GIALLO
ITALIAN THRILLERS
LOVE AND DEATH ON THE EDGE OF A RAZOR (1973)-In Italian with English subs. Rare Italian giallo starring Peter Lee Lawrence and Erika Blanc. Stefano, the son of a wealthy businessman, meets a beautiful woman named Lidia while accompanying his father to a meeting with a cardinal. He pursues her through the streets of Venice and a romance develops. Upon returning from an overseas business trip, he is informed that Lidia has been killed in an accident. Soon afterwards, he thinks he recognizes her at a building site, but the woman claims to be a reporter who is obviously involved with gangsters. Furthermore, all evidence of Lidia's death has now been obliterated.
CRIMES OF THE FLESH (1983)-IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS. Rare Giallo by madman Cesare (MATALO!) Canevari starring Stars:Marc Porel, Sonia Otero, Fulvio Ricciardi, Moana Pozzi and Dirce Funari. Cesare Canevari's DELITTO CARNALE is his contribution to the giallo genre. It is also sadly his last film to date. The plot is about a number of people who check into a hotel to wait for a funeral. Nobody seems to really miss the old man who has died because all they do is get drunk and have non-stop sex, which is slightly disturbing because most of them are related in one way or another. Then, about halfway into the film, the first dead body turns up and of course the police forces them to stay in the hotel so that the killer can strike again ... The rest of the film is about them trying to figure out who the killer is because the police doesn't seem to do much about finding him. It's on par with "Giallo a Venezia","La Sorella di Ursula" and "Play Motel" when it comes to graphic sleaze and sexual debauchery.
FORMULA FOR A MURDER (1985)-BEAUTIFUL WIDESCREEN PRINT. Directed by Alberto De Martino, Cast: Christina Nagy - Joanna, David Warbeck - Craig, Carroll Blumenberg - Ruth, Rossano Brazzi - Dr. Sernich. Joanna - who is wheelchair-bound after a horrific childhood attack - is a wealthy philanthropist who has funded a sports centre for paraplegics. She now plans to donate a large amount of her wealth to the local church, but visions of a priest-looking figure carrying a blood-soaked doll start to appear; apparently from her traumatised psyche... But her now wakeful visions seem to get awfully real..The biggest treat from this 80s Giallo is David Warbeck's imitation of Jack Nicholson from THE SHINING!! It's priceless.
SPECTER OF TERROR (1973)-IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBS, LETTERBOXED PRINT. ONE OF THE RAREST SPANISH HORROR FILMS FROM THE 70S IS FINALLY UNCOVERED!! Director: José María Elorrieta, Stars: Maria Perschy, Sancho Gracia, Betsabé Ruiz. A twisted sleazebag stalks and strangles gorgeous women in this Spanish terror classic. The maniac is incredibly creepy. He reminds me a lot of Joe Spinell from Bill Lustig's Maniac, slinking around his house that's plastered with photos of naked women and baby dolls hanging by strings. In his dank basement he has a bathtub filled with acid for dissolving his strangled victims. Starring Víctor Alcázar, who also played in the zombie flick Horror Rises from the Tomb. El espectro del terror has many stylistic touches similar to a 'giallo' but the occasional dialog scenes appear to be small talk between the victims and their friends for the most part rather than any deep plot. Also there's no mystery about the killer's identity because he is shown shortly after the opening scene. Masterful lighting/shadows and dripping with atmosphere.
KILLERS ARE OUR GUESTS (1974)-LETTERBOXED PRINT. Director: Vincenzo Rigo, Cast: Antonio De Teffè (as Dr. Guido Malerva (as Anthony Steffen)), Margaret Lee (as Elisa), Luigi Pistilli (as Inspector Di Stefano), Gianni Dei (as Franco). After a bungled diamond heist a trio of killers take refuge at the home of a country doctor (Anthony Steffens) and force him at gunpoint to attend to their mortally wounded colleague. They abuse the doctor and take sexual advantage of his wife. But everything is not as it seems. The title, the visual style, and some delightfully absurd hairpin plot twists near the end mark this film as Italian giallo, but, as other reviewers have said, it is only partially so. This also would qualify as a early "terror film", typified by later movies like "The Night Train Murders", "Last House on the Beach" and "House by the Edge of the Park" where lower-class miscreants terrify and abuse a seemingly comfortable bourgeois family until the tables are turned. This is is not nearly as nasty as most later "terror films" but like in those films, the hypocrisies of the seemingly respectable bourgeois couple are quickly revealed. The wife (Livia Cerilli), for instance, quickly develops a bad case sexual Stockholm syndrome and has sex with the sole female gang-member (Margaret Lee), the most unattractive of the male gang-members, and even a neighbor who drops by for a visit. The husband meanwhile has his own agenda.
2 FACES OF FEAR (1972)-LETTERBOXED PRINT. Director: Tulio Demicheli (as Tulio Demichelli) Stars: George Hilton, Fernando Rey, Luciana Paluzzi, and Anita Strindberg. Surgeon Roberto(George Hilton)is married to Elena(Luciana Paluzzi),the owner of the clinic at which he works.Another surgeon named Michaeli is thinking of leaving because his girlfriend Paola(Anita Strindberg)is still in love with Roberto with whom she had an affair some years previously.So Michaeli ends up shot to death with Remington pistol and a detective Fernardo Rey begins to investigate.Obscure hospital giallo with all-star giallo cast:George Hilton,Fernando Rey,Luciana Paluzzi and Anita Strindberg.
THE SLEEPING CAR MURDERS (1965)-IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBS, LETTERBOXED PRINT. AT LAST THE DEFINITIVE VERSION OF THIS COSTA GAVRAS MASTERPIECE/GIALLO! Director: Costa-Gavras. Director: Costa-Gavras, Stars: Catherine Allégret, Jacques Perrin, Simone Signoret. Six people travel in a railroad sleeping car from Marseilles to Paris. Upon their arrival, a woman is found dead in one of the berths. The police investigate the other five passengers, suspecting that one of them committed the homicide, but the suspects are killed one by one. The last two must solve the case themselves before they become the next victims.
BLOOD SEXY (1981)-IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBS. Director: Manuel Esteba, Stars: Ovidi Montllor, Mirta Miller, Diana Conca. Spanish giallo is a rare title that has gained a rather notorious reputation over the years for its graphic sex and violence but what's actually here isn't too naughty. In the film, a woman takes her lesbian lover and best friend on a trip where they end up staying at a creepy home ran by a weird woman and her even weirder son. Soon the murders begin. What impressed me the most was the dark atmosphere created by director Esteba and this here is what really stands out. I thought the director did a very good job at building up this atmosphere and the settings perfectly fit in with this as did the music score (taken from various CAM catalogue titles). The film's violence is in a sexual term as the killer likes to stab women in the crotch during sex but this here is done in a non-graphic style as we really only see the stabbing and then some minor blood. The sex scenes on the other hand are a bit more graphic but they're also extremely erotic, which is a major plus. It certainly doesn't hurt that the lead actress and her lesbian lover and very hot but the sex scenes don't leave anything to the imagination even though they never enter the hardcore level. Performances are about on the mark for a film like this and the better than average direction really keeps everything moving at a nice pace.
A BLACK VEIL FOR LISA (1968)-LETTERBOXED AT LAST! Director: Massimo Dallamano, Stars: John Mills, Luciana Paluzzi, Robert HoffmannWhen a narcotics detective finds out that his beautiful wife--who is an ex-criminal--is cheating on him, he hires a professional hitman to bump her off. However, things don't go quite according to plan. So few Euro directors have done more to exile themselves from the arthouse pantheon than Massimo Dallamano. His work is slick, trashy and stylish in the manner of a fashion supplement in one of the cheaper Sunday newspapers. Yet at least three of his films are compelling studies in morbid sexuality and erotic obsession. A Black Veil for Lisa is nowhere near as famous as Venus in Furs or Dorian Gray, but it's still an intriguing brew. Imagine a giallo version of Proust's La Prisonniere with sex, drugs and serial killings thrown into the mix.
A LONG JOURNEY TOWARDS DEATH (1968)-IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBS. Director: José María Fernández Unsáin, Stars: Jacqueline Andere, Fanny Cano, Ignacio López Tarso. Electroshock therapy, creepy dolls, murder, an L.S.D. trip, a lot of psychedelia, a labyrinth of sculptures and some Freudian theories completely misinterpreted... This is a strange little gem, full of madness, psychedelia, quite rare and little seen. Those who like Jodorowsky and or "Santa Sangre" will enjoy this, also this is for the fans of Giallo.
DEADLY SIN (1977)-IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBS, LETTERBOXED PRINT. Director: Miguel Ángel Díez (as Miguel Angel Diez), Stars: Paul Naschy, Sara Lezana, Pedro Díez del Corral, Ivonne Sentis. sychological drama spiced up with some influences taken from the Italian giallo set in Spain in the 40s. To Urbieta´s mansion arrives a distant cousin named Alberto. Mrs. Alcira, hostess, has two daughters, Madeleine and Louise. Alberto's arrival causes a stir. Luisa becomes infatuated with him and he is carried away by the flirtation, but his focus is on Madeleine. Murder and mayhem soon follow.
DEATH FALLS LIGHTLY (1972)-IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS, LETTERBOXED PRINT. Director: Leopoldo Savona, Stars: Stelio Candelli, Patrizia Viotti, Veronika Korosec. A man returns to Mila from an out-of-town trip to find his wife brutally murdered. Realizing he doesn't have a decent alibi, he doesn't call the cops, but immediately goes to see his lawyer. It turns out that, via the lawyer, he is connected to powerful corrupt men and is helping them traffic drugs. Since it isn't in anybody's interest that the man get arrested, the lawyer puts him up in an eerie, old and nearly abandoned hotel, although he is quite annoyed that his client insists on bringing his sexy young mistress (Patrizia Viotti) along with him. Immediately strange things begin to happen in the hotel: strange music is played at odd hours, the man stumbles upon the elderly owner of the hotel who has apparently just killed HIS wife and needs help burying her, and the owners' strange but attractive daughter keeps trying to seduce him. Perhaps the old hotel is haunted, or maybe someone is trying the beleaguered murder suspect crazy? The sexy Patrizia Viotti will probably make an impression (on male viewers at least). Viotti played Barbara Bouchet's murdered lesbian lover in the giallo classic "Amuck", but she was understandably overshadowed in that one by Bouchet and Rosalba Neri. This is her show all the way though, and while she's certainly no Meryl Streep acting-wise, she does get nice and naked several times.
KILLER RESERVED 9 SEATS (1974)-LETTERBOXED 104 MINUTE PRINT. Director: Giuseppe Bennati, Stars: Rosanna Schiaffino, Chris Avram, Eva Czemerys. The Killer Reserved Nine Seats apparently takes influence from Agatha Christie's classic novel 'Ten Little Indians'. Unfortunately I've not got round to reading Christie's story yet, although I'm guessing that in her writing, all the women weren't so keen on taking their clothes off, the murders weren't so grisly and there wasn't such an emphasis on sleaze! While The Killer Reserved Nine Seats can't be described as the nastiest Giallo to come out of Italy, it certainly has its moments and one scene in particular is likely to please any fan of this sort of film! The plot focuses on an old theatre where an entire family were killed for reasons unknown. The rich aristocratic owner invites nine people there, but it's not long before they start being picked off by an incognito assailant in a sinister mask. Naturally, every one of the guests has a motive; and since the doors are locked, it's obvious that the murderer is one of the guests. And not only that, but just when you thought things couldn't get any more complicated, it turns out the theatre is under the power of some ancient family curse!
TRIPLE A MASSEUSE GOOD LOOKING OFFERING HER SERVICES (1972)-IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS, LETTERBOXED PRINT. UNCUT 83 MINUTE VERSION! Director: Demofilo Fidani, Stars: Paola Senatore, Howard Ross, Jack Betts, Simonetta Vitelli, Jerry Colman, Raffaele Curi. Remarkably, even for a giallo, this one takes sexism to the extreme, so much so that it gives Strip Nude for Your Killer a run for its money! Cristina is a young girl who decides for some reason to become a prostitute, much to the horror of her father Hunt Powers. She puts an ad in the paper offering her services as a masseuse, and is hired by a buff body builder type, only for it to turn out that he genuinely hired her for her masseuse skills for his mother's sciatica! Her next customer gets the idea, but tells her she wasn't that good, short changes her, then gives her some French soap in compensation. Maybe she needs some help. Most of the film is spent with people hitting on Cristina, watching Cristina strip, having sex with Cristina, staring at her arse, discussing her performances or customers recommending her services to one another by telephone or giving her a slap. Cristina herself is bizarrely detached from everything that's going on around her, but that might just bad acting I guess. I could also guess that there might be some social comment her about how men view women, but judging by the hilarious way the killer gets caught, I'm doubtful. Funky soundtrack too!
TROPIC OF CANCER (1972)-RARE PERFECT QUALITY ENGLISH DUBBED PRINT, LETTERBOXED. Directors: Giampaolo Lomi, Edoardo Mulargia (as Edward G. Muller), Stars: Anthony Steffen, Anita Strindberg, Gabriele Tinti. A scientist invents a hallucinatory drug. Interest of different dubious people in this new drug lead to betrayal and murder. This rather underrated and lesser known Italian thriller certainly has its flaws, nonetheless it belongs to the most innovative films of its genre that was booming in the early 1970s. Thanks to its fresh ideas packed in a traditional Giallo plot, it really stands out of the bulk, even though 1972 is probably the most Giallo-intense year ever. The most remarkable moments include feverish dream sequences that are erotic and nightmarish at the same time. The dreams are induced by similarly feverish Haitian voodoo rituals that feature mondo-style animal killing (there is also a non-ritualistic animal killing shown in a slaughterhouse - traces of social comment, obviously). The erotic moments are more frequent and sensual than in the average Giallo, and they are very well done (as already mentioned, especially the dreams). The body count is also above average, and in the second half, the movie boosts some murders as creative as they are brutal. It also delivers elements of the spy film genre - drugs can always be sold for big money. The leading cast consists of genre regulars: Anthony Steffen plays the inventive scientist and Gabriele Tinti the "hero"; Anita Strindberg is Grace, the woman with the unnerving dreams.
CORPSE FOR A LADY (1964)-IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS, LETTERBOXED PRINT. Director: Mario Mattoli, Stars: Sylva Koscina, Sergio Fantoni, Scilla Gabel, Rosalba Neri, Lando Buzzanca. LOOK AT THIS CAST! A RARE GIALLO WITH A LIGHT TOUCH. Laura is the victim of a blackmail, asks for help from her childhood friends Renata, Marina and Giovanna. In the meantime become a nun to help collect the blackmail amount requested. Eye-candies from the middle of the sixties: Sylva Koscina, Scilla Gabel, Sandra Mondaini & Rosalba Neri. A little bit of crime and Even More comedy. Enjoy!
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EYES OF THE GOLDEN FISH (1974)-IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBS. FINALLY, A GIALLO FROM THE 70S NEVER BEFORE AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH!! Director: Pedro L. Ramírez (as Pedro L. Ramirez), Stars: Wal Davis, Montserrat Prous, Norma Kastel, Ada Tauler. In this rare Spanish giallo,a vacationing British guy(Wal Davis[A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD,LOVE CAMP]) finds himself caught amongst a series of murders that strike the female population of the town that he's in, seeking out the killer that has framed him for the killings. Director Pedro Luis Ramirez(SCHOOL OF DEATH,WATCH OUT GRINGO! SABATA WILL RETURN) and scriptwriter Juan Gallardo Munoz(SEXY CAT) throw in a handful of gory stabbings and shootings to liven up the film. With Norma Kastel(VENGEANCE OF THE ZOMBIES,OPEN SEASON[1974]),Ada Tauler(VOODOO PASSION,THE VAMPIRE OF THE HIGHWAY[a.k.a.: THE HORRIBLE SEXY VAMPIRE]),Ricardo Vazquez(COMPLOT,CALL OF THE VAMPIRE),and Victor Israel(HORROR EXPRESS,SUMMERTIME KILLER).
THE KILLER IS NOT ALONE (1975)-IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBS, LETTERBOXED PRINT. Director: Jesús García de Dueñas, Stars: Lola Flores, James Philbrook, Teresa Rabal. Due to a psychological trauma which occurred in childhood, Julio deeply hates women. He turns his hatred towards prostitutes, and one day after attempting to seduce him, he murders one of the women. He flees and hides out in a boarding house. The owner of the establishment has a beautiful daughter named Monica and they meet and fall in love. But before long his killing urges re appear and he murders another prostitute who also lives in the building. During this time, Julio´s father suspects him of being the murderer and hires a private detective to look into the case. This is a great Gialloesque thriller, which deserves far more recognition than the obscurity it gained.
SIEGE OF TERROR (1972)-IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBS. ANOTHER EXTREMELY RARE GIALLO IN ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST TIME!! Director: Luis Marquina, Stars: Libertad Leblanc, Tony Kendall, Carlos Piñar. At the Grand Hotel in Miami, Carla falls into the arms of her husband, the eminent Dr. Warren, and confesses to having seen Nick, the man he killed in New York, at the airport - Carla was a nightclub dancer. New York and Nick's lover. Later, Warren accidentally discovered the real reason why Carla agreed to marry him: a combination with Nick, who plot his death and the enjoyment of his inheritance. The pain arouses Warren's thirst for blood, strange events appear that will force Detective Andrew to intervene.
DEATH OF A SCORPION (1976)-IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBS FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME, LETTERBOXED PRINT. ANOTHER VIRTUALLY UNSEEN GIALLO NOW AVAILABLE! Director: Gonzalo Herralde, Stars: Teresa Gimpera, Eusebio Poncela, Antonio Casas. The film plunges the intrigue of a love triangle in which is involved a former actress who has a relationship with her husband, a film producer, her lover, the screenwriter of the films he produces, and a criminal lawyer.
AFRIKA (1973)-SUPER RARE ENGLISH DUB OF THIS ITALIAN EXPLOITATION FILM BY ALBERTO CAVALLONE!! Director: Alberto Cavallone, Stars: Ivano Staccioli, Andrea Traglia, Maria Pia Luzi. Seedy giallo from director Alberto Cavallone. An eccentric painter is accused of murdering his homosexual friend, but his frigid wife may be trying to frame him.
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PORTRAIT OF A PROVINCE IN RED (1976)-THIS RARE GIALLO IS IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS FOR THE FIRST TIME! BOTH ACTRESSES DISPLAY THEIR CHARMS QUITE LIBERALLY!!Director: Marco Leto, Stars: Ugo Tognazzi, Françoise Fabian, Miou-Miou. Based on the novel ‘Ritratto Di Provincia In Rosso’ by Paolo Levi .Mario Aldara, a Ministry of the Intenal Affairs officer and former police inspector, is sent to his native town, Bologna to investigate the alleged suicide of Cesare Bonfigli, of a powerful local family linked to politics but also the church dealing in real estate business and welfare. Aldara may be pleased to see there Viviana again. Viviana is the widow of the dead man and used to be Aldara’s girlfriend twenty years before . He is soon caught up in murder and mayhem and she may be the culprit!
GAME FOR EVELINE (1972)-IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS FOR THE FIRST TIME, LETTERBOXED. RAREST OF RARE ITALIAN GIALLO. Director: Marcello Avallone, Stars: Erna Schurer, Adriana Bogdan, Marco Guglielmi. A young couple veer off the road in an accident and wake up near a villa where they are hosted by another young couple who seem intent on making them stay for as long as possible. As the days pass, the recovering couple realise they are being manipulated by their hosts who have ulterior motives for keeping them there. From the brief plot description you would probably expect A Game For Eveline to be a typical giallo with all the usual trappings of the genre; the mysterious hosts, the secluded villa and some ghosts in the night, just for good measure. But while it does contain all these things, the main emphasis is on something altogether quite different…It reminded me (a lot) of Roberto Mauri’s thoroughly underrated masterpiece Madeleine: Anatomy of a Nightmare (1974) which covers much of the same ground but in a far more dynamic fashion – probably because Mauri clearly had a much higher budget to work with. A Game For Eveline can’t have cost much to make; four principal actors, a villa, and a crew of probably no more than a handful of people. No doubt this is also one of the reasons why it has remained so obscure and generally forgotten about – at the time of writing (2020) it only exists as a telecine copy circulated on the web – and it has never had any kind of official release beyond its run in the cinemas way back in 1972. According to lead actress Erna (Le Salamndre) Schurer and Renato Polselli regular Rita Calderoni, who makes a brief cameo appearance, the film was shot in Palermo.
