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Giallo One...
Sex, Death and great Outfits (and really great Music)
Giallo One
By David Thrussell (SNOG, Blacklung, The Enemy)

Conceived and executed as “exploitation” cinema the best of the Italian Gialli exert a timeless and morbid attraction.

Psychedelic, brutal and philosophically and politically bleak, in spite of themselves they are a vivid reflection of the times they were made in. During the 1960s and 1970s (the era of the “strategy of tension”, Operation Gladio and a less than fragile “parliamentary democracy”) there were few nations more turbulent and troubled than Italy. Labyrinthine plots, countless intrigues, relentless nudity, eye dazzling design and musical scores (most often by Bruno Nicolai and Ennio Morricone) that soar with sublime melodies one moment and suffocate in dissonance the next, the Giallo is an under appreciated genre that sees Italian Cinema turned up to Eleven!

All The Colours Of The Dark (Tutti I Colori Del Buio) Italy 1972

Jane Harrison (played by Giallo stalwart Edwige Fenech) is tormented by the loss of her unborn child in an automobile accident. After pursuing more conventional treatments for her sorrow (psychiatry, drug therapy etc.) she finally settles upon joining a Satanic Cult (naturally) as recommended to her by her neighbour. After a steady diet of orgiastic sex, blood sacrifice rituals and psychedelic drug intake she seems to be progressing well. But not everybody is so happy. The bodies pile up, the hallucinations become more wild (or are they really hallucinations?) and Bruno Nicolai’s score smoulders through avant-jazz Al Dente. Some small minds might suggest that drinking Foxes blood and committing Ritual Satanic Sex with a whole coven of Witches may not be the best path for a troubled soul but our jury is still out on that one.
7pm Mon 24 Sept Glitch.

The Night Evelyn Came Out Of The Grave (La Notte Che Evelyn Usci’ Dalla Tomba) Italy 1971

Lord Cunningham (Anthony Steffen) is a deeply disturbed individual who leaves a trail of death and torture in his wake. But hey, the guy is totally loaded (and has a pretty neat castle to boot) so who are we to pass judgement on him? He bounces in and out of his friends psychiatric clinic to bouts of dressing up prostitutes to look like his dead wife and then whipping and torturing them to death (as you do). The Lord’s rich slug pals aren’t too bothered by his gruesome nocturnal activities and in fact take him out partying to find him a new wife, as they correctly sense (after a handful of cruel murders) that the poor sod is probably just a little “lonely”. But not all is as it seems. The ghost of his late wife (or is she really that “late”?) returns to frolic naked in the gardens of his estate with her many lovers. The good Lord’s psychotic episodes intensify and those closest to him may not after all have his best interests at heart. Features one of the best Giallo scores by Bruno Nicolai that is groovy, sensual and jarring (often all at once!).
9pm Mon 24 Sept Glitch.

The Perfume Of a Lady In Black (Il Profumo Della Signora In Nero) Italy 1974

Clearly inspired by Polanski’s tale of Satanic subterfuge “Rosemary’s Baby” yet nevertheless a remarkable film, The Perfume Of a Lady In Black centres around Sylvia (Mimsy Farmer) an industrial chemist whose mind is slowly getting away from her. Haunted by the apparition of a psychic child who comes to share her apartment and the innermost workings of her head, Sylvia descends into a world of suburban voodoo and cannibalism (that may or may not be real). Astounding and vibrant cinematography, a highly effective score (by a young Nicola Piovani) and an ending that will stay with you long after the curtain falls. An Italian Polanski on Mescaline?
Midnight Fri 28 Sept Glitch.

Short Night Of The Glass Dolls (La Corta Notte Delle Bambole Di Vetro) Italy 1971

Gregory Moore (Jean Sorel) lies (apparently) dead on a morgue slab inPrague trying to reconstruct just how he got there and who“did him in”. Through a Kafkaesque catacomb of orgiastic sex and blood-letting rituals (again?) Gregory finally figures it all out (in flashback) but is it too late? Director Aldo Lado wears his politics on his sleeve (and methinks he is probably just about dead on). Features a beautiful, chilling score by Ennio Morricone and perhaps the most disturbing ending in the history of cinema. Serious.
5pm Tues 25 Sept Glitch.


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