200th post

It took a while to get here but this is the 200th post on Giallo locandine, so I thought I’d post something special to celebrate. You’ll get not one, not two, not three, but four posters this time.

During the last 12 months or so I’ve finally managed to a few of most wanted alternate posters so I thought I'd share a few with you today.  

The first one up is the alternate poster for Paolo Cavara’s giallo classic La Tarantola dal ventre nero. Beautiful artwork from an unknown artist where the two Barbaras (Bouchet and Bach) and Giancarlo Giannini are featured more prominently than on the poster most people know (since it used for the Blue Underground DVD Cover).  

The next two posters are alternate posters to Lamberto Bava’s 1992 giallo, Misteria (or Body Puzzle). I find the film slightly underrated and actually think it’s one of the best 90‘s gialli by far. The artwork in itself is not that inspiring, but that’s seldom the case with a 90’s film.

The last locandina is the alternate artwork to Luciano Ercoli’s La morte cammina con i tacchi alti. I’ve been searching for this ever since a narrowly missed out on a bidding war on ebay a five years ago or so. Great artwork by the mighty Sandro Symeoni. 

Le Foto di Gioia (Delirium)

Le Foto di Gioia from 1987 really isn't one of Bava Jr's best. There are a few effective sequences in the film (the department store one springs to mind) but the gimmicky way are shown through the killers demented eyes isn't as great a Lamberto had hoped it would be and comes off a bit silly. Whoever designed the poster for Lamberto Bava's Le Foto di Gioia obviously made sure to prominently display as much as possible of Serena Grandi's ample talents.

Misteria (Body Puzzle)

Recently re-watched Misteria for the first time in a couple of years and this is one my favorites out of Lamberto's gialli. There are some excellent set-pieces to be found in a few of his other films, but on the whole this is a much more satisfying film for me. I know not everybody appreciates Joanna Pacula and Tomas Arana, but I think they work quite well together here.

Moriai a mezzanotte (You'll Die at Midnight)

A general problem I have with gialli from the 80’s is that the actors generally come off as really poor substitutes for Edwige Fenech, George Hilton, Ivan Rassimov and others from the golden age of gialli. Lamberto Bava's Moriai a mezzanotte is no different. Neither the performances nor the characters are interesting enough to generate any real concern for them. There are some quite good set pieces (the murder in the theatre for example) but compared to Bava's own vicious A Blade in the Dark the violence on display seems quite restrained. Poster by E. Sciotti

La Casa con la scala nel buio (A Blade in the Dark)

Although the 70's was the golden age of the giallo, both in terms of films and locandine art, there were some decent ones made in the 80's as well. Lamberto Bava's La Casa con la scala nel buio is a good example, a minor but entertaining giallo and a great looking poster.