Hooray for Facebook. I was browsing pages devoted to cult cinema as I'm prone to do during my downtime, and I saw a post about the Giallo gem, The Red Queen Kills Seven Times and realised that I had never seen it. And lo and behold, it was on YouTube in both Italian and badly …
Continue reading Giallo in June- Day 28- The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972)
Probably Argento's best movie in my opinion. A successful writer Peter Neal is visiting Rome from America. He becomes aware that a serial killer is on the loose and strongly influenced by his work. This film is staggeringly good. Prepare to be astounded by the tracking shot of the outside of the apartment block- one …
This film is a new edit of Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond for a North American release through a distribution company called Aquarius. Whereas the extreme horror of the original would have undoubtedly ensured the dreaded X certificate in the States, this version effectively removed the gore so that an R could be granted. It worked. …
Continue reading Giallo in June- Day 26- 7 Doors of Death (1983)
A wealthy man invites nine friends to an abandoned theatre he owns but doesn't use. They quickly discover they are locked in and that a killer is picking them off one by one. This giallo movie feels like part Agatha Christie (particularly And Then There Were None) and a proto-slasher movie. It also features a …
Continue reading Giallo in June- Day 25- The Killer Reserved Nine Seats (1974)
This 1963 Mario Bava film is a horror anthology. The episodes that make up the film are- 'The Drop of Water' which concerns how the theft of a ring from a corpse starts a string of supernatural occurances directed towards the thief, 'The Telephone' which is about a woman who is targetted by the malcious …
Continue reading Giallo in June- Day 24- Black Sabbath (1963)
Elizabeth is left a large mansion by her deceased uncle. A friend tries to convince her to sell it but she is hesitant. Strange events start to happen to her whilst there. Could the place be haunted or is there another explanation? Strong on style, mood and atmosphere but short on plot, The Doll of …
Continue reading Giallo in June- Day 23- The Doll of Satan (1969)
As a young girl, Virginia has a psychic vision of her mother ending her own life. Years later, Virginia is married to a successful socialite, Francesco. He leaves on a business trip and leaves Virginia in the property they are due to start renovating. She starts to feel uneasy, however, as she recognises the building …
Freaky events at a convent prompt a priest to investigate further. I knew The Other Hell would be a great film from an early scene that involved a demented nun telling an accomplice that a certain part of a woman's anatomy is the 'door to evil...the labyrinth that leads to Hell. The Devil's tools!' whilst …
Continue reading Giallo in June- Day 21- The Other Hell (1981)
A young man, Peter, visiting Austria for the first time, learns that his great-grandfather was a sadistic killer who killed over 100 locals. He asks to visit the castle where his relative lived, and then he and a friend decide to read an incantation that, when read at midnight, could resurrect him from the dead. …
Another horror film set in the world of fashion, as a killer is trying to retrieve the diary of a murdered model. Mario Bava's 1964 has a massive reputation among those who know a thing or two about the horror genre. And it fully deserves it. Why can't more horror movies look and feel as …
Continue reading Giallo in June- Day 19- Blood and Black Lace (1964)
