Giallo Genre (Italian Thrillers)

The Cat o’ Nine Tails (1971)

Probably the most conventional (least outrageous) of Argento’s films, and maybe the one with best acting (James Franciscus, Karl Malden). But it is also one of the dullest that in the end gets nothing but a shrug of shoulders from you. Get soundtrack, don’t bother with the movie if you don’t have too. I’ve enjoyed other two of his early animal trilogy much more.

I, on the contrary, thought it was a very taut and suspenseful Argento.

Death Walks on High Heels
-I really like Ercoli’s Death Walks films even if they’re not really among the best films of the genre but they’re damn entertaining and both have super sexy Susan Scott aka Nieves Navarro in the lead. I prefer the crazier …Walks at Midnight but this one is a good one too. It’s more sexier film with Susan Scott wearing sexy lingerie and making striptease acts but the weakness of the movie is that she is only in the first half of the movie. Good cast otherwise too, Frank Wolff, Simon Andreu and the king of the italian character actors: Luciano Rossi.

Prefer ‘midnight’ as well, but this one is not bad either. Been a while since I’ve watched it.

[quote=“titoli, post:581, topic:520”]Here’s my Top 10 gialli (so far), what’s yours?
(…)
I think individual choices here will be much more diverse than in spaghetti westerns (although it would be surprising if Argento doesn’t get most mentions).[/quote]

My Top-20

  1. Profondo Rosso
  2. Sei donne per l’assassino
  3. Tenebre
  4. Non si sevizia un paperino
  5. L’uccello dalle piume di cristallo
  6. La casa dalle finestre che ridono (heavily connected with Horror)
  7. La corta notte delle bambole di vetro
  8. Cosa avete fatto a Solange?
  9. L’assassino è costretto a uccidere ancora
  10. Lo strano vizio della Signora Wardh
    [hr]
  11. Una farfalla con le ali insanguinate
  12. Tutti i colori del buio
  13. Una sull’altra
  14. Una lucertola con la pelle di donna
  15. Reazione a catena a.k.a. Ecologia del delitto
  16. Sette orchidee macchiate di rosso
  17. La bestia uccide a sangue freddo (mainly due to erotic content)
  18. Giornata nera per l’ariete
  19. La Dama Rossa uccide sette volte
  20. Il gatto dagli occhi di giada

La dama rossa uccide sette volte / The Lady in Red Kills Seven Times (1972)

It has gothic castle with secret basement crypt, corpses falling out of the closets, plot based around modeling agency (and its models), flood of rats, score by Bruno Nicolai, killer in a red cape who laughs maniacally and Barbara Bouchet. It is a premium giallo.

Il profumo della signora in nero / The Perfume of the Lady in Black (1974)

This not-so-well-know giallo begs for repeated watching after first viewing. In terms of visual style, it is right at the top with best work of Bava and Argento. Colors, exotic set pieces, suggestive camera angles and shadows are all very subtly used and help create atmosphere along with the magnificent score. But, what makes this one stand apart from standard giallo, is that for once we can empathize with protagonist. Lovely miss Mimsy Farmer plays her fragile character perfectly and we really feel for her. Their is a lot of Hitchcockian atmosphere and camera work here (check the long traveling shot that opens the movie), and Mimsy is just the Hitchcock’s type of heroine. Movie does drag on couple of occasions, but overall the pace is just right. There are many question left unanswered, but nevertheless in the end it all makes sense (even if it doesn’t) in this story of slow descent into the rabbit hole of one’s repressed feeling and inner demons.

[glow=yellow,2,300]Are there any opinions already?[/glow]

[glow=yellow,2,300]http://www.grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/So_Deadly,_So_Perverse:_50_Years_of_Italian_Giallo_Films_Vol._1[/glow]

L’assassino… è al telefono (1972) The Killer Is on the Phone-Alberto De Martino with Anne Heywood and Telly Savalas.
Heh, just finished watching this rather slow and meticulous middle of the road Giallo. In my view, the premise “amnesia angle” didn’t bring anything new to the table and therefore it suffers to generate enough interest with the central character and her situation. But all is not lost though, it’s well filmed and it does have a few hmmmm decent moments.
Heh, Heh…besides, it’s always a pleasure to watch Telly Savalas having some fun on screen. :)5/10

                                                        [img]http://i.imgur.com/TX2tMSD.png?1[/img]

In the Folds of the Flesh (1970)-D:Sergio Bergonzelli with Eleonora Rossi Drago, Pier Angeli and Fernando Sancho.
Wow! This was one wacky and demented Giallo/Thriller with a plot so convoluted that it will make your head spin. Well, actually it wasn’t all that bad, it’s quite a unique film with a mixed ingrediente that consists of "a murderous family, insanity, incest, Fernando (he was the standout for me in this film) Sancho’s naked butt in an amusing moment scene taking a bubble bath ;D, black and white Nazi flashbacks with naked female prisoners in a gas chamber of some sorts and pet vultures. So, in the end with all the drama and the many crazy plot twists, I enjoyed this one for what it is.

                                                        [img]http://i.imgur.com/TPGuEDv.png?1[/img]
                                                         "[i]Here's looking at you, kid![/i]"

Giochi erotici di una famiglia per bene (1975)
Donald O’Brien is a conservative lawyer who is against divorce and thinks he has a perfect marriage. When he finds out his wife is having affair he murders her and starts having relationship with his niece and a beautiful prostitute. But then he begins to have hallucinatory visions of the dead wife. This is rather obscure giallo, imdb doesn’t even have a english title for it. There’s some stupidities in the script but also some nice twists.

Having a break, spagvemberwise and having a go on The Case of the Scorpion’s Tail. Enjoying the London and now the Greek scenery, and thinking I would like to go back to Athens soon (It’s been 30 years since).
I love these giallos cos of the cars and the locations as much as anything. 8)

Yes their like a time warp these films, guess thats why I like them aswell.

In the Folds of Flesh (1970)
-Lone Gringo’s writing about this made me curious of this title. Interesting film and one of the puzzling giallo I’ve seen. I have to admit that I lost the track of plot at some point, there was so many weird twists. But it was a good one.

Yeah, that was a weird one alright, but I liked it. :stuck_out_tongue:

One of the very best IMHO. Very hitchcockian, but more a tribute than a rip-off.

Wanna share two related and possibly useful links

http://www.grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Giallo_Classics_on_BluRay

And

http://www.grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Giallo_Cinema:_20_Classic_Spaghetti_Slashers

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These titles could be added to the list:

The Psychic
http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00VTHK3AU/italowestern-21

Don’t Torture A Duckling
http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/B016QF1KLA/italowestern-21

Short Night of the Glass Dolls
http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/B017666KJU/italowestern-21

The Sweet Body of Deborah (Mediabook Cover B)
http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/B01857M9CQ/italowestern-21

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Cool. I am sure @TheSwede might extend the list continually, as it’s certainly not meant as a comprehensive one at this point