GIALLO
ITALIAN THRILLERS
DYING OF FEAR (1980)-IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBS. Director: Juan José Porto, Stars: Mónica Randall, Simón Andreu, Miguel Ayones. A young husband, chronic ill in heart and his sensual wife will celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary at their secluded house in the Madrid highlands. During the journey, they hear that a pair of criminals has robbed a chalet and committed a violation. At night, when everything is quiet, the mysterious figure of a psychopath appears. The evening will be unforgettable. This one is a pretty cool thriller/giallo film, not a lot of sleaze tho. Has a nice twist at the end that I won't spoil, but it was a surprise (at least to me). I wasn't expecting it at all. Randall is really hot and gets fingered while she's sleeping if you're into that stuff. It also has a great OST to round off the package.
MY BODY WITH RAGE (1972)-FIRST TIME THIS UNSEEN ITALIAN GIALLO HAS APPEARED IN ENGLISH! IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS. Director: Roberto Natale, Stars: Peter Lee Lawrence, Antonia Santilli, Zora Korova. "Il mio corpo con rabbia" by Roberto Natale has been credited an uncertain and indefinite status between an art and an exploitation movie. Silvia (Antonia Santilli) is a daddy's girl who has wanted to have a drug experience only once, but this was enough for her parents to batten down the hatches, on the advice of a doctor, isolating the girl into a luxurious hotel in Sardinia and being vigilant on her "healing". It's out of season, there're almost no people in the compound. But a strange young man is roaming around there, maybe a fugitive, who Silvia starts to have a relationship with. This young man is the figure by whom Roberto Natale clarifies, using him as a reagent, the real key relation, the core of narration, the focus of the movie, which is the link between Silvia and her father."Il mio corpo con rabbia" is a weird movie, with dialogues quoting Bazin and Rilke's poems, refined atmospheres and an actress like Antonia Santilli who is exactly the opposite of the ethereal and almost metaphysical creature which Natale had in mind and describes in his screenplay. The movie, shot with the working title of "The golden bee", had a complicated post productive story: Natale disavowed the movie and withdrawed his signature when distribution cut away the very harsh original end terminating the story on the pre-epilogue, with a walk on the beach by night and the bonfires of the two leading actors. This version reintegrates the original cut by the director featuring all the softcore sex scenes censored in the TV version.
MORBID LOVES OF A COUNTESS (1977)-IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS FOR THE FIRST TIME!! Director: Amasi Damiani, Stars: Rita Calderoni, Gianni Dei, Marina Hedman. The search for a hidden treasure in a villa pits four friends against each other. It is a sort of erotic giallo (no hardcore in this version) with Gianni Dei, Marina Frajese and Rita Calderoni (best known for her roles in Renato Polselli's oddities) chasing a treasure in a challenge with a rich and bored countess. Of course death is on the way...
STREET OF MIRRORS (1983)-IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS, LETTERBOXED PRINT. EXTREMELY RARE ITALIAN GIALLO APPEARING IN ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST TIME! Director: Giovanna Gagliardo, Nicole Garcia, Milva, Heinz Bennent. Street of Mirrors is a 1983 thriller about a female investigator uncovering the death of a young student. While all evidence points to suicide, our hero finds disturbing new clues and a key witness who might put a different spin on the events. A superior 80s giallo, with the emphasis on atmosphere and suspense rather than the violence of the traditional black gloved killer gialli. Francesca, a magistrate, seems happily married to a successful and wealthy engineer. They prepare to spend a holiday together when Francesca is instructed to shed light on the mysterious death of a girl, Rosa Franceschi, who threw herself from the terrace of her house. Francesca interrogates friends and neighbours of the victim, especially Veronica Marini who, living opposite the victim's apartment, followed the whole story. This is how she discovers her husband's affair with Rosa Franceschi and her involvement in the girl's suicide or murder.
THE MIRROR BURSTS (1974)-IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBS.
Director: Claude d'Anna. Anne lives with her husband in Belgium where she works as a restorer of paintings. When she becomes pregnant, she finds herself remembering a picture she did some time ago and of which she has no memory, no recollection of what happened to it. It becomes her goal to discover and clarify the mystery behind this painting, at the same time she notices that a strange man is following all of her moves. Excellent mystery thriller with giallo and supernatural horror elements. It is clearly made under the influence of Bergman, not just in its casting of Von Sydow, but also with its themes of a dysfunctional marriage, and difficult mother and daughter relationship.
SCREAM AND DIE (1973)-RELEASED HERE ON VHS WITH SCENES OUT OF ORDER AND RUNNING 90 MINUTES. THIS JOSE LARRAZ HORROR/SLEAZE FEST NOW RUNS 8 MINUTES LONGER WITH ALL THE NUDITY NOW INTACT!! Director: José Ramón Larraz (as Joseph Larraz), Stars: Andrea Allan, Karl Lanchbury, Maggie Walker. A young model and her petty thief boyfriend find their way through the English fog to a backwoods manor in hopes of looting it. What they find instead is murder, and when the model attempts to find the house again, her efforts come to naught. All the requisite Larraz traits are in abundance here; libidinous, scantily clad buxom women, creaky, dimly lit houses and some elusive sexually 'unusual' maniac knocking off a series of shrieking, top-heavy females. The basic giallo-esque plot of some black-gloved killer doesn't stray from convention, but where Larraz succeeds and many other similar filmmakers fail is that he always manages to generate a palpably erotic and decadent tone among all the familiar heavy breathing stalk and slash; besides the abundance of candle-lit cleavage he also infuses the admittedly generic premise with oodles of genuinely unsettling Gothic motifs. After reading a few glib, dismissive reviews of 'Scream...and Die' I really wasn't expecting much, but contrary to low expectations the film proved to be entirely entertaining with a series of demonstratively eerie set pieces that managed to evoke a sweaty-palmed Poe-like, sepulchral chill.
RUN PSYCHO RUN (1968)-EXTREMELY RARE ENGLISH DUBBED PRINT!!
Director: Brunello Rondi, Stars: Gary Merrill, Elga Andersen, Georges Rivière. A party is held at an Italian villa for the summer return of a powerful British family. Everyone is there except the patriarch, George. Hate seems to be the common thread that brings this family together. They especially don’t care for Claire, George’s bitch of a wife. Claire’s sister, Eveline, also loves George and the dislike between the two is a continual war of words and threats. Claire has many love affairs, her current interest is her son’s piano instructor. As the party winds down, Claire and her son retire to bed when she is savagely attacked and has her throat slit. Her son runs for help, slips on the staircase and dies from the fall. A year passes and the family returns to the villa. The scandal is that George has found a new bride to be, the spitting image of Claire, who also has a young son. George admits he doesn’t love her, he just wants her around to remind him of Claire. The rest of the family, including a gigolo doctor treating George for depression, take an instant dislike to the new woman. They warn her she is in danger and that the killer may return to repeat what occurred a year ago. George decides to have another party to announce his marriage to Ann and so sets the stage for another possible night of terror.
EMMA DARK DOORS (1974)-IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBS, LETTERBOXED UPGRADED HD PRINT AT LAST! Director: José Ramón Larraz, Stars: Susanna East, Perla Cristal, Ángel Menéndez. An obscure sexy-horror flick. Emma is a teen-ager when she is the victim of a terrible road accident in London. Her brain suffers some alterations and her needs even psychiatric cares. Her mother, Silvia, confines her in the house, and the personality of Emma becomes very aggressive, causing a regrettable series of murders and violence. Interesting and well-directed psycho-slasher made by Jose "Vampyres" Larraz.Some calculated and gory giallo-like stabbings,nudity and grim atmosphere make this obscurity worth checking out.There are some interesting and suspenseful stalk-and-slash sequences in "Emma,puertas oscuras",so if you are a fan of Castilian crimson give this rarity a chance.
SMILE OF THE SPIDER (1971)-LETTERBOXED HD PRINT. Directors: Massimo Castellani, Armando Morandi, Stars: Thomas Hunter, Gabriele Tinti, Leopoldo Trieste. An international crime syndicate absconds with over $5 million in precious jewels. Police are baffled. The insurance companies are outraged. When dashing Tony Driscoll-private investigator-is called in, the robbery investigation quickly becomes a murder case. And Driscoll is suspect #1. Dodging cops as well as criminals, Driscoll steps into a subterranean world. A world of beautiful women, exotic ports and sleek fast cars. Where hunter becomes hunted-and romance is heartbeats away from death. This is a nicely shot crime/action movie starring Gabrielle Tinti. Tinti appeared in many Italian movies of this era and was a really good leading man. He was married to the beautiful Laura Gemser, the star of the Emmanuelle Joe D'amato films. This is a must see for Gabrielle Tinti fans as he is in almost all the scenes. He plays a really cool and smooth private eye. He gets into many fights and shootouts with the bad guys. The movie will appeal to fans of 1970's Italian giallos, police action, and crime films.
COMMISSIONER GEN AND THE CABARET MURDERS-1975
Director:Fernando Merino, Cast:Emilio Rodriguez, Perla Cristal, Rosa Valentyplenty, Tina Sainz, Esteban Greco, Luisa Hernan. Score:Alfonso Santisteban.An old nightclub, Cabaret Canaima, is being torn down and as they dig up the foundation, skeletal remains are found. An autopsy reveals they have been there for 5 years and belong to Mercado Montalvo, better known as THE COBRA, a stripper who performed at the nightclub. She was a total bitch who made many enemies. All the other dancers, Cristina, Maria, Clara, and Regina, had plenty of reasons to hate her since her disappearance caused all of them to lose their source of income. She was also a terrible employer, making the girls lead on the customers with promises of sex and forced them to drink to excess along with the men. Inspector Emilio, a salty grey haired veteran of the force, has been brought on to solve this old case. He starts to track down all the former dancers who have moved on to other things. One is still a prostitute, another a nun, a third is a flight attendant and the last the leader of a very successful dance revue. What he hadn’t planned on was that as he tracks them down, they in turn, are savagely murdered. Apparently the killer of the Cobra, thinks they know something that might reveal its identity. By the time the film is over, all four are killed and it looks like the killer is going to get away with all the slayings. However, Inspector Emilio is a wily old veteran who has a plan up his sleeve to reveal the killer’s identity.
CRIME ON TEULIDA STREET (1980)-IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS. Director: Aldo Lado, Stars: Auretta Gay, Pietro Brambilla, Aldo Sassi. Diamante, an actress engaged in the filming of a drama, is shot dead in a small warehouse used to store the cinema "pizzas". Another actress, Ely, catches a glimpse of the corpse, which unfortunately, immediately disappears. The girl is not believed, but Annie, the Variety's first dancer, is also brutally killed: chased into the dark stable, she ends up in a multitude of empty television studios, deserted costume areas, labyrinthine corridors. The girl cries for help but is not heard by anyone. RARE GIALLO BY ALDO (WHO SAW HER DIE AND NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS) LADO!
THE ENIGMA ON THE YACHT (1983)-IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES FOR THE FIRST TIME!! Director: Carlos Aured, Stars: Silvia Tortosa, Montserrat Torras, José Antonio Ceinos, José María Blanco. DEAD CALM MEETS THE GIALLO! By medical prescription, Natalia embarks on a yacht to enjoy a deserved vacation. With her travel Carlos, her husband, Blanca, Carlos 'lover, and Carlos' husband.
CRIME LOVE AND JEALOUSY (1982)-IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS. EXTREMELY RARE GIALLO!! directed by Luciano Secchi under his more famous alias, Max Bunker (He is more well-known in Italy as the creator of the hugely popular comic book characters Satanik and Kriminal ), Cast: Saverio Marconi, Paolo Bonacelli , Fiorenza Marchegiani . Fabio graduates from university and, in the space of just six months, he’s offered a position as a police inspector, stationed in his home town. Much to the annoyance of his partner, Paola, a post office clerk and part-time militant activist, and of his father who had aspirations of his son following in his footsteps as a banker. No sooner has he set foot in the police station and Fabio is already involved in his first case – tracking down The Owl, a mysterious figure who may be connected to some recent suspicious deaths in the village…
A BEAUTIFUL MONSTER (1970)-FOR YEARS, THIS WAS ONLY AVAILABLE IN A CUT SHITTY LOOKING PRINT FROM ALAPHA BLUE. WELL, NO MORE, NOT ONLY IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBS, BUT HD AND UNCUT. OLD PRINT RAN 90 MINUTES, THIS NEW PRINT IS 122 MINUTES!! Director:Sergio Gobbi Stars: Stars: Virna Lisi, Helmut Berger, Charles Aznavour. Alain Revent, a seductive and refined man, derives a peculiar satisfaction from debasing his wives. The first, driven to the brink of despair, throws herself out of a window. Enlisting the help of an equally perverse casual acquaintance, Dino, the "handsome brute" proceeds to emotionally torture his second wife, Nathalie. The sadistic plan is picked up on by Officer Leroy who suspects the truth. Will he be able to snatch the unfortunate woman from the evil Alain's clutches? This is an interesting quasi-giallo that makes good use of Berger's inherent ambiguity as a screen presence. At first we're meant to understand he's a playboy predator toward women, but it gradually (and more credibly) emerges that his sexuality is very different from the guise he assumes publicly, and which he abuses in private by manipulating women whose attentions flatter him.
RED HEADED CORPSE (1973)-LETTERBOXED UNCUT PRINT WITH 15 EXTRA MINUTES OF SLEAZE!. Director: Renzo Russo Stars: Farley Granger, Erika Blanc, Krista Nell. If you are a fan of Eurostarlet Erica Blanc, you will probably enjoy this movie in which Blanc plays a role very similar to the sexy succubus she played in "The Devil's Nightmare". Blanc plays an artist's mannequin come to life who starts out as a mute fantasy figure but soon turns into nightmarish femme fatale who tortures the artist with her increasingly blatant infidelities. The movie kind of reminded me of the later (and, of course somewhat better) Roman Polanski film "Bitter Moon" where a beautiful woman starts out as subservient to a shallow cad, but soon gains the upper hand to the point that you actually start to feel sorry for the guy. For the uncut version of the title,writer/director Renzo Russo includes about 15 minutes of sex scenes,which along with having an alluring appearance,also give the movie an excellent,disjointed dream-like atmosphere,thanks to Russo inserting the scenes at moments which make the viewer unsure over the full 'reality' of the scenes.Along with the disjointed sex scenes,the screenplay by Russo brilliantly unravel Ward's mind at a slick pace,with Ward's easy- going life slowly being peeled away to reveal the Giallo darkness hidden within.
CRIME ON MONTI PAROLI STREET (1989)-IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS, LETTERBOXED PRINT. EXCELLENT LATE IN THE CYCLE GIALLO BY ANTONIO BONIFACIO! In obvious homage to the film noirs of the 40s and 50s, 'The Parioli Street Murder' has all the trappings, from the femme fatale, the suspicious secretary and the prominently featured detective’s office, to the dozy detective who gets dragged into events that are way beyond his control. Director Antonio Bonifacio manages to work some good performances out of his leads, the neon cinematography is in keeping with the Argento aesthetics everyone seemed to be aping in the 1990s – and the funky soundtrack is just as pleasantly dated. There are also some obvious nods to Paul Verhoeven's 'Basic Instinct' thrown in just for good measure. Il Delitto di via Monti Parioli, is a film by Antonio Bonifacio, an satirical detective story where the protagonist Luca Lionello is, as he defines himself, “a half-private detective”, halfway between Marlowe and Tomas Milian’s Inspector Monezza. The plot is decidedly noir, complete with a femme fatale played by Katarina Vassilissa (she was the stunning blonde lead in Tinto Brass' THE VOYEUR!), enriched by the presence of Veronika Logan and Salvatore Marino.
CRIMES OF DR PETIOT (1973)-IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBS, LETTERBOXED PRINT. Naschy movie with usual elements of the ¨Gialli¨ sub-genre : suspenseful intrigue , twisted killings executed by a black gloved killer , violence , sadism , physical abuse , sensationalist murder pieces , though doesn't pack nudity . A series of murders are happening in Berlin , during World War II seem connected to a string of present-day murders committed . A wealthy art dealer , single , called Boris (Paul Naschy or Jacinto Molina) is drawn into a twisted criminal case via his journalist sweetheart (Patricia Moran) , who along with help of other reporters believe they can bring down the killer without the police . Meanwhile , the police commissioner and his agents are investigating the heinous crimes , and the prime suspects are three of the journalists. This is a giallo with usual ingredients as chills , thrills , suspense and grisly killings committed by a masked assassin clad in black . Here Paul Naschy is a rich artist who helps his girlfriend to discover who is the heinous murderer resulting in fateful consequences . Filmmaker Jose Luis Madrid designs a mediocre thriller , including some regularly staged murders plenty of startling visual content with blood and gore , though was submitted to limited censorship in Spain.
DARK FRIDAY (1993)-FINALLY A NICE LOOKING COPY OF THIS ALDO LADO GIALLO!! Stars: Paolo Calissano, Silvia Cohen, Daniele Antonelli. This thriller by Aldo Lado tells the story of two young women who accidentally meet three young people of the high society. The two men and their female friend lure the unsuspecting girls into a house by the sea, where they start to play a mean game with hem by first irritating them before terrorizing and attack them. Meanwhile, the boyfriend of one of the girls starts searching for them. Needless to say that people die before the film comes to the end.
THE SHADOW OF A MEMORY (1978)-Director: Jose Antonio Barrero, Cast: Manuel Tejada (Jose), Emilio Gutierrez (Commissioner Cabellero), Sara Lezano (Lola), Mirta Miller (Susana), Sylvia Aguilar (Teresa), Paloma Cela (Luisa), Score: No credit is given. Jose is an antique collector who spends his time picking up women, romancing them, strangling them to death, and THEN raping them. Yes, he’s a lovable necrophile. The film opens with him driving a victim to a lake where he rhapsodically details that it was once an ancient city that has since been submerged. He drives down to the shore, traps his victim in the car and pushes it into the lake where she drowns. Much later we discover it was his sister, whom he killed because he saw her making passionate love to a rather athletic black woman. Of course after killing her, he drags her body to shore so he can have his way with her. His live in girlfriend Lola often wonders why he spends so many nights away from her, having no idea what those supposed business trips really entail. Jose’s latest victim, Teresa, a girl he met cute when he almost ran over her, is the beginning of his downfall. Her friend at work gives Inspector Cabellero a vital clue as to where they spent their date together. Cabellero interviews the nightclub workers for a description, and an American in the airforce stationed there, who co-owned the apartment with Teresa, turns up a tie clasp that was worn by Jose. Meanwhile Jose meets an old flame Susana and though it takes a few dates, he’s finally able to strangle her to death and yes, rape her. As the police close in, having Jose’s girlfriend Lola ID the tie clasp, Jose tries to strangle and rape one more victim, but the police arrive and thwart his efforts. On the run, he ironically drives into the same lake where all his troubles began.
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.
.jpg)
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.
