What do you want to see in a horror movie? If you are thrilled by a macabre atmosphere that runs a chill down your spine then you may prefer 'Rebecca'(Dir: Alfred Hitchcock) or 'The Shining'(Dir:Stanley Kubrik), if you want gore and torture then Tarantino and Rob Zombie is there for you. For slasher flicks there are 'Jason','Freddie' and 'Leatherface'.
But do you want to see a suspense thriller about a serial killer? or haunted houses that hide gateways to hell? do you feel there should atleast be a demon in the whole movie to scare you, then read on...
'Giallo'(Italian for yellow), is a genre of horror movies and literature that are characterized by pulp fictionesque gore stories of low production values nevertheless entertaining. As a fan of horror movies, I have explored all sorts of genre among horror movies I could find, but have been in love with this particular type since I watched Dario Argento's 'Suspiria'.I have been obsessively watching 'Giallo' movies for the past few months and have unearthed quite a few gems that can surprise true spook afficionados.
The biggest name in 'Giallo' genre is definitely 'Dario Argento' who infact made a movie titled 'Giallo'(*ing Adrian Brody, Argento's last movie as director).But prior to him the maestro who first made the type famous and commercially successful was Mario Bava.
Mario Bava's 'Black Sunday'(Orig italian title 'Mask du Demon', why it was called 'Black sunday' in english is a mystery :( ) is a classic.Story of a witch coming back from her grave to put a horrible mask(an ancient torture device) on her present day lookalike. Barbara Steele was breathtakingly beautiful as both witch and the princess.Shot in black and white ,this movie is one of Mario's finest work.
Other than the above, Mario was brilliant as a director in Edgar Alan Poe's 'Pit and the Pendulum'(Barbara Steele and Vincent Price).Sadly this movie has a very less role for barbara. As a ghost of a dead wife of a rich spanish lord she mesmerizes viewers with her looks. in the final scene where she turns out to be a conspirator and gets locked down in an iron maiden is riveting.
Mario Bava's 'Black Sabbath' , considered by many as best among his works had three stories(last two were terrific specially 'The drop of water')and THE 'Boris Karloff' as 'Sutradhar'.I dont think there is any english version of this movie, you have to rely on subtitles.
Sadly some of Mario Bava's other works 'Blood and the Black lace','Hercules in the haunted world' were terribly disappointing.
The second king of horror is 'Dario Argento'. His best work 'Suspiria' remains the cult movie, poster of 'Giallo' till date. A young woman arrives in Munich to join a music academy. The students in the academy experience strange spooky encounters and discover a tomb of a witch in the basement. Haunting BGM and cheesy scares and a classic scene where the dog rips the throat of a blind musician, this movie is the 'Sholay' of 'Giallo' genre :) .
Argento produced several other classics 'Deep Red' (Profondo rosso),'Inferno', 'Tenebrae' (Italin for 'murder', one of my Argento favorites, the twist is predictable but interesting) and 'Phenomena'(Jennifer Connelly is brilliant as 15yr old insect loving Jennifer Corvino).
In his later days Argento actually urged Mario Bava's son Lamberto Bava to direct several of his films 'Demons','Demons2', 'The Church' (La Chiesa a.k.a Demons 3, probably Jr.Bava's best work, and certainly better than Demons1 & 2).
Argento's last work was Giallo(2009) which was a horrible horrible disaster.Its so bad that its hard to sit through it :( . As somebody put it up in IMDB message board "Dario, for god's sake ! please stop".
Its hard to believe the man who gave us 'The bird with the crystal plumage' and 'Cat o'nine tales' is making 'Sleepless'(2001).
Other notable mentions in 'Giallo' are Lucio Fulci("The beyond") and Sergio Martino("Torso")...
To be contd...
/* Published this longtime back in 2010 in 'InfyBlogs' :D */
But do you want to see a suspense thriller about a serial killer? or haunted houses that hide gateways to hell? do you feel there should atleast be a demon in the whole movie to scare you, then read on...
'Giallo'(Italian for yellow), is a genre of horror movies and literature that are characterized by pulp fictionesque gore stories of low production values nevertheless entertaining. As a fan of horror movies, I have explored all sorts of genre among horror movies I could find, but have been in love with this particular type since I watched Dario Argento's 'Suspiria'.I have been obsessively watching 'Giallo' movies for the past few months and have unearthed quite a few gems that can surprise true spook afficionados.
The biggest name in 'Giallo' genre is definitely 'Dario Argento' who infact made a movie titled 'Giallo'(*ing Adrian Brody, Argento's last movie as director).But prior to him the maestro who first made the type famous and commercially successful was Mario Bava.
Mario Bava's 'Black Sunday'(Orig italian title 'Mask du Demon', why it was called 'Black sunday' in english is a mystery :( ) is a classic.Story of a witch coming back from her grave to put a horrible mask(an ancient torture device) on her present day lookalike. Barbara Steele was breathtakingly beautiful as both witch and the princess.Shot in black and white ,this movie is one of Mario's finest work.
Other than the above, Mario was brilliant as a director in Edgar Alan Poe's 'Pit and the Pendulum'(Barbara Steele and Vincent Price).Sadly this movie has a very less role for barbara. As a ghost of a dead wife of a rich spanish lord she mesmerizes viewers with her looks. in the final scene where she turns out to be a conspirator and gets locked down in an iron maiden is riveting.
Mario Bava's 'Black Sabbath' , considered by many as best among his works had three stories(last two were terrific specially 'The drop of water')and THE 'Boris Karloff' as 'Sutradhar'.I dont think there is any english version of this movie, you have to rely on subtitles.
Sadly some of Mario Bava's other works 'Blood and the Black lace','Hercules in the haunted world' were terribly disappointing.
The second king of horror is 'Dario Argento'. His best work 'Suspiria' remains the cult movie, poster of 'Giallo' till date. A young woman arrives in Munich to join a music academy. The students in the academy experience strange spooky encounters and discover a tomb of a witch in the basement. Haunting BGM and cheesy scares and a classic scene where the dog rips the throat of a blind musician, this movie is the 'Sholay' of 'Giallo' genre :) .
Argento produced several other classics 'Deep Red' (Profondo rosso),'Inferno', 'Tenebrae' (Italin for 'murder', one of my Argento favorites, the twist is predictable but interesting) and 'Phenomena'(Jennifer Connelly is brilliant as 15yr old insect loving Jennifer Corvino).
In his later days Argento actually urged Mario Bava's son Lamberto Bava to direct several of his films 'Demons','Demons2', 'The Church' (La Chiesa a.k.a Demons 3, probably Jr.Bava's best work, and certainly better than Demons1 & 2).
Argento's last work was Giallo(2009) which was a horrible horrible disaster.Its so bad that its hard to sit through it :( . As somebody put it up in IMDB message board "Dario, for god's sake ! please stop".
Its hard to believe the man who gave us 'The bird with the crystal plumage' and 'Cat o'nine tales' is making 'Sleepless'(2001).
Other notable mentions in 'Giallo' are Lucio Fulci("The beyond") and Sergio Martino("Torso")...
To be contd...
/* Published this longtime back in 2010 in 'InfyBlogs' :D */
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