Giallo Horror Films

What is Giallo Horror?

Giallo, the Italian wo

Image
Black Sunday Still
rd for yellow, refers specifically to Italian thriller-horror films that blend mystery or detective themes with elements of slasher violence and eroticism. These films are characterized as having a suspenseful atmosphere and also often involve a mysterious killer whose identity is not revealed until the final act. This film style developed in the 1960’s and peaked in the 1970’s, having a signifigant impact on the American slasher film genre.

This list is a collection of some of the most popular and critically acclaimed giallo horror titles that we have in our collection that will interest both the novice and seasoned horror film fan.

 

Image
Black Sunday
Black Sunday [La maschera del demonio] (1960) Rated R

This gothic horror is a predecessor of the genre, created by Mario Bava who would go on to create many giallo films. Based very loosely on Nikolai Gogol's short story "Viy", the narrative concerns a witch who is put to death by her own brother, only to return 200 years later to seek revenge on her descendants. Watch the trailer here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Sabbath (1963) Rated R

Image
Black Sabbath

Considered a prototypical giallo, this film is centered on three separate tales introduced by Boris Karloff. The first involves a woman who continually receives threatening telephone calls from an unseen stalker. The second is where a man who returns to his family after claiming to have slain a Wurdulak, an undead creature who attacks those that it had once loved. The third story is centered on a nurse who steals a ring from a corpse that is being prepared for burial and finds herself haunted by the ring's original owner after arriving home. Watch the trailer here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image
Deep Red
Deep Red [Profondo Rosso] (1975) Rated R

A psychic medium is brutally murdered and musician Marcus feels a need to solve the case since he was the one who discovered the body. Working with him is reporter Gianna Brezzi, who hopes for a big scoop by solving the case. When one of Marcus's own friends ends up murdered at the hands of the same killer, the resourceful pair realize they must work fast to uncover the murderer's identity or they might serve as the maniac's next victims. Watch the trailer here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image
Suspiria
Suspiria (1977) Rated R

Arguably one of the most famous of the giallo genre, this film follows an American ballet student who transfers to a prestigious dance academy in Germany but realizes, after a series of brutal murders, that the academy is a front for a supernatural conspiracy. This film also has an excellent remake for those who want to compare the two. Watch the trailer here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image
City of the Living Dead
City of the Living Dead [Paura nella città dei morti viventi] (1980) Rated R

A gruesome, evocative, and outrageous schlockfest that fans of the macabre love, the film follows a priest whose hanging opens a gateway to hell that releases the undead, where a psychic and a reporter team up to close it before All Saints' Day. Watch the trailer here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image
The House by the Cemetary

The House by the Cemetery [Quella villa accanto al cimitero] (1981) Rated R

New Yorkers Lucy and Norman Boyle move with their son Bob to the Boston suburb of New Whitby so that Norman can continue the research of his colleague, Dr. Petersen, who not long before murdered his lover and then killed himself in the same creepy home that the Boyles are renting. Watch the trailer here.

By AshleyA on May 14, 2021