Giallo Genre (Italian Thrillers)

I thought Pier Paolo Capponi was Bob Henry.

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage ( is on its way as we speak) and is on my viewing list for tonight!
I’d also plan on seeing these:

The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963)
Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972)
THE sister of ursula (1978)
The house of the Yellow Carpet (1983)
Short Night of the Glass Dolls (1971)
The Case of The Scorpion’s Tail (1971)
The Perfume of the Lady in Black (1974)
The Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971)

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I saw Don’t Torture a Duckling last night, its very good. Fulci could be so brilliant visually, this might be his best looking film. It’s doesn’t have all that soft lighting that is in his later horror works which I think is to Duckling’s benefit.

Seen a few Giallos recently.

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The Crimes of the Black Cat (1972)-6.5/10

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The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972) 6.5/10

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The French Sex Murders (1972) 4.9/10

Phenomena (1985, Dario Argento)

(I’m calling it a giallo, I don’t care)

It drags, more than sometimes. Argento’s camera is often too static and lingers too long on unimportant shots, head of the plot don’t know where its tail is, but the worst is the trademark pseudo-scientific dialogue (which, off course is just bunch of nonsense) that sometimes drags and drags for minutes and minutes… Off course, grande finale is the big payoff: poor Jeniffer Connely, I hope she didn’t have nightmares after that pool scene. Ludicrousness is everywhere as usual, the best has to be chimp the revenger. Argento payed couple of homages, mostly to himself, but also to Don’t look back, etc… The soundtrack is all bells and whistles: Claudio Simonetti, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Bill Wyman, Goblin: it doesn’t always work well. Swiss Alps look great in blu.

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La ragazza nella nebbia (2017)

I caught this on Dutch television, without commercial breaks, so I stuck to it.

At first it felt like an Italian version of a Scandinavian crime series, but later on I realized I was watching a modern giallo.

I won’t give anything away, but this film has the classical tropes of a giallo, albeit without the graphic killings. Of course the whodunnit element, as well as plenty of twists and red herrings.

Not perfect, but quite good! Never heard of it before, but a treat to stumble upon. Mood, settings, story, directing and acting all above average. Nice little find, recommended.

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The Girl in the Fog the English title. I’ve seen this on the Tubi app but haven’t watched it yet. I was trying to figure out what to watch tonight.

I love a good Giallo myself, have amassed quite a few in my collection. At first I avoided them because here in the States for a long while they were lumped in with the Horror genre, and it wasn’t until I saw Mario Bava’s excellent The Girl Who Knew Too Much that the majority of the Gialli’s made were genuine Mystery Thrillers with a rougher edge to them. Since then I’ve enjoyed them immensely. Some have Horror overtones or undertones, but that’s usually with flashbacks and hallucinations.

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Finally sat down with the wife and watched this last night. We really enjoyed it. Thanks for the recommendation!

I’ve now, with a handful of exceptions which I hope to rectify soon, seen every giallo I ever wanted to see, so I may as well share my top 20. Like when I posted my top 20 poliziotteschi I know there’s no official list here but again-what the hell.

  1. Deep Red
  2. Opera
  3. Tenebre
  4. The Bird With the Crystal Plumage
  5. Four Flies on Grey Velvet
  6. Don’t Torture a Duckling
  7. The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh
  8. What Have You Done to Solange?
  9. The Case of the Scorpions Tail
  10. Blood and Black Lace
  11. Stage Fright
  12. The Bloodstained Shadow
  13. The House With the Laughing Windows
  14. Who Saw Her Die?
  15. The Red Queen Kills Seven Times
  16. Short Night of the Glass Dolls
  17. The Girl Who Knew Too Much
  18. Devil In The Brain
  19. Arabella
  20. The Fifth Cord

Hon. Mentions:

A Lizard In a Woman’s Skin
The Psychic
The Black Belly of the Tarantula
Torso
All The Colours of the Dark

Hon. mentions that are Giallo/Eurocrime Hybrids:

What Have They Done to Your Daughters?
Blazing Magnums

Hon. mentions that aren’t strictly gialli:

Puzzle
Cold Eyes of Fear
Night Train Murders

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I was the same because I don’t like horror when it’s supernatural. With gialli though if they are supernatural it’s only mildly, like someone being psychic or like you say hallucinations. I’ve had a great ride since I first got into the genre, I just wish I got into it earlier. Oh well…better late than never!

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Very good list! But no Amuck? Forget the plot. It has Rosalba Neri and Barbara Bouchet in the very same movie! :laughing:

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“I watch Amuck for the plot!”
The plot :smirk::



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According to my wife, that is the expression I have on my face anytime Rosalba is on the screen. :drooling_face:

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:rofl: The casting of the two female leads was the only thing I liked about that one.

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I enjoyed both the plot and the ‘perfect 10’ that is Barbara Bouchet :smiley:. Rosalba Neri ranks a very close 2nd.

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Have recently got into watching giallo (gialli?) so figured I’d join in with what I’ve watched and get some suggestions from you guys! :gloves: :hocho: :drop_of_blood:

(SPOILERS ahead)

Short Night of Glass Dolls 1971 Lado ////
Really liked this one, has an intriguing hook that reminds me of Eyes Wide Shut and the ending reminded me of the Great Silence where I was hoping for someone to come save him at the end. Nice to see Barbara Bach even though it was only briefly, and Jean Sorel’s blue eyes kept reminding me of Nero lol.

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage 1970 Argento ///
Strong opening with some great shots, and Tony Musante is always charming. I think the only downside was it became pretty obvious what happened in the beginning and who the killer was so the end kind of fell flat.

Four Flies on Grey Velvet 1971 Argento /
Didn’t care too much for this one. Some creative shots from Argento, but the killer’s motive and plan seemed to come out of nowhere and never felt satisfying. I think the most surprising thing was they went to visit Bud Spencer in a swamp (???) and he didn’t knock anyone out. The ending with the glass breaking and the head bounce was memorable though.

Blood and Black Lace 1964 Bava ///
Amazingly stylish opening, love the use of colour, and oh hey its Cameron Mitchell! This feels completely different to the other giallo I’ve watched, almost like a 50’s pulp/comicbook movie. Hopefully Bava’s other films are similar?

Deep Red 1975 Argento ///
I watched Blow Up recently, so it was funny seeing David Hemmings again, and looking even more like Rik Mayall. Watched the cut version, but from reading about the cuts I think I would have preferred the full one. Good mystery, well shot and now I like Goblin :grin:

Tenebrae 1982 Argento ////
Liked this one a lot, awesome music and some amazing shots and kills (that 4 minute tracking shot, and the reveal of who’s standing behind Gemma.) Speaking of Gemma I was surprised when he died, has he ever died in a Western? I can’t think of one from all I’ve seen.

A Lizard In A Woman’s Skin 1971 Fulci /
Didn’t really care too much for this one :X

One on Top of the Other 1969 Fulci //
More Jean Sorel! Better than the previous Fulci, but still missing something.

Don’t Torture A Duckling 1972 Fulci ///
Fulci’s best? Always good to see Milian, even if his character is massively subdued compared to his western characters. A compelling mystery but the ending with the mannequin falling off the cliff is unintentionally hilarious.

Who Saw Her Die? 1972 Lado //
Not as good as Lado’s first, and the killer’s motivation ends up being surprisingly similar to “Don’t Torture…” which I’d watched the day before.

I still have a bunch to get through, but any suggestions for hidden gems from lesser known directors would be great. :slight_smile:

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Gcdb has some good reviews. There is also a home video series called Forgotten Giallo

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I’ll dig my giallo list out tomorrow and get back to you :+1:

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https://www.grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Giallo_Cinema:_Spaghetti_Slashers

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

https://www.grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Giallo:_Going_Back_To_Basics

https://www.grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Giallo_Home_Video_Guide