The Psychic (1977)

Italian horror maestro Lucio Fulci’s giallo thriller, The Psychic (1977; aka Seven Notes In Black, Sette Note In Nero, Murder To The Tune Of Seven Black Notes), received attention awhile back due to its great soundtrack by Franco Bixo, Fabio Frizzi, and Vince Tempera (listed as Bixo-Frizzi-Tempera); it was another score cannibalised by Quentin Tarantino […]

Nightmare Beach (1988)

Continuing my run of watching horror movies in October for the Halloween season, I was curious to see Nightmare Beach (1988) aka Welcome To Spring Break on the basis of its memorable poster painted by Renato Casaro. It’s also intriguing for how the film feels both like a giallo (an American giallo at that) and […]

In Fabric (2018)

Peter Strickland is a British director I have time for, because of his second and third films, Berberian Sound Studio and The Duke Of Burgundy, playing with older genre forms (Italian horror movies, European erotica) and crafting art-house homages that almost have an academic, clinical bent. Strickland’s latest film, In Fabric (2018) is a strange […]

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 […]