Giallo and Italian Horror
This week’s Spotlight highlights giallo, a mystery-thriller subgenre that reigned in the ’60s and ’70s, predecessor of the modern American slasher. Here is a selection of some of the most stylish and influential Italian horror films featuring the gothic, the gory, and the gut-wrenching.
Suspiria
Unfortunately for an American transplant, a German ballet school is home to the strange, the sinister, and the supernatural…
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 1977
- Director Dario Argento
- Cast Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bosé, Barbara Magnolfi
- Genre Horror
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Criterion Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel, FlixHouse, Darkroom
Deep Red
(Profondo rosso)
A pianist and a journalist investigate a series of murders committed by a killer who refuses to be found.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 1975
- Director Dario Argento
- Cast David Hemmings, Daria Nicolodi, Gabriele Lavia, Macha Méril, Eros Pagni
- Genre Horror, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Shudder, Screambox, Fandor Amazon Channel, Screambox Amazon Channel, Shudder Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, FlixFling, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, ARROW, Midnight Pulp, Shudder Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Pluto TV, VUDU Free, Cineverse, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex Channel, JustWatchTV, Darkroom
Don't Look Now
A classic in the horror genre featuring a grieving family, a psychic sister, and an ominous warning…
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Italy • 1973
- Director Nicolas Roeg
- Cast Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania, Massimo Serato, Renato Scarpa
- Genre Drama, Horror, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Pluto TV, Kanopy
Don't Torture a Duckling
(Non si sevizia un paperino)
Two outsiders investigate a series of child murders in a remote southern Italian town.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 1972
- Director Lucio Fulci
- Cast Florinda Bolkan, Barbara Bouchet, Tomás Milián, Irene Papas, Marc Porel, Georges Wilson
- Genre Horror
- Available on Screambox Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, ARROW, Full Moon Amazon Channel, Midnight Pulp, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, VUDU Free, Plex, Plex Channel, Darkroom
What Have You Done to Solange?
(Cosa avete fatto a Solange?)
A mysterious gloved killer and a Catholic girls’ school — a giallo film with heavy sexploitation and slasher elements.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, West Germany, United Kingdom • 1972
- Director Massimo Dallamano
- Cast Fabio Testi, Karin Baal, Cristina Galbó, Joachim Fuchsberger, Günther Stoll
- Genre Mystery, Thriller
- Available on IndieFlix, Night Flight Plus, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Amazon Video, Kanopy
A Bay of Blood
(Ecologia del delitto)
The original slasher.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 1971
- Director Mario Bava
- Cast Claudine Auger, Luigi Pistilli, Claudio Camaso, Anna Maria Rosati, Chris Avram, Leopoldo Trieste
- Genre Horror, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Shudder, Shudder Amazon Channel, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Cultpix, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Shudder Apple TV Channel, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Shout! Factory TV, Freevee, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel, Darkroom
The Cat o' Nine Tails
(Il gatto a nove code)
Two men become unwitting targets of a killer with an extra chromosome.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France, West Germany • 1971
- Director Dario Argento
- Cast James Franciscus, Karl Malden, Catherine Spaak, Pier Paolo Capponi, Horst Frank
- Genre Horror, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Fandor, Screambox, Night Flight Plus, ARROW, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, VUDU Free, Shout! Factory TV, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
(L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo)
After witnessing a murder, an American vacationing in Rome becomes the killer’s next target.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, West Germany • 1970
- Director Dario Argento
- Cast Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi, Umberto Raho, Renato Romano
- Genre Horror, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Shudder, Screambox, Fandor Amazon Channel, Screambox Amazon Channel, Shudder Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, FlixFling, IndieFlix, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Shudder Apple TV Channel, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, Freevee, Midnight Pulp, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel, FlixHouse, Darkroom
Blood and Black Lace
(Sei donne per l'assassino)
A masked killer, an incriminating diary, and a model house full of secrets — and sins.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France, West Germany • 1964
- Director Mario Bava
- Cast Cameron Mitchell, Eva Bartok, Thomas Reiner, Ariana Gorini, Dante DiPaolo, Mary Arden
- Genre Horror, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Fandor, Shudder, Fandor Amazon Channel, Screambox Amazon Channel, Shudder Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, FlixFling, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Shudder Apple TV Channel, Amazon Video, Plex, Plex Channel, Darkroom
Black Sabbath
(I tre volti della paura)
A must-watch anthology by the “Master of Italian Horror.”
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France, United States • 1963
- Director Mario Bava
- Cast Boris Karloff, Susy Andersen, Mark Damon, Michèle Mercier, Lidia Alfonsi, Jacqueline Pierreux
- Genre Horror
- Available on ScreenPix Apple TV Channel, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Tubi TV, Pluto TV, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel, FlixHouse, Darkroom
The Girl Who Knew Too Much
(La ragazza che sapeva troppo)
An American tourist witnesses a murder in Rome and sets out to find the killer in the original giallo film.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 1963
- Director Mario Bava
- Cast Letícia Román, John Saxon, Valentina Cortese, Dante DiPaolo, Titti Tomaino, Luigi Bonos
- Genre Comedy, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Shudder, Shudder Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Shudder Apple TV Channel, Tubi TV, Freevee, Plex, Plex Channel
Black Sunday
(La maschera del demonio)
A vengeful witch is released from her tomb…
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 1960
- Director Mario Bava
- Cast Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Ivo Garrani, Arturo Dominici, Enrico Olivieri
- Genre Horror
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Shudder, Shudder Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, IndieFlix, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Shudder Apple TV Channel, Shout! Factory TV, Freevee, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel, FlixHouse