#proto-giallo

[thechemistryset]

Peggy Moffitt, Blow-Up, 1966

[weirdlookindog]

Il mostro di Venezia (1965)

[ladamarossa]

A Dragonfly for Each Corpse (1975)

[thevideodungeon]

The Embalmer (1965)

A very good giallo film that leans heavily into the elements that would later come to define the slasher subgenre. A story about a killer who stalks women by scuba diving through the Venice canals and then brings them back to his lair so he can preserve their bodies. It's also one of those movies that may have been unintentionally brilliant. Focusing on the stalking and snatching of the victims, then skipping to them being embalmed and displayed, without showing most of the actual deaths. And the film analysis explanation for that is that the killer was only interested in collecting and preserving the women, with their deaths just being incidental to that process, and as such the film treats their deaths as insignificantly as the killer. Of course, the more likely explanation is that it was just too costly and difficult to film several underwater death scenes that wouldn't even add that much to the film, and that absence just happened to lend itself to the themes.

7/10

[classicalshorts]

Yellow Varieties

Welcome to this the sixth entry in Cool Colours. Yellow is wonderful and represents rather a unique case in this series' exploration. To look at the word at first glance, you would be forgiven for thinking that our word yellow has no links to Latin whatsoever. You would be both right and wrong, however. There is a link and a rather neat and unusual one. The word yellow is more closely connected to German 'gelb'. But it doesn't look like that either, you say. So, here is a brief glimpse at this lovely colour name's history. It stems primarily from the early German word 'gelwaz', to which the Italian 'giallo' is also related. Both stem ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European (henceforth PIE) word 'ghel-' which meant 'to shine'. Now PIE, is now widely believed to have been an early, now extinct language, from which most European languages and Sanskrit were all born. Now, here comes the Latin link. Latin is also descended from PIE and its word for pale yellow, helvus, comes from the same parent stem as German 'gelb'. So, it is linked to the word, it is just a relative that evolved slightly differently. Also, if you read the Latin helvus, pronouncing the 'v' as a 'w' (as many argue it should be) the connection with our 'yellow' becomes clearer.

Our trip through the colour yellow does not stop there. I have three further Classical terms for yellow for you that bequeathed us words in English. Let us start with Latin.

Have you ever read that you should get more of the vitamin Riboflavin (B2) in your diet? Well, the 'flavin' part of the word comes from the Latin flavus, meaning 'yellow', often a golden or reddish shade of yellow. 'What's a vitamin got to do with 'yellow'?' ,you ask. Well, the flavins are a group of organic compounds, from which Riboflavin is derived, and their colour is, you've got it, YELLOW. They are very important to life. So green might be life, but it appears yellow is, too.

Could your hair be described as 'fulvous'? No, it does not mean it is voluminous (full-vous, get it? Never mind). Again, this rather old-fashioned and probably forgotten word comes from another Latin word for 'yellow', this time fulvus, which denotes a brownish, tawny yellow. It was often used to describe lions.

Lastly, can I ask you if your daffodils betray a xanthic hue? So, we head over to the ancient Greeks for our penultimate yellow word of today. The Greek word ξανθος (xanthos) could denote hair that was blonde or even auburn, so again it can denote a reddish gold.

Crocus is our final shade today. Now, we see crocuses that are pink, blue, and yellow, but Greek word (κροκος) originally referred to the saffron plant, which yields a famous rich yellow colouring. There is even rather a sweet instance of it being used in a Greek text to describe the colour of egg-yolks.

The bright, cheerful colour yellow therefore, not only has a great etymological (i.e. word family) history, but it also has many different variations in Classical terms. EGG-sellent! Okay, there's a reason I'm a classicist not a comedian. I hope you enjoyed this instalment. See you on the next one.

[gazellefamily]

WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOUR DAUGHTERS (1974)

"Ha! Take a GUESS what they've done!!! That's that proto-Epstein shit. I love so much that Criterion is showcasing stuff like THIS. Somewhere between giallo and politziotteschi - more the latter but with a totally insane meat cleaver-weilding black leather killer who's never really explained but basically provides spice. The lead actor made another movie just like this called SUSPICIOUS DEATH OF A MINOR and he rrrrocked in both of them. Wears glasses and corduroy and looks like he wandered out of a Wes movie but solves sess murders. This was a good one." -Tommy Gazelle

[thegoregoregirls]

31 Days of Halloween: Day 24+25 - Il Pozzo e il Pendolo

Regia – Roger Corman (1961) Ieri era la volta del Giallo all’italiana e io me la sono cavata rivedendo Torso di Sergio Martino, uno dei miei film preferiti del filone, nonché proto-slasher di un certo livello; oggi tocca a un altro nome buttato lì, quello di Vincent Price. Non si può e non si deve saltare la giornata dedicata a Vincent Price, anche se questa cosa di occupare metà delle giornate…

[thebearboy]

Day 16-- The Spiral Staircase--1946-- A young, mute domestic servant is stalked by a serial murderer who targets the disabled.

While not necessarily "horror" in the strictest sense of the word... TSS has obviously established itself as a proto-slasher and major influence on the giallo films that would follow. Very enjoyable and watchable with some amazing shots and scenes.

[spoilsofwar666]

January Giallo Day 19 The Possessed (AKA The Woman of the Lake) Dipped back into my @arrowvideo Red Giallo Essentials set today and a little early since I got errands to run before work tomorrow. I really liked this movie. Classic films of the '60's hit differently, for sure. The presentation and feel of the film is really well done. Since it's in Black and White and there's no nudity or gore, it's solely dependent on the acting and the story. Which both are top notch. This isn't a straight giallo either, it's a proto giallo. And you can see where the influence from this movie carries over. The reveal was nice too. Good build up. #Horror #HorrorMovies #HorrorJunkie #BloodJunkie #GoreWhore #Blood #Guts #BloodAndGuts #Shudder #HorrorReviews #MovieReviews #EverydayIsHalloween #InfectedVoice #Metal #MetalAndHorror #MetalHead #SpoilsOfWar #JanuaryGiallo #ItalianHorror #ThePossessed #TheWomanOfTheLake #ProtoGiallo #ArrowVideo #GialloEssentials #EdgarWrightChallenge https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnnr2igr6T7/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[grindhousecellar]

[splatteronmywalls]

[lostgoonie1980]

254. A Maldição do Demônio (La maschera del demonio, 1960), dir. Mario Bava

[weirdlookindog]

 Il mostro di Venezia (1965)

AKA The Embalmer

[ladamarossa]

A Hyena in the Safe (1968)

[thevideodungeon]

A Bay of Blood (1971)

A giallo film so stylistically influential on the slasher subgenre that you can almost forget that it's from 1971. It's got all the stalking scenes through dynamically lit locations, gruesome gore, and of course, skinny dipping that you would expect to see a decade later, all in top form. The story though is still one that sticks to more traditional crime tropes, people dropping dead with a valuable inheritance on the line. If you're a fan of slashers or—gory—crime dramas, this is definitely one worth checking out.

7/10

[everydaym0nstrosity]

Il mostro di Venezia ["The Monster of Venice"] AKA The Embalmer (1965), directed by Dino Tavella.