After the super-hot, high-fashion model Celine (Elsa Pataky of Fast Five) disappears one night in Italy, her almost-as-hot sister, Linda (Emmanuelle Seigner, Mrs. Roman Polanski), persuades goateed FBI inspector Enzo Avolfi (Adrien Brody) to help find her. In a voice that apes Columbo, he agrees, but only because he suspects she’s been abducted by a … Continue reading Giallo (2009)→
Drawing proportionate influence from the Italian giallo and the American Batman TV series of ’68, Sexy Cat is a Spanish murder mystery. And it’s loco. The “beautiful mass murderess” Sexy Cat is set to leap from the comics to the small screen. Pissed his creator’s credit has been stolen by Bob Kane Paul Karpis (Beni … Continue reading Sexy Cat (1973)→
Apparently, Tenebrae is a religious service right before Easter where candles are extinguished in total darkness, or something to that effect. I guess that is a complacent title for Dario Argento’s return to the giallo realm of demonic horror after both Suspiria and Inferno … but I am bad with comparisons. Sorry. Tenebrae has some … Continue reading Tenebrae (1982)→
Clearly, Don’t Look Now is a brilliant film in the annals of mind-bending suspense, but also one that is very bizarre and outré, something that sets it apart. Even more so, this giallo precursor was the type of film you could release in the ’70s and win all the awards while being a critical darling. … Continue reading Don’t Look Now (1973)→
As is de rigueur with the giallo, the title is meaningless. But The Scorpion with Two Tails is no giallo. It’s more like Jell-O, but if director Sergio Martino didn’t bother reading the recipe, so the result fails to cohere. It’s a mess that falls apart almost instantly. Joan (Elvire Audray, Ironmaster) is plagued by … Continue reading The Scorpion with Two Tails (1982)→