The Giallo Thread

[MrBarlow]

The Police Are Blundering In The Dark. 1975.

A serial killer is targeting young woman, a journalist searching for his friend teams with a eccentric photographer.

This is something of a strange one for Giallo, it does start off with the usual thing lone woman being killed, a guy ignoring his girlfriend as he is in bed with another woman and then it goes on and off the rails. A photographer who has invented a machine that photographs people's thoughts seems to head towards a bit of Science-Fiction but there is a few topless woman scenes that keeps the entertainment going.

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[MrBarlow]

The Killer Is One Of 13. 1973.

A widow invites a group of people to her secluded house and believes one of them killed her husband but soon the guests begin to die.

Patty Shephard leads the way in this Spanish Giallo as the woman who seems to partially knows which one of her assortment of house guests killed her husband. We do get a decent character build up from the guests and their background and connection to the deceased but at times it does feel like it's a bit to much talky talky, but when the murders in the house start happening it does become a good mystery. Although this sort of thing has been done before, it's one i'd happily return to.

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[MrBarlow]

The Girl In Room 2A. 1974.

A sinister cult kidnaps and sacrifices young girls, a newly parole girl goes to stay in a boarding house feels something is wrong until a brother of a missing woman turns up and and both try to find the truth about the boarding house.

Director William Rose started this film off well like any Giallo, a good bloody murder but then from a good start the plot goes slow and somewhat a bit daft then goes back on track towards the last 20 minutes. Daniela Giordano plays the newly released Edie who has visions of her prison cell and seeing a masked figure and able to forget whats going on while getting her kit off with John Scanlon. Its not the best but will watch this again.

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[MrBarlow]

Who Saw Her Die. 1972.

A sculptor's daughter is found dead and starts to do his own investigation only to discover that a young girl died four years previously.

A nicely styled visually shot movie set in and around Venice with George Lazenby (sporting a 70s porn star moustache and hair do) as a top sculptor who wants answers surrounding his daughter's death. This has the calling card of mysteries, a black gloved killer, victims has something in common, people around the grieving parent who may know something and the big twist at the end.

This isn't over the top with the murders or descriptions probably due to the nature of the victims, but right at the start director Aldo Lado does manage to create a good tense atmosphere that stays with the movie to the end.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Pyjama Girl Case (1977)

Set in Sydney, Australia, the only Giallo to take place there, this tells the story of a retired police inspector (Ray Milland) brought back to help out with a case in which a young woman's body, wearing pyjamas, was found burned to death on the beach.

Based on a real life unsolved murder from the 30's this was the very first Giallo movie i ever saw via a vhs from Redemption Films in the mid 90's. The genre was new to me and i absolutely loved this first time round. However the more Gialli i saw the more i realised that The Pyjama Girl Case really wasn't up there in comparison to so many of the genres offerings.

The Pyjama Girl Case plays out different with two story lines running concurrently which makes it more interesting than if it were linear plotted. In all truth not an awful lot happens and the middle third is rather dull although Milland is always highly watchable as is the gorgeous Dalila Di Lazzaro who plays the murdered woman and the focus of the second plotline. One sequence where she allows herself to be 'taken' by three sweaty men is grueling viewing. In fact what sets this film apart from the Giallo norm is the lack of a black gloved killer, or an endless stream of violence. As the film focuses on Di Lazzaro it's narrative takes a turn for the haunting as she's clearly a lost soul and it's all rather sad and harrowing in retrospect.

It's this sense of grim melancholia as well as the excellent Australian cinematography that has meant that as i've been typing this i've also been re-evaluating what the film offers and it's actually pretty damn good were it not for that middle third and is one of the bleakest Gialli i can recall.

[MrBarlow]

You'll Die At Midnight. 1986.

A policeman suspects his wife is having a affair, when she is found dead, he becomes the prime suspect.

I never thought i'd be able to finally watch this little flick from Lamberto Bava, the first 30 minutes is the death of the wife and the police piecing together if their colleague is a homicidal maniac or just being framed. Paolo Malco is always great to see in a film and plays the somewhat lead investigator and tries convince himself that the decorated policeman is innocent as the bodies pile up. half way through it seems like Bava and Dardano Sacchetti lost their way then managed to get back on the proper track especially with the kitchen scene and the food mixer.

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[MrBarlow]

Formula For A Murder. 1985.

A woman crippled by a childhood trauma marries a personnel trainer who plans to murder her and claim her money.

David Warbeck and Christina Nagy play the happy couple in this little number, at the start it can be disturbing as we don't see the traumatic experience but we can get the just of it. The acting can be a bit over the top from Warbeck at times, Nagy playing a paralyzed woman from the waist down but I'm sure I saw her legs and feet move, it does have its good tense moments.

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[MrBarlow]

Muder-Rock: Dancing Death. 1984.

Dancers at ballet school are being killed, the owner and a model help police to find the unknown killer.

After giving us a few horrors and a good crime film with Contraband, Lucio Fulci decided to try his hand with a Giallo, why he decided to change genre we may never know and this was to be part of a trilogy that never happened due to Fulci falling ill and project being abandoned.

Claudio Cassineli plays the owner of the run down dance school that's taught by Olga Karlatos and Ray Lovelock as the former down on his luck model, and a unknown assailant hacking off the young dancers. The killings are very mild compared to what we are use to from the godfather of gore and be aware a animal is seen dead due to being a victim of the killer. Aside from the mild gore this was a decent film to watch.

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[MrBarlow]

Oasis Of Fear. 1971

A bit of giallo sleaze from Umberto Lenzi with Ray Lovestock and Ornella Muti as two young hippies who sell photos to fund their holiday and take up residency in a not so empty villa owned by Irene Papas.

I never really enjoyed this when I first saw this and watching it again in peace and quiet withoitnanyone asking what's going on or when is it going to get better and fully appreciate it now. Both main leads play a decent part as the fun loving life couple and Irene Papas as the nervous house owner who may not be so innocent. This doesn't have a black gloved killer and gruesome gore kills just a decent pace of some laughs and some suspense, may not be for everyone but this was entertaining.

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[MrBarlow]

One on Top Of The Other. 1969.

A doctor is accused of murdering his asthmatic wife in order to inherit her life insurance. Despite pleading his innocence he discovers a stripper that resembles increased wife.

Another intriguing Giallo from Fulci but don't expect any gore or blood bath kills but this is more of the erotic thrillers and done in a decent way where nobody is humping every so often and nudity done in a tasteful way. What comes as a death that leads into a murder and insurance scam, a doppelganger that is the same lookalike as the deceased lady and a trail leading to the husband. This had a good few twists in it that never gets confusing or boring that leads to a good tense ending. One id certainly recommend for viewing.

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