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With The Case of the Bloody Iris, director Giuliano Carnimeo and writer Ernesto Gastaldi constructed one of the quintessential giallo films from that genre’s peak period in the early 1970s. Though it may lack the operatic excesses of Dario Argento’s “Animal” trilogy, the 1972 film is meticulously assembled with a keen eye to visual stimulation, and conveys its commentary about matters of race and gender at an almost subliminal level. What’s more, the filmmakers knowingly tinker with some of the iconic tropes of the giallo.

The Case of the Bloody Iris’s narrative centers around a 20-story Genovese apartment complex of Brutalist architectural design. Most of the action takes place in three neighboring flats. These settings emphasize the alienation of modern urban existence, as well as the kind of creeping paranoia that stems from living packed in tiny cubes on top of each other. The opening set piece...

Halloween may be over, but there's a ton of horror content to look forward to from Shudder this December, including Creepshow and Joe Bob holiday specials:

New Shudder Specials

Joe Bob Saves Christmas — December 11 at 9pm Et

The Christmas spirit takes over The Last Drive-In as Joe Bob and Darcy close out the year with a double feature of holiday horrors. Premieres live on the ShudderTV feed Friday, December 11, and will be made available on demand on Sunday, December 13. (Also available on Shudder Canada)

A Creepshow Holiday Special — December 18

In the holiday themed, hour-long episode, “Shapeshifters Anonymous,” fearing he is a murderer, an anxious man searches for answers for his "unique condition" from an unusual support group. Starring Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect) and Adam Pally (The Mindy Project), the special is written and directed by Creepshow showrunner Greg Nicotero, based on a short story by J.A. Konrath (Last Call...

[This October is "Gialloween" on Daily Dead, as we celebrate the Halloween season by diving into the macabre mysteries, creepy kills, and eccentric characters found in some of our favorite giallo films! Keep checking back on Daily Dead this month for more retrospectives on classic, cult, and altogether unforgettable gialli, and visit our online hub to catch up on all of our Gialloween special features!]

One of my favorite professors in college would start and end every class session with the same sage words of wisdom, “You don’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been.” This quote, resonating loudly in the absence of video stores, in the disposal of physical media by major retailers, with the undeniable influence of social media on creative output and in the shadow of a global pandemic, paints an entirely new perspective on the future of film and the paths that will be taken based on the past already paved.

The narrative theme we will describe as “looking back” is not a new concept for storytelling. Whether searching history for stories about famous figures, critical moments, or rare circumstances, returning to the past is grounds for interesting stories.

Looking back at the footprints set by genre film; from Méliès to Wiene, from Murnau to Browning,...

Most gialli are focused on the aesthetic, making sure all the black boxes are checked - black gloves, black hat, black, black, black – and that the tropes are trotted out in a fairly predictable (yet entertaining) fashion. Stemming from procedurals, it makes sense for a strong structure to support the weight of red herrings and redder victims. And then there’s The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972), a giallo that loves the form so much it can’t help but be affectionate towards it, resulting in something closer to comedy than horror. The result is surprising and wholly entertaining.

Released in Italy in August, The Case of the Bloody Iris (Original Italian title: Perché quelle strane gocce di sangue sul corpo di Jennifer? Aka What Are Those Strange Drops of Blood Doing on Jennifer's Body? – a very giallo title if there ever was one) was met with positive reviews, especially...

Part of our on-going series Notebook Soundtrack Mixes.Forever on the edge of one's seat, giallo is the provider of all the glamorous and hallucinatory emotions. The film genre and its musical sister is somewhat a crown jewel when it comes to detailed niches, sub-genres, and die hard fans. Original LP records from the giallo genre can cost a hefty sum and the blossoming vinyl reissuing industry (an exciting addition over recent decades) proves how enduring the genre and its sub-genres are. This giallo bonanza comes in just shy of two hours and you will find both influential and cherished moments and secluded moments on the sidelines. That, for me, showcases its textures and ultimately what a fun, trippy genre it is. The work of the masters is in full swing, beloved composers such as Bruno Nicolai, Nora Orlandi, Riz Ortolani, and Goblin all have turns. And of course, the...

First they brought you The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh and then All the Colours of the Dark. Now, Shameless proudly presents giallo’s own royalty, the iconic Fenech-Hilton dream team, in their third sensuous outing: The Case of the Bloody Iris.

After two beautiful women are murdered in an apartment block, Jennifer (Edwige Fenech) and Marilyn (Paola Quattrini) move into the flat of one of the slaughtered girls. But before long, the unknown predatory pervert soon turns his salacious attentions to the gorgeous Jennifer. The list of suspects includes a woman and her deformed son, a crazy lesbian and even Jennifer’ s own lover.

Serenaded with Bruno Nicolai’s enrapturing score and featuring lush cinematography from Stelvio Massi, this long-sought-after 70s sleaze gem, directed by Giuliano Carnimeo (Ratman), will soon be available for your delectation, on a Shameless Blu-ray release presented in a 2K restored special edition for the first time ever.

We have great news for those of you who subscribe to Full Moon Streaming. It has been announced that fifty Blue Underground titles have been acquired by Full Moon Features for their new streaming service:

“Los Angeles, CA, February 3, 2014 – Full Moon Features is proud to announce their most exciting acquisition yet – fifty of cinema’s most obscure and beloved classics from the Blue Underground label will debut on their new subscription-based video streaming service, Full Moon Streaming (www.fullmoonstreaming.com), home to the entire Full Moon Features library. The Blue Underground titles will be released once per week beginning in March, and titles will include Venom (a beloved thriller about a killer snake starring Klaus Kinski, Susan George, and Oliver Reed), Mondo Cane (the Award-Winning documentary that launched the whole “mondo” craze of the sixties), Contamination (a gory Italian homage to Alien), Violent City (the Charles Bronson action classic), Don...

Full Moon has been steadily beefing up its streaming service, and if you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, this latest announcement should persuade you and then some. Read on for details, and get those smart TVs ready!

From the Press Release

Full Moon Features is proud to announce their most exciting acquisition yet – fifty of cinema’s most obscure and beloved classics from the Blue Underground label will debut on their new subscription-based video streaming service, FullMoonStreaming.com, home to the entire Full Moon Features library.

Blue Underground titles will include Venom (a beloved thriller about a killer snake starring Klaus Kinski, Susan George, and Oliver Reed), Mondo Cane (the award-winning documentary that launched the whole “Mondo” craze of the Sixties), Contamination (a gory Italian homage to Alien), Violent City (the Charles Bronson action classic), Don’T Torture A Duckling (horror/thriller from Italian godfather of...

A young woman enters a crowded high-rise apartment elevator. She doesn’t notice the man next to her slipping on a pair of flesh-colored rubber gloves. Soon, they’re alone, and the mysterious stranger overtakes her with gleaming blade in hand. Brian De Palma’s twisted 1980 thriller Dressed to Kill took a page from this opening scene in Giuliano Carnimeo’s 1972 giallo The Case of the Bloody Iris (directed under the pseudonym Anthony Ascott). Carnimeo also borrows things, looking to Mario Bava’s Blood and Black Lace and Dario Argento’s playbook for the guise of his murderer and several stylistic choices. Giallo queen Edwige Fenech stars in the Ernesto Gastaldi-scripted story (also known as What Are Those Strange Drops of Blood Doing on Jennifer's Body?) which pairs her with genre icon George Hilton again, months after the release of All the Colors of the Dark. There’s a...

The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972)

Directed by Giuliano Carnimeo

Written by Ernesto Gastaldi

Italy, 94 min.

The giallo film is obsessed with surface values, the quality and textures of materials; rough, soft, hard, supple, warm, cold, etc. The constant contrast between cold metal and hot flesh, the mixing of bodies and the release of blood. Though often lacking emotionally, it seems far beyond the point of the projects, whose convoluted mysteries push other values to the forefront. The question of beauty as good or evil seems to be persistent, perhaps a remnant of the Catholism of Italy, where the body holds immense spiritual value. How do we differentiate the beauty of the Madonna from the whore? Can the flesh be evil, separated from the mind and spirit? The Case of the Bloody Iris is in many ways a typical giallo, one that has Edwige Fenech as its idol, and the...

By Todd Garbarini

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Sergio Martino’s Torso (1973) was originally recommended to me on VHS at a Chiller Theatre horror film convention in 1999. I caught up with it later when DVD supplanted the inferior videocassette format as the primary method of home video viewing and while that transfer was a considerable step up, it was nothing compared to the new Blu-ray from Blue Underground, which is absolutely gorgeous. The image is pristine and bright. Derived from the original camera negative, Torso, succinctly and mercifully truncated from the jaw-breaking I Corpi Presentano Tracce di Violenza Carnale (Italian for The Bodies Show Signs of Carnal Violence), falls into the category of the Italian giallo thriller. The word giallo (pronounced gee-al-oh), like the term splatter films which is used for the brutally violent American horror thrillers released in the 1970’s and 1980’s in the wake of John Carpenter...

The term “giallo” initially referred to cheap yellow paperbacks (printed American mysteries from writers such as Agatha Christie), that were distributed in post-fascist Italy. Applied to cinema, the genre is comprised of equal parts early pulp thrillers, mystery novels, with a willingness to gleefully explore onscreen sex and violence in provocative, innovative ways. Giallos are strikingly different from American crime films: they value style and plot over characterization, and tend towards unapologetic displays of violence, sexual content, and taboo exploration. The genre is known for stylistic excess, characterized by unnatural yet intriguing lighting techniques, convoluted plots, red herrings, extended murder sequences, excessive bloodletting, stylish camerawork and unusual musical arrangements. Amidst the ‘creative kill’ set-pieces are thematic undercurrents along with a whodunit element, usually some sort of twist ending. Here is my list of the best giallo films – made strictly by Italian directors, so don’t expect Black Swan, Amer or...

For the horror buff, Fall is the best time of the year. The air is crisp, the leaves are falling and a feeling of death hangs on the air. Here at Sound on Sight we have some of the biggest horror fans you can find. We are continually showcasing the best of genre cinema, so we’ve decided to put our horror knowledge and passion to the test in a horror watching contest. Each week in October, Ricky D, James Merolla and Justine Smith will post a list of the horror films they have watched. By the end of the month, the person who has seen the most films wins. Prize Tbd.

Justine Smith (11 viewings) Total of 31 viewings

Purchase

Spider Baby or The Maddest Story Ever Told

Directed by Jack Jill

This movie is very fun, not so much scary as gleefully depraved. The film revels in it’s childhood attitude,...

Lo strano vizio della Signora Wardh (The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh) (1970)

A.K.A. Blade of the Ripper

Directed by Sergio Martino

Inspired by the often-imitated Les Diaboliques, director Sergio Martino (also known as Italy’s Roger Corman) proves once again why he does giallo better than most. Starring giallo queen Edwige Fenech (What Are Those Strange Drops of Blood Doing on Jennifer’s Body, The Case of the Bloody Iris, Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key, and many more) and George Hilton (The Case of the Scorpion’s Tail, The West Is Tough, Amigo), the film is a fashioned and engrossing thriller with impressive Italian locations, beautiful authentic interiors, awe-inspiring cinematography (by Emilio Foriscot and Floriano Trenker) and excellent sound design (Note the use of a heartbeat effect during a tense life-or-death scene is fantastic). A number of elements have been lifted...