Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Gli Assassini sono nostri ospiti (The Killer Are Our Guests)

Vincenzo Rigo's Gli Assassini sono nostri ospiti is somewhat similar to Castellari's Gli Occhi freddi della paura. The fact that it's not your typical giallo is reflected in the great looking artwork by Piovani which leans more towards poliziesco territory.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Interrabang


Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to see Giuliano Biagetti's Interrabang yet, so I can't write much about the film. What I do know though is that it features a great lounge score by Berto Pisano. Poster art by Ferrini

Friday, April 10, 2009

L'Assassino è costretto ad uccidere ancora (The Dark Is Death's Friend)

Luigi Cozzi's L'Assassino è costretto ad uccidere ancora is not your typical giallo. There's no amateur sleuth trying to solve the case, instead you know the killer from the very beginning. George Hilton is not given very much to do, instead most of the running time is dedicated to Laura (the very cute Christina Galbó from What Have They Done To Solange?) and Luca (Alessio Orano) being followed and stalked by the menacing Michel Antoine. Worth watching but I found this an average genre entry. The script feels like it’s stretched to its limits to make to 90 minute mark. The scenes with Michel Antoine works well though.
No info on the poster art.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Bestia uccide a sangue freddo (Slaughter Hotel)

I'm a big fan of Di Leo's crime flicks, but I've never really been a fan of his only giallo La Bestia uccide a sangue freddo. I know it's got its fair share of fans (usually die-hard Rosalba Neri fans), but I find it crude and uninspired in a way that his superior poliziesco never were.
Poster art by P. Franco.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Omicidio per vocazione (Deadly Inheritance)


The poster for Vittorio Sindoni's Omicidio per vocazione. It also known as L'Assassino ha le mani pulite and there's a alternate locandina with that title available (haven't been able to get my hands on it yet). The film itself is a fairly poor giallo that not even Femi Benussi can save from mediocrity. Poster art by Symeoni.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Gli Occhi freddi della paura (Cold Eyes of Fear)

As far as I know Gli Occhi freddi della paura was Enzo G. Castellari's only foray in the giallo genre. I say giallo, but the film really seems to have been more inspired by films like William Wyler's The Desperate Hours than any of the other Italian thrillers on release at the time. 
The locandina by Renato Casaro was quite tricky to find, but I finally managed to get my hands on it.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Il Giustiziere sfida la polizia (A Dragonfly for each corpse)

I’ve always thought that A Dragonfly for each Corpse is a fantastic title, but the film is a very average genre entry. Like a lot of Naschy’s work, this leaves me fairly cold. I tend to find him quite wooden but he’s ok here and at least Erika Blanc is on hand to provide some well-needed glamour (and nudity) to the proceedings. The murder scenes are quite good, especially the first murder, but there’s an unintentionally hilarious scene where a suspect is trying to escape the police on a roller coaster. Giallo completist will want to seek this out but those with a fleeting interest in the genre are advised to pass on this one. Poster art by Aller.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Quel ficcanaso dell'Ispettore Lawrence (The Killer with a Thousand Eyes)

As you can probably tell from the poster art, Juan Bosch's Quel ficcanaso dell'Ispettore Lawrence is a poliziesco/giallo hybrid. Unfortunately it's not a particularly successful one. Anthony Steffen (who also co-wrote the script) stars as a special agent sent to Lisabon to solve the murder of one of his collegues. There are a handful of murder scenes that could appeal the giallo fans, but overall the film focuses far more on police procedure and the poorly staged fight scenes. Like the poster art though, but unfortunately I've got no info on the artist.