The Strange Vice Of Mrs Wardh (1971)

One can also giallo for Halloween! The Strange Vice Of Mrs Wardh (1971; also titled Blade Of The Ripper) has all the prototypical elements of the Italian giallo genre: a leather gloved killer, bloody violence, writhing sex, a convoluted plot, chic 70s style in the outfits and interior design, a gorgeous score and an iconic, […]

Spasmo (1974)

Another movie I tracked down to watch basically because of the Ennio Morricone score, particularly the mellow, haunting title piece, Spasmo (1974) is a giallo mystery that was quite unusual. Starting off with a man (Robert Hoffmann) finding a woman knocked out on the beach (Suzy Kendall), the film’s tone is very over the top […]

A Bay Of Blood (1971)

Here’s something for Halloween. I watched A Bay Of Blood (1971; Ecologia del delitto) for the first time (one of the many alternative titles is Twitch Of The Death Nerve – what a title!). Directed by Mario Bava, this film is considered very influential in spawning the ‘slasher’ genre with many of its ‘kills’ copied […]

Four Flies On Grey Velvet (1971)

Before 2018 ended, I finished Dario Argento’s ‘animal’ trilogy with Four Flies On Grey Velvet (1971). This is a giallo thriller about a drummer in a rock band (Michael Brandon) who is blackmailed by a masked stranger for an inadvertent murder he may or may not have committed against someone following him. The hero here […]

The Cat ‘O Nine Tails (1971)

Acquainting myself slowly with Dario Argento’s ‘animal’ giallo trilogy (because of the animals named in the title) and I had heard The Cat ‘O Nine Tails (1971; Il gatto a nove code) wasn’t as good as the first of the trilogy, The Bird With The Crystal Plumage. This may be true, and apparently it is […]