Friday, January 30, 2009

Il Vuoto Intorno (Shadow of Death)

Any seasoned giallo fan will have seen their fair share of convoluted plots, but the one in Il Vuoto Intorno where Denise (Teresa Gimpera) is planning to drive her husband John (Larry Ward) crazy by making him think that he's commited a murder with the help of his twin brother and her lover Peter must be one of the more improbable ones. That doesn't stop it from being a fairly entertaining film though. Don't know much about the release history of the film, but I'd guess the film didn't do too brilliantly at the boxoffice the first time around and that it was re-released under the L'Assassino fantasma title as seen below. Artwork by Renato Casaro.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Ragazza tutta nuda assassinata nel parco (Naked Girl Killed in the Park)


The naked girl in the title isn't found until past the midway point in the film, but I suppose it's a catchier title than the "Fully dressed old bloke killed in the Tunnel of Horrors" whose murder really is the film's central mystery. Alfonso Brescia's thriller stars the always wooden Robert Hoffman with support by Philippe Leroy, Adolfo Celi and Howard Ross.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Extrasensorial (Blood Link)


I love Symeoni's beautiful artwork for Alberto De Martino's Extrasensorial. It will no doubt be be very familiar to the owners of Adrian Luther Smith's Blood & Black Lace (and I reckon that'll be quite a few of this blogs readers). While one doesn't necessarily expect too much from 1982 genre entry from Alberto De Martino, Blood Link is actually a very good film with an excellent performance by Michael Moriarty as the psychically linked twins Keith and Craig.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

NonHoSonno (Sleepless)

The poster art for NonHoSonno might be uninspired and poor, but the film was a return to form for Argento following the disappointing Phantom of the Opera. I know opinions on the film are somewhat divided, but I like it. Hopefully the upcoming Giallo starring Adrian Broady will be more along the lines of this, rather than the very, very disappointing Third Mother.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Il Sorriso della iena (Smile Before Death)

I'm sure that Barbara Bouchet and Rosalba Neri's naked frolicking has ensured that Amuck will forever remain Silvio Amadio's most well known giallo. But to me, Il Sorriso della iena is the better film of the two. It's an underrated early giallo, full of twists and turns and featuring a great cast (Silvano Tranquilli, Rosalba Neri, Hiram Keller and last but certainly not least, Jenny Tamburi). It remains high up on my list of films I hope will surface on DVD one day. Great artwork by Renato Casaro.

Friday, January 16, 2009

La Morte negli occhi del gatto (Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye)

Antonio Margheriti's second giallo following 1968's Nude...si muore. A Scottish castle with secret passages and a gorilla called James aren't things one necessarily associates with a giallo and La Morte negli occhi del gatto really is a slightly curious mix between Margheriti's beloved gothic horror films and a traditional giallo. At least there's a razor wielding maniac around to liven up the proceedings. Poster art by Piero Iaia

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

La Polizia brancola nel buio


I had given up on ever seeing La Polizia brancola nel buio, but thanks to the good folks at Cinemageddon I recently got the chance to see Helia Colombo's very, very rare giallo. It's a low budget affair, but considering how many times I've been let down by rare films that I never thought I was going to get to see, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find out who's responsible for the poster artwork. 

Monday, January 12, 2009

Un gatto nel cervello (Nightmare Concert, A Cat in the Brain)

A guess hell finally froze over. It feels like we've been waiting for about a decade for the notoriously slow-moving Grindhouse to release the definitive version of Un Gatto nel cervello, but if nothing happens unexpected happens along the way Fulci's 1990 thriller should hit stores at the end of March. Considering Grindhouse seem to have picked up the pace lately, we might even get to see their release of Lenzi's The Though Ones before the end of the decade? Poster art by E. Sciotti

Sunday, January 11, 2009

And we're back again...

It seems a bit late, but Happy New Year to you all!
Sorry about the lack of updates during November and December. I've had a lot on at work during the last couple of months, but things are easing up a bit and I've finally had some time to photograph some posters and write a few comments. I'll try to post at least 2-3 posters per week during the next couple of months. I'll have the first new locandina post up by lunchtime tomorrow!

Managed to pick up a few new posters during the break. One of them was one of my most wanted posters, the alternate locandina for Mario Bava's
5 bambole per la luna d'agosto. Had to spend a few euros to get it, but it was certainly worth it.

Shameless ended up using the scan I submitted as the reverse sleeve on the
Oasis of Fear DVD. Even managed to get a credit on the sleeve. Not sure if the scan for Strip Nude for Your Killer was used or not since I haven't got the DVD yet. If you've got the DVD, please let me know.