Thursday, March 04, 2010

FILLMORE DISCOS 41 - GIALLO SPECIAL 3

Giallo A Venezia (*****)
this amazingly explicit giallo is also one of the very best: its drawn-out depictions of sexual perversion and shocking violence have an authentic resonance that's extremely rare in cinema; Leonora Fani is sensational as the young wife induced by her architect husband into acts of increasingly kinky sex

What Are Those Strange Drops Of Blood Doing On Jennifer's Body? (***)
even by giallic standards, the plot is absolute nonsense (not to mention the film's promising but irrelevant title), yet it's hard not to like for its imaginative camera angles, for its marvellous set pieces, and for the always captivating presence of Edwige Fenech

The Fifth Cord (**)
style wins out over substance in this decidedly pedestrian giallo; Bazzoni's admittedly sumptuous photography doesn't, unfortunately, compensate for the dreary uninspiring plot

The Killer Is Still Among Us (*****)
powerful, creepy, and deeply affecting movie based on the still-unsolved Monster Of Florence case: the murder sequences have a shocking authenticity, often with no accompanying soundtrack, and the narrative, experienced through the backstory of a female criminology student, allows for a heavily nuanced cognitive appreciation of the general paranoia the case elicited

The Pyjama Girl Case (*****)
ignore the haters, this is a masterpiece: stunning original giallo which, stylistically, is decades ahead of its time predating the clearly derivative styles later employed by Rob Zombie, Tarantino, and others; a geriatric Ray Milland slurs his way through his lines whilst Dalila Di Lazzaro provides classy female glamour to the sleazy proceedings set in beautiful Sydney - as if that wasn't enough we get a phenomenal soundtrack from disco queen Amanda Lear and composer Riz Ortolani (including the staggering Moroder-on-acid electronic maelstrom Il Corpo Di Linda)

The New York Ripper (****)
Fulci's cash-in of Friedkin's Cruising similarly explores the sleazy underbelly of New York in an unashamedly gruesome (and highly enjoyable) style all mixed in with your typical giallic red herrings and plot twists - the maniac's Donald Duck impersonations are notably creepy

FILLMORE DISCOS 40 - GIALLO SPECIAL 2
FILLMORE DISCOS 39 - GIALLO SPECIAL 1

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