Giallo thread

[Wllm Clys Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Wllm Clys]

I didn't find a thread dedicated to giallo films on this forum, so here it is
I was never very fond of this genre, with obvious exceptions of course, and I've decided to give some of those films another chance. Sometimes the stories are bit too complicated for my taste and I get disappointed when it turns out it was all just a conspiracy that involves money (instead of maniacal bloodlust :) ), but other times, they can be really amazing. My favourites so far are 'Strange Vice ...' and 'What have you done to Solange?'.

[Apronikoff Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Apronikoff]

Nice to see a dedicated thread for giallos pop up. While I love lots of the various sub-genres in exploitation and euro-cult film, the giallo will always be the beating heart at the center of my fandom--my first love, if you will. Unfortunately, I'm at the point of watching them where I've more or less seen all the ones frequently cited as favorites in the genre...so when I put on one I haven't seen I always go in with the expectation that I'm about to see a 2nd or (more likely) 3rd rate entry in the genre. Consequently I don't hunt them down with quite the same excitement I used to.

In regards to William's point...I think perhaps you've hit on one of the necessary qualities for really getting into giallos--t ability to shrug off plot as being the icing, rather than the cake. For me the joy of the genre is one of spectacle: the fashion, music, locations, women, set-pieces, chase scenes etc. When choosing between a well-plotted, mature and restrained giallo on the one hand, and an incoherent but sleazy and colorful giallo on the other, I'll always pick the second kind of film.

My favorites: What have you done to Solange, Torso, Your Vice is a Locked Room..., Femina Ridens, Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Black Belly of the Tarantula, Perversion Story, New York Ripper, The Killer Must Kill Again, The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

Big fan of the genre too. I have a special fondness for the psychosexual ones (usually late 60s/early 70s) like the Lenzi/Baker films - A QUIET PLACE TO KILL, PARANOIA, SO SWEET SO PERVERSE, and KNIFE OF ICE. THE SWEET BODY OF DEBORAH is another I love, particularly the Nora Orlandi score.

Some other favorites (aside from the always-mentioned heavy hitters): DEATH OCCURRED LAST NIGHT, EYE IN THE LABYRINTH, FOOTPRINTS, PENSION PAURA,THE DOUBLE, MY DEAR KILLER and a couple Spanish ones: NO ONE HEARD THE SCREAM and GLASS CEILING.

[Alex K. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Alex K.]

Not a huge fan of the genre. I like only a few films, mostly made by the three masters (Bava, Fulci, Argento) but exceptions to the rule would be: Torso, Autopsy, and more recently Black Belly of the Tarantula.

[Richard--W a straight arrow Find all posts View Profile Close Richard--W]

Love the Giallo, but I find there are some important films in the genre I haven't seen. Andrew Monroe lists a few of those in his post above. I'm trying to find NoShame's LUCIANO ERCOLI'S DEATH WALKS AT MIDNIGHT / DEATH WALKS ON HIGH HEELS 2-disc set at a sane and rational price. I meant to pick it up when it came out, but it just got away from me. Anybody know where it can be had?

[Randy G Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Randy G]

BLACK BELLY is excellent as are the previously mentioned KILLER MUST KILL AGAIN, SHORT NIGHT OF THE DOLLS and FOOTPRINTS.

[Alex K. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Alex K.]

I forgot to mention the pseudo trilogy of ultra sadistic gialli. I want to say the films have been referred to something as a trilogy at least in tone, and it's not just me. I think fanboys back in the day also referred to these movies as a kind of trilogy:

Giallo in Venice

New York Ripper

The Killer is Still Among Us

Among them my favorite probably is The Killer is Still Among Us. Giallo in Venice is fun trash, wouldn't recommend the extra long version unless you want to be bored by more tepid softcore scenes but the violence is absolutely nasty and still is even today. But nothing else works and there's no mystery angle. Still fun eurotrash. New York Ripper is frustrating to me and I'm going to go into essay territory:

The opening featuring the old man and his dog and the police station is completely pointless and establishes nothing. The title clues us in that there's a serial killer in NY. The scene isn't shocking and doesn't set up anything. We never see the killer dump bodies in the Hudson River or anywhere else, throughout the film the killer just leaves them where he killed them. The police station bit ruins the twisted unexpectedness that the killer quacks like a duck. You could argue that it introduces us to Jack Hedley's character but I will argue that it would've been stronger to introduce him after the first murder.

God do I wish Vincenzo Tomassi just cut out these two nothing scenes. Sorry but that always bothered me. Imagine you're going into the Fulci films blind. You haven't seen the trailers and you haven't read any reviews. You start with House by the Cemetery, you think "Okay, I'm going to guess it has something to do ghosts, maybe it's like Poltergeist or the Shining?" and the opening scene tells you right away that this is a gory slasher with supernatural overtones. Now you watch New York Ripper "Okay, I guess from the title there's a serial killer in NY, wonder what's going to happen?" and the opening establishes the obvious.

Then we get to the first kill, and it's an interesting idea but the big problem I have with it is that the actress so easily gives up in a very audible sigh when she discovers she cannot push open the door fully. Did she forget the killer was still next to her? An odd moment of clumsiness for Fulci, though it could've been the actress' fault on that one. The kill itself is absolutely brutal but then there's the duck voice. I still have no idea what to make of the Duck Voice. Maybe it sounded differently in Italian? Until then I can only judge it by the English dub. It's laughable but it provides an interesting contrast to the ultra violence on the screen. What I would give to know what Fulci was going for with the Duck voice. A pity that no one asked him that question while he was alive. However, I am reminded of David Lynch's original intent in Blue Velvet that Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) would inhale helium before he would commit random acts of violence. An interesting thought. Maybe NYR serves as a good example as to why that wouldn't work? Or maybe Lynch was inspired by Fulci's film? It's not impossible, NYR came out 5 years before Blue Velvet and Glen and Glenda was one of Lynch's influences.

Aside from that New York Ripper just bounces around from scene to scene. From softcore to red herrings to more ultra violence, typical of the gialli, but ineffective here I think. There's some amazing scenes in New York Ripper to it's credit, but it just doesn't come together very well. I'd love to see the cut extended gore re-inserted somehow. I know one shot (not Daniella Doria' death scene) where a razor slices into a girl's hand is much done much slower in the trailer and is actually very brief in the finished film.

The Killer is Still Among us I like the most because it's actually kinda' unique. It's barely a gialli, There's a murder mystery element but we're deliberately not told who the killer is. Also because it was based on a real and ongoing case at the time. Which makes it closer to Henry POASK yet it's still shot like a Gialli. It has some slowness in the middle but the overall tone is so different and the violence ESPECIALLY at the finale could be best defined as soul shattering to women everywhere. BTW, subtitled version with good picture quality is on Cinemageddon.

[sukebanboy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sukebanboy]

NEW YORK RIPPER is the one for me!!!

It is exactly what I wanted form a giallo...if not a perfectly made movie...

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

The Killer is Still Among us I like the most because it's actually kinda' unique. It's barely a gialli, There's a murder mystery element but we're deliberately not told who the killer is. Also because it was based on a real and ongoing case at the time. Which makes it closer to Henry POASK yet it's still shot like a Gialli. It has some slowness in the middle but the overall tone is so different and the violence ESPECIALLY at the finale could be best defined as soul shattering to women everywhere. BTW, subtitled version with good picture quality is on Cinemageddon.

THE KILLER IS STILL AMONG US has some very disturbing violence. It's one of two films based on the then ongoing serial murders - the other is IL MOSTRO DI FIRENZE. Both have appeared in fansubbed versions over the last few years. IL MOSTRO isn't as sleazy as KILLER though it too is in questionable taste. I was actually in Florence in the mid-80s when the case was huge news and I didn't have a clue there was a serial killer at large. There's a pretty good english language book about the case, The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi.

[Alex K. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Alex K.]

I re-watched New York Ripper. I think it holds up reasonably well once the murders kick in. The direction is tight and the violence is sick but that duck voice just takes you out of it. It's inspired me to try to re-edit it and either mute or lower the pitch of the duck voice, delete the two opening scenes, and add back in the extended hand slicing seen in the trailer.

[Wllm Clys Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Wllm Clys]

I watched Black Belly of the Tarantula yesterday. Good stuff! A very well-paced thriller, not as sleazy as other gialli I've seen, but this one didn't really need it.

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

Yup, BLACK BELLY is a good one. Great Morricone score and it doesn't hurt to have one of the more outstanding collections of eurobabes either.

[Randy G Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Randy G]

I also think it benefits from having Giannini in the lead and the relationship between him and his wife is much better written and developed than in any other giallo I can think of.

[Richard--W a straight arrow Find all posts View Profile Close Richard--W]

Aside from its wonderfully creepy title and visual style, BLACK BELLY OF THE TARANTULA, is one of the very best giallos because it's good drama first.

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

Tis true, one of the big reasons I like DEATH OCCURRED LAST NIGHT so much is the unusually realistic home life Frank Wolff and his wife have, this and the constant bickering he and partner Gabriele Tinti engage in give the film a real human touch. I would have loved to see a series of films centered around these two cops.