnography and see what it has to say about drugs, sex, violence, and the human condition.Tonight's film...

All the Colors of the Dark (1972) (Originally: Tutti i colori del buio)

(Internet Archive) (Dog the Dog Die)

Horror: 2.5/5 (Bloody and intense, but not very scary)

Horny/Homoerotic: 3.5/5 (Great if you like boobs)

Good as in well constructed: 2.5/5

Good as in I liked it: 3/5

Overall: B- (which is perfect for some nights)

Summary: A classic horror story where a woman descending into "hysteria" has to figure out if she can trust anyone in her life, including herself (a tale as old as Freud).

In this case, Jane is recovering from a car-crash induced miscarriage and is plagued with dreams/visions of a knife-wielding man with striking blue eyes.

In the first corner of people vying for her trust are her long-term fiance Richard, who is doing just all of the suspicious boyfriend things: telling her it's nothing, basically forcing her to drink some kind of brightly colored medicine, staring at her sister get dressed (there's a lot of titties in this one), the whole shebang. Not to mention that he's the one who caused the car crash.

In the second corner we have the aforementioned exhibitionist sister, Barbara and her psychoanalyst of choice, Dr.Burton. In a rare turn of events, Barbara is actually supportive of Jane and her suspicions of Richard, and that something really is wrong.

And in a surprise third corner there is the mysterious new neighbor, Mary, who after one cup of tea, invites Jane to a creepy sex cult (I don't invite people to my creepy sex cult until the third cup of tea, but I'm old fashion like that.)

After drinking some blood (you really want to check out the Does the Dog Die page) and orgy-ing it up with the cult, things start to look good for Jane, but the cult soon gets overly possessive (plot twist?) A bunch of stuff that may or may not have happened happens (or it doesn't), and it turns out Richard is actually not a part of the creepy sex cult and actually has Jane's best interests at heart (at least, more than Barbara, who was a part of the creepy sex cult.) The movie ends when Richard throws the cult leader off of a roof and Jane tells him, "I'm scared to not be myself anymore."

Review/Analysis: A very 70's giallo movie, and a kind of predecessor to Perfect Blue and Black Swan. If that doesn't spark your fancy, then there's probably not much in this for you. However, if you like the blurring line between reality and fantasy and a kind of sexual liberation that involves an identity crisis. (and of course, lots of tits), it doesn't get much more schlocky yet sincere than this.

If you've ever doubted that porn and horror and sisters, you should watch this movie and remove that ridiculous doubt. This is a very porny horror movie, which is exactly what I look for within the Cave of Carnography. It's not just that there are a lot of long lingering shots of women, it's structured almost exactly like erotica, switching between the mundane and the evocative, building up in intensity until...well, in this case, until it kind of just peters out. After the cult orgy (which has some awesome music, boosts the movie up a whole letter grade), it's a lot of the cult trying to track her down and kill the people in their way for at least an hour. Just like Detective Pikachu, the third act of All the Colours of the Dark doesn't really make anything out of the interesting concepts it sets-up. It's very twisty, but so much that it loses a lot of it's impact, like The Autopsy of Jane Doe, or a bad episode of Rick and Morty. It doesn't actually answer the questions of sexual liberation and autonomy it invokes, partially because it purposefully leaves it ambiguous and partially because it didn't actually think that much about them.

I assume the creators were assuming you probably wouldn't be watching too closely by that part though. With plenty of blood and sex in the first half, it's the perfect kick-off if you've brought over a special goth friend of your for the night.

[spook-study]

It is no exaggeration when people say Mario Bava is the father of Giallo; the man who created the style and set the form. When one thinks of a Giallo movie, one may think of Suspiria, or Deep Red, or City of the Living Dead, but the pictures imagined are captured in their truest form in Blood and Black Lace (1964). Perhaps the most Giallo-Giallo movie of all time, Mario Bava lets you know you’re in for a visual treat. This movie is so unfathomably good, it makes all other Gialli look merely like attempts at the genre.

Okay, that is an exaggeration, but it’s impossible to deny how instantaneously captivating and daring Blood and Black Lace is from it’s very first moments. Bava drowns you in with the classic colors of the genre, rich vapid red, and cold, steely blue, but there’s nothing flat about presentation. These colors are constantly being complemented by another excellent color contrast: bright, vibrant magenta and earthy, glowing green. This latter half being used as a secondary pallet, the combination being one of the strongest most woefully underused. Even with this flooded rainbow, no color is desaturated, no subtly of tone is missed. This is all made clear in the beginning sequence- the credits.

Filmed almost as a television pre-show credit, à la The Brady Bunch, Bava displays the main players in the dark, surrounded by almost violent splashes of color. They’re Posing with plants, cages and, most strikingly, bright red mannequins. One actress mirroring hers crimson counterpart, the next actress having a mannequin’s manicured hand around her neck. These were not stills edited into the movie, these are the living, breathing actors standing as still as humanly possible. What cannot be denied, however, is that they are alive. It may be silly to say, but the decision to attack the required opening credits this way was a breath of genius. Even before the movie proper has begun, you are being introduced to an idea of a person, and by the film’s start you feel as though you already know them. They’re not just characters on a screen, they are real people.

It’s intrigue, it’s mystery. It takes its time, and what may now be considered film-making clichés, it’s obvious Blood and Black Lace is no mimicry. The same way the Godfather is no stereotypical mafioso movie- it made the mold. The revelation of drug habits and affairs, secret illnesses, extortion, scandal, the rich, the camera cutting to every single person as a diary is mentioned, the seedy jazz score delivering purposefully intense stings at the shot of each character’s face. The diary is revealed, and the movement begins.

Taking place in a fashion house, it’s no wonder Black Lace focuses on colors and intensity. A fashion house is a high-stress environment no matter a mysterious tell-all diary. It suits that the lavish views, expertly displayed by tracking shots across dressing booths and down halls, contain as much severity as the secrets the main players are keeping. The slow, still shots pull you into the depths of the screen, and Bava isn’t afraid to use the background as playing space. This allows the viewer to suffer the same anticipation as the characters themselves, offering the chance to see things our frightened model can’t. The mastery of Black Lace, however, ensures you almost never do; not until the exact right moment. Clever camerawork and cluttered, luscious spaces have your eyes darting every which way in search of a killer, amping up the mystery.

But that’s nothing compared to the mid-movie plot development that feels entirely shocking. Just as you may have thought the movie was going to follow one path, it had already misled you; unmooring you from the comfort of supposition and subsequently dragging you along for the rest of the ride. The slow revelation of the killer’s identity, the murders, and the personal lives of the cast continue the movie, and the killer, on, in a string of misfortunes and tragedy.

No one does it like Bava. If you’re looking to introduce yourself to the best of the genre, Blood and Black Lace is the place to start. If you’re a fan of Giallo who hasn’t yet seen it, what have you been waiting for! Made in 1964, what feels like ages before the pique of Giallo in the 70s and early 80s, Blood and Black Lace still surprises with the level of violence and was quite shocking at times. Due to the period there is, of course, very little gore. But that doesn’t mean you don’t feel like you witnessed a brutal killing, front to back, in graphic fashion. Every kill is ramped up to the perfect degree. The execution of each makes it feel like you have seen everything.

Not only does this movie look beautiful and delectable, Mario Bava knows how to film death. It is as though he was made for it. The sequences with the masked killer are violent and sometimes brutally realistic while still being drenched in color. There are, of course, sexual overtones, but the constraints of era serve only to benefit. It allowed the director to push the boundaries of film in the 60s, leaving a perfect amount of the risqué. While later Gialli can feel like they are verging on pornographic, Black Lace titillates and situates itself not in grimy city streets, but in the smoke-filled boudoir. Stunning women being partially exposed, revealing the eponymous black lace underclothes of the English title. There’s a sensuality, a richness, and an intimacy to the whole affair.

What’s left to say? It may well be a perfect movie. If not that, it certainly is a perfect Giallo. You’ll find no citizen detectives here, the police force investigates to great effect, even arresting every single suspect- just as you always scream at the movie for the police to do. The colors are gravitational, masterful and never overworn. The acting is well done, suffering only from the English overdub and actors learning their lines only phonetically. But the overdub too, is recorded with passion and verve. The murders are varied, unique, and violent. The camerawork is sublime. It’s delectable, it feels like a treat. It feels like a decadence.

Maybe this movie isn’t for everyone, but it’s impossible to imagine who wouldn’t like this movie. It’s to die for. Indulgent, succulent, and begging to be devoured, Blood and Black Lace (1964)  may sit at the very pinnacle of Giallo film making, and is the perfect example of why Mario Bava is considered the best: he makes murder into art.

5/5

Postscript:

Gialli have a habit of losing their titles in translation, and the Italian names are often better, but is 6 donne per l'assassino, which translates to '6 Women for the Murderer,’ the better title? For once, I think the answer might be no. Blood and Black Lace is far more evocative. Score one for the translators.

[oceans11]

the inverse truth of that film twitter complaint that the most popular letterboxd reviews for major culturally significant movies will be one-line zingers is that you can look up the most random sub-three star movie and one of the top reviews will be a multiple paragraphs on deep personal significance and/or incredible analytical insight

[ogradyfilm]

Recently Viewed: Torso

I’ll say this for Torso: it wastes little time; within the first ten seconds of the opening credits, a woman has already removed her shirt, posed seductively for the benefit of the camera, and engaged in an awkward pantomime of sexual intercourse. While such shallow, obligatory titillation doesn’t normally appeal to me, I admire director Sergio Martino’s lack of pretense: he knows exactly what his audience expects and delivers the goods almost immediately.

The film is otherwise rather pedestrian by giallo standards; then again, pretty much everything pales in comparison to the seminal works produced by Mario Bava (Blood and Black Lace, A Bay of Blood) and Dario Argento (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Deep Red). I’d characterize the cinematography as competent and serviceable, but relatively unspectacular; the lighting, for example, is borderline naturalistic, with nary a colored gel in sight. Nevertheless, the action is punctuated by just enough bold, moody compositions to keep the viewer invested. This stylistic patience pays off during the movie’s explosive climax, when all of the previously restrained excess and maximalism are finally unleashed in a single magnificent set piece: a deliciously suspenseful game of cat-and-mouse that features minimal dialogue for nearly twenty minutes—a masterclass in silent storytelling.

Ultimately, Torso is the genre equivalent of a palate cleanser: run-of-the-mill, middle-of-the-road, and aggressively average. And that’s not necessarily a negative criticism; there’s great artistic value in being unexceptional. Not every meal needs to be a five-star gourmet experience; occasionally, a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich will suffice.

[celluloidwickerman]

Deep Red; or Renditions of Murder

“But to learn to dye is better than to study the ways of dying.” – Sir Thomas Browne Writing He stalks with a lens, Short hair and floral dresses: Red, Deep red.                                                           The lens is a recollection, Occurring at a wooden desk, With a typewriter, Tapped by fingers, clothed in black leather; Dead skin masks for desperate hands. No…

[moviesandmania]

WATCH ME WHEN I KILL Reviews and free on Plex, Tubi, YouTube

 ‘When I go beserk…you’re better off dead’ Watch Me When I Kill is a 1977 Italian giallo thriller film directed by Antonio Bido (The Bloodstained Shadow); it stars Corrado Pani, Paola Tedesco and Franco Citti. Trans Europa Express provide the Goblin-influenced score. The original Italian title is Il gatto dagli occhi di giada (“The Cat with Jade Eyes”) and it is also known as The Cat’s…

[jimsmovieworld]

TRAUMA- 1993 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Anorexic teenager Aura (Asia Argento) escapes from a psych ward. She meets a charming young guy who wants to help her. Her mother is the latest victim of a serial killer who cuts the heads off of a psychic whenever it rains. Aura uses her inherited powers to try and find the culprit.

Horror director Dario Argento presents an interesting combination of his signature Giallo style and an American slasher/whodunnit. Was refreshing having a very different setting and feel to one of his films. i thought the opening was fantastic. the next 45 minutes were pretty good too. i didnt find the rest of the film nearly as good, but still enjoyed the vibe and a few good beheadings along the way.

[scary-hoe]

Hey Slasher Sisters! Another movie review is coming in hot this Friday! This week I tuned into some Italian horror (aka, the horror of my people ❤) with this Giallo cult classic by Lucio Fulci -- Zombie. This film had a lot of positives to it, but wait until you hear about the moment that it absolutely blew my mind! Read below to find out what scene made me drop my jaw 👻