keylimetrev and I have been discussing this over at the "Favorite/Worst Horror" thread, so to stop derailing that thread and perhaps to bring in some more sophisticated members with tastes which run towards movies like "Demons", I'm starting this thread. I'm at work right now, so I don't have access to many of my resources.

What has been discussed so far at the other thread are Mario Bava's "Kill, Baby...Kill", "Black Sunday", "Black Sabbath", "Blood and Black Lace", etc., and Dario Argento's "Suspiria", "Inferno" and "Deep Red". Anyone have something to add or discuss concerning the highly-artistically-stylized, but often ultra-gory giallo films?

I'd be interested to hear anyone's thoughts on the Italian Cannibal movies. They are notoriously known for the cruelty to animals that took place in many of them, but are also some of the most stylistically interesting films to come out of Italy. Does the quality of the art override the questionable ethics of the productions or vice versa? Are they just bad movies?

The live turtle skinning in Cannibal Holocaust was a little excessive, even to me. Yes, there were moments of great artistry, but the use of live animals is disturbing, and relegates them to one-viewing films for me.
Argento I have found to be too inconsistent for my taste, for every scene I enjoy, there is a disappointing one, although I have only seen a few of his films.

That is exactly how I feel about Argento Smenkharon. His movies are like a bunch of well-made scenes that don't have anything holding them together, at least the few that I have seen. I much prefer Mario Bava, who in addition to being as good a stylist as Argento also sets a consistent mood that keeps the entire film together.

I also agree pretty much with your comments on the cannibal movies. I can't really stand to watch them at all anymore.

Argento's style is consistant even in his weakest flicks, but his logic is out the window. I just checked IMDB and I've seen 11 of his films. A film like "Inferno", which is a masterpiece of lighting, cinematography and weirdness, makes ABSOLUTELY no sense at all! I can still enjoy it, but it bothers me to know that with some more time and thought put into the script, it could have been a TRULY great horror film.

I've seen most of Argento's films restored on either widescreen DVD or VHS, but except for "Black Sabbath" and "Hatchet For The Honeymoon" (two of the ten Bavas I've seen), I haven't been exposed to Bava's uncut films because even the ones I saw in the theatre years ago were cut for American release. I'd like to remedy that situation, and I'm sure my bro would agree.

Does anybody have an opinion on Lucio Fulci?

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I've only seen Zombi 2, so I don't know enough to really judge Fulci, but I didn't think it was great. Maybe it is because I always thought Dawn of the dead was overrated and didn't really see why it gained so many followers in Italian Horror. Fulci's film was definately a decent piece of gross-out cinema, but went a little overboard for my tastes. In a weird twist after remarking on my less than stellar rating of Dawn of the Dead, I wound up purchasing a copy of Argento's cut of Dawn of the Dead, which was the cut that Fulci made his film as a sequel to. Argento cuts even most of the character development out of the film, leaving it mostly as a collage of decapitations and gore.

I just watched Mario Bava's The Bay of Blood (1971). If it doesn't ring any bells, it's also called Twitch of the Death Nerve, Carnage and Last House on the Left, Part II (even though it has nothing to do with the Craven flick and was released first!
This is the granddaddy slasher flick of all-time and better than almost all of 'em. I don't want to give away too much, but when was the last time that every single main character was dead at the end of a movie? This film inspired Halloween, and Friday the 13th completely rips off settings and scenes, but forget it, this film is better than those. I watched/taped it off of IFC. I also watched/taped Bava's Black Sunday (called The Mask of Satan) and Argento's Suspiria, as well as an hour-long documentary on Bava where Scorsese, Carpenter, Burton, Dante, etc. all foam at the mouth over Bava and rank him as one of their idols and one of the greatest cinematic storytellers ever.

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and he deserves all the praise he gets. I've never been able to see twitch of the death nerve yet, but here it puts all of Argento's movies to shame.

I'm glad this topic popped back up. It's a good one. Now I'm all excited for Bava again. Maybe I can talk my fiance into a Black Sunday, Black Sabbath, Kill, Baby...Kill marathon this weekend. Those three alone put him high on my list of directors.

Re: Fulci movies
They can be split into 2 categories, being Giallo or Zombie flix. He made three giallos before the whole undead thing, and they're GREAT! Don't Torture A Duckling (about a child-killer in rural Italy) has much to say about small-town prejudice and vigilante justice. Murder To The Tune Of 7 Black Notes (aka The Psychic) is a softer, more dreamy (tho still dark in nature) murder-mystery with trippy (or dated, whatever!) "psychic flashes". My favorite tho, is Lizard In A Woman's Skin, which has some of the craziest psychedelic dream sequences in giallo cinema (and, of course, the infamous gutted dogs scene!)

His zombie films don't make a whole lot of sense, but are wonderfully gory! I especially liked The House By The Cemetary (except for that annoying Bob kid!) Iown a whole lotta Argento, Fulci, and Bava (both Bava's, but more of Lamberto's), so if u need recommendations, just ask!

I watched a giallo film tonight, The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh. It's a sex-n-slash thriller, with more sex than slash. Edwige Fenech plays the gorgeous and mysterious Mrs. Wardh and someone seems to want to do her harm. Is it her husband or her creepy ex-lover who can't give up on her or the new wealthy fellow (current lover) she recently met or is it the local slasher who seems to only swing his blade on working girls? But as the story moves along, for better or worse, there are twists and multiple endings which I happened to enjoy very much. Very nice soundtrack as well. Don't expect much blood but a fair amount of T&A, and a pretty darn good cast.

It might not technically be giallo, but I highly recommend Dellamorte Dellamore, aka Cemetery Man. Try to watch the Italian version though because it's uncut and makes more sense. It's easily one of the funniest, goriest AND sexiest of post-1990s Italian horror flicks. Thanks for posting, crazed, and come back often!

Dellamorte Dellamore is one of my top favorite films. Giallo fantasy, maybe? Everyone should see it- at least once! It was recently released on dvd in the US though I haven't heard which version it is or what may been cut from it. I hope it's the original as I'm considering getting a copy (there was some debate about which version it is on amazon.com though I'm not sure who's correct). I picked up a boot VHS copy of the film on ebay a few years back which was pretty good quality.

I had a feeling you were a giallo-kinda guy, especially when the naked women were almost too gorgeous to be real.

Last night I rewatched my favorite giallo film on dvd, Dario Argento's Phenomena from 1985. A 15 year old Jennifer Connelly she plays the daughter of an Amercian actor. She's enrolled in a somewhat strict Swiss boarding school. Trouble begins when she starts sleepwalking and almost gets herself killed a number of times but is saved by a chimpanzee owned by a wheelchair confined entomologist (Donald Pleasance). Did I mention that Jennifer has an uncanny talent with insects which includes summoning swarms of bees when in danger, fireflies that lead her to murder clues, and assorted corpse hunting flies and larvae? There's a slasher on the loose (wouldn't be an Argento pic without one) and soon the bodies are piling up and it's not before long Jennifer has to solve the mystery- without losing her head trying to stay alive. I love this film from tourist slashing beginning to monkey slasher end. A great cast, great soundtrack (Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Goblin, etc), and an excellent story which I thought held up all the way through, even though there was so much going on. Daria Nicolodi is also in this, though the first time I saw the film I didn't recognize her til late in the picture. I also thought Connelly was older, playing a younger role as she sure doesn't look 15. Too bad she didn't perform in other Argento films.

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:
I had a feeling you were a giallo-kinda guy, especially when the naked women were almost too gorgeous to be real.

Speaking of naked women too gorgeous to be real, I checked out another giallo flick tonight- Perversion Story aka One on Top of the Other aka Una Sull'altra. Jean Sorel plays a doctor whose beautiful wife (Marisa Mell) suddenly dies. The doc not only has a mistress on the side, but he becomes interested in a stripper (also Marisa Mell) who looks exactly like his late wife. Lots of gorgeous, topless go-go dancers and plenty of intrigue as blackmail, murder and several double lives are revealed. This was directed by Lucio Fulci whose A Lizard in a Woman's Skin is one of my all-time favorite giallo films. A very nice jazz soundtrack which is included on a bonus cd. Not much blood in this pic, but a lot of eye candy. For anyone who watches, be sure to turn on the subtitles which includes dialogue you won't hear without it.

I love that scene when young Jennifer Connelly gets off the bus and walks through the meadow to the murderer's house and that strange music is playing... Very beautiful, but haunting stuff -- especially since it echoes the bizarre murder that occurs in the beginning of the film.

Caught Dario Argento's The Bird with the Crystal Plumage tonight. Tony Musante stars as an American writer in Rome who witnesses an attempted murder of a woman in a mueseum. The police chief detains Musante, keeping his passport. Musante and his girlfriend (Suzy Kendall, who always reminds me of Susan George) begin investigating the case, which is linked to several murders in Rome.

Not a whole lot of blood, not enough beautiful women (I expect that in Argento films) but a
very nice script and a cool surprising ending.

I was listening to a comp of music from giallo films a couple weeks back called Beat At Cinecitta Vol.2. The collection included music from Amuck aka Alla Ricerca del Piacere, and photos from the film appeared in the cd booklet. Pretty interestin music & photos, so I traced down a copy of the movie. Gorgeous Barbara Bouchet (who I recognize from other giallo films as well as the '67 James Bond spoof, Casino Royale) stars as Greta, a secretary coming to work for a writer (Farley Granger). Granger's sexy, sultry wife Elanor (Rosalba Neri) immediately starts hitting on Bouchet, that is, until she and Granger discover Bouchet has hired on only for discovering the whereabouts of Granger's former secretary, Carol, who also happened to be Bouchet's lover. Recommended if you like nudity, lesbian make-out scenes, demented butlers, meanacing fishermen, treacherous quicksand, drug induced orgies, gorgeous European women, campy dialogue, jazz-porn musical scores and swampy island locales in your early '70s sexual frenzy giallo flicks.