G Is For Giallo: A Yellow Film Checklist by Richard of DM

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In my experience, the Giallo will invariably become addictive to the horror and cult movie fan if exposure is prolonged beyond two or three titles. After my Mario Bava (Blood And Black Lace), Dario Argento (Deep Red), and Lucio Fulci (Don’t Torture A Duckling) quota had been filled, I decided to look into other directors’ entries in the genre. The two titles which are primarily responsible for my yellow blood are Giuliano Carnimeo’s freaky and wild Case Of The Bloody Iris and Umberto Lenzi’s brutal and precise Seven Blood-Stained Orchids. After that, I was determined to see as many Gialli as possible.

Inspired by the German Krimi films of the 60s, the Italians infused their thrillers with explicit gore, exploitative sex, chic fashion, and funky music. Many actors and actresses became staples of the genre by starring in several features in a short period of time. Just to name a few: George Hilton, Fabio Testi, Ivan Rassimov, and Luigi Pistilli were in some genre favorites. Edwige Fenech, Anita Strindberg, Mimsy Farmer, Florinda Bolkan, Marina Malfatti, Barbara Bouchet, and Erika Blanc all lent their beauty to the Giallo.

Much like the American Slasher films of the 80s, the Giallo films became hugely popular nationally and internationally causing many directors to shift their focus. Italian directors who specialized in westerns, gothic horror, comedies, crime films, etc. switched to making Gialli in order to follow the trend. When the genre suddenly became very profitable, the Giallo exploded into vibrancy during the early 70s.

Like any genre, Gialli have a number of trademarks to look out for, roll your eyes at, or perhaps even create a drinking game around. Here is my list of some things to clue you in as to whether or not you’re in the middle of a Yellow film. While some of the items on the list could be found in any film, it is a combination of these factors that give the Giallo films their own special quirkiness.

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The Checklist

Bottles of J&B Scotch-Whiskey

Black-gloved killer (acceptable substitute: rubber gloves)

Tacky high fashion: big sunglasses, wide ties, ludicrously short skirts, etc.

Fluorescent red blood

Suspicious behavior and glances AKA shifty eyes

Creepy mannequins or freaky dolls

Ugly hired thugs who are no match for the killer

Spiral staircases and/or other suspenseful architecture

Casual sex (usually between the main characters (who have just met)

Priestly malfeasance (beware the men of the cloth)

General disdain/ridicule of hippies

 Incompetent and/or corrupt cops

Edwige Fenech is in some kind of peril

Paper-thin motivations for murder

Huge number of suspects and red herrings (the unsolvable mystery) 

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Giallo Reviews

All the Colors of the Dark
Amuck!
Autopsy
Black Belly Of The Tarantula
A Blade In The Dark
The Bloodstained Shadow
The Bloodsucker Leads The Dance
Case Of The Scorpion's Tail
Cold Eyes Of Fear
Death Carries A Cane
Delirium: Photos Of Gioia
Eyeball
Giallo A Venezia
House With Laughing Windows
The Iguana With The Tongue Of Fire
The Killer Must Kill Again
Killer Nun
Murder Obsession
My Dear Killer
Plot Of Fear
Seven Blood-Stained Orchids
Seven Deaths In The Cat's Eye
7 Murders For Scotland Yard
Seven Notes In Black
Tenebre
Torso

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Links

Giallo Fever