| Italian
Horror Movies
The
words “Italian horror” are enough to send shivers of excitement
up the spines of hardcore horror fans around the globe.
Sure, these movies may sometimes contain lackluster acting
and bad dubbing, but Italian horror films are also known
for brutal violence and plenty of gore (with neither women
nor children being spared). Often containing surreal scenes
and plotlines, Italian horror movies tend to be a breath
of fresh air when compared to their more formulaic cousins
from the United States.
While
the scariest Italian horror tends to be found in the films
of the ‘70s and ‘80s, the tradition of Italian horror movies
stretches back all the way to the ‘50s. In recent years,
the number of genre films have suffered a notable decline,
but the occasional brutal gem still gets made.
Below,
I have attempted to give an overview of the Italian horror
movie industry. While this list is by no means complete,
it should serve as a guide to some of the more essential
Italian horror movies and Italian horror directors. If you
see even one movie on this list–and enjoy it–then I’ll feel
as though my efforts haven’t been in vain.
Origins
of the Italian Horror Movie
To find
the origins of Italian horror, we must journey back to 1956.
It was in this year that director and sculptor Riccardo
Freda made I Vampiri (also known as The Devil’s Commandment),
a film revolving around young women being abducted and having
their blood drained. While the film was a box office disappointment,
it did pave the way for more successful Italian horror movies.
It should also be noted that Freda left the project with
two days to go, and the film was completed by a cameraman
named Mario Bava (who would himself go on to become one
of the best-known Italian horror directors).
In 1960,
Renato Polselli directed The Vampire and the Ballerina,
but it wasn’t met with much enthusiasm. At this point, the
Italian horror movement looked to be over before it even
got started. That all changed later in 1960, however, as
Mario Bava exploded onto the scene with The Mask of Satan
(also known as Black Sunday in the U.S.). Considered one
of the all-time scariest Italian horror films, The Mask
of Satan told the story of a witch who returned from the
grave to seek revenge on the descendents of her killers.
The
film was a hit in Italy and abroad, and many critics pointed
to Bava’s intricate use of light and shadow to create mood
and tension. The film launched Bava’s directorial career,
and it also served as a star vehicle for actress Barbara
Steele (who would star in a total of nine Italian horror
movies).
With
the origin of Italian horror now firmly set, the genre was
allowed to flourish throughout the rest of the ‘60s. Riccardo
Freda (under the pseudonym Robert Hampton) returned to the
horror genre with The Terror of Dr. Hitchcock (aka The Horrible
Dr. Hichcock) in 1962 and a sequel, Ghost, in 1963. Antonio
Margheriti made Castle of Blood in 1964, and later that
year the Italian horror director would also release The
Virgin of Nueremburg and The Long Hair of Death.
Mario
Bava was especially busy during this period. Coming off
his success with The Mask of Satan, Bava followed up with
The Evil Eye (1961), Black Sabbath (1963), What!The Whip
and the Body AKA (1963), Blood and Black Lace (1964), and
Kill, Baby, Kill (1968). The latter, a story about a series
of murders in a small village, is considered another high
point of the Italian horror movie genre.
Rise
of the Giallo
Giallo,
a style of Italian horror film known for its combination
of sex and violence, emerged onto the cinematic landscape
in the ‘70s. In Italian, the word giallo means “yellow,”
which indicates its origins in cheap paperback mystery novels
with yellow covers. In English, the word has come to mean
an entire range of Italian horror films, especially those
with unique musical scores (often featuring the works of
composer Ennio Morricone or the rock band Goblin), stylized
scenes of blood and mayhem, nudity, and creative camerawork.
While many of these films retained the element of mystery
found in their literary predecessors, the conventions of
the slasher film were also added. Themes of paranoia and
madness are also quite common. In their native land, these
films are known as “Giallo all’italiana” or “Thrilling.”
While
these giallo films were separate from those of the gothic-horror
genre, the two began to combine over time. This resulted
in even more creative cinematic endeavors, and a legion
of devoted fans flocked to such films. Many giallo were
not initially well-received in the U.S., however, as the
films were often poorly dubbed and re-edited. But their
fan base grew over time, establishing the reputations of
Italian horror directors such as Lucio Fulci, Umberto Lenzi,
Pupi Avati, Dario Argento, Mario Bava, Sergio Martino and
Aldo Lado.
The
first giallo film, The Girl Who Knew Too Much, actually
appeared in 1962, and it was made by none other than Mario
Bava. Now a veteran director, the former cameraman for Riccardo
Freda cemented the popularity of the genre in 1964 when
he made Blood and Black Lace (or Six Women for an Assassin).
While containing a whodunit aspect, the film was also shockingly
violent for the time. Bava would later make the giallo films
Five Dolls for an August Moon (1970) and Bay of Blood (or
Twitch of the Death Nerve) (1971).
Of all
the Italian horror directors, the one to become best-known
to international audiences was Dario Argento. With his unique
visual style and over-the-top violence, Argento brought
giallo into the Italian mainstream and provided a face for
the global horror community. His first film, Bird With the
Crystal Plumage, was released in 1970 and inspired a number
of Italian horror movies containing the names of animals.
Argento’s next films were Cat o’ Nine Tails and Four Flies
on Grey Velvet, both released in 1971.
Dario
Argento made Deep Red (or Profondo Rosso) in 1976. It took
giallo films to new heights, and while it did retain a certain
narrative structure, Argento was clearly more interested
in exploring visual symbology throughout the movie. The
trademark Dario Argento violence is still present in Deep
Red, as teeth are bashed out, heads are decapitated, and
one unlucky victim is severely scalded in a bathtub full
of water.
Giallo
films would continue to be popular throughout the ‘70s and
‘80s, with the following titles being some of the best examples
of the genre:
The
Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (aka Next!) (Sergio Martino,
1971)
Don’t Torture a Duckling (Lucio Fulci, 1972)
Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (Sergio
Martino, 1972)
What Have You Done to Solange? (Massimo Dallamano, 1972)
Torso (Sergio Martino, 1973)
Eyeball (Umberto Lenzi, 1974)
A Dragonfly for Each Corpse (Leon Klimovsky, 1974)
The Psychic (Lucio Fulci, 1977)
Tenebrae (Dario Argento, 1982)
The New York Ripper (Lucio Fulci, 1982)
Deliria (Michele Soavi, 1987)
Opera (Dario Argento, 1988)
The Golden Age of Italian Horror
Movies
The
Italian horror movement entered its golden age with the
release of Dario Argento’s Suspiria in 1976. This was followed
up by his equally influential Inferno in 1980. During this
period, many Italian horror films were also turning to themes
of zombies and demonic possession, obviously inspired by
movies such as Dawn of the Dead and The Exorcist. Lucio
Fulci’s Zombi II (1979), for example, remains a film which
is still talked about due to its high gore content and the
surrealistic showdown between a zombie and a shark. Gates
of Hell, also known as City of the Living Dead (1980), is
another Lucio Fulci film which still receives attention
from fans of Italian horror movies. Exceedingly graphic,
Gates of Hell features a scene in which a character vomits
up her own intestines (in reality, the actress actually
vomited up sheep intestines).
As the
zombie genre continued to grow in popularity, a number of
cannibal-themed films also began to get made. The most notorious
of these is Cannibal Holocaust, made in 1980 by Ruggero
Deodato. In it, a documentary crew heads into the Amazon
jungle to search for a mythical tribe of cannibals. In order
to get more interesting footage, they take to raping, torturing
and killing the natives they encounter. Besides the extreme
violence simulated in the film, Cannibal Holocaust is also
known for showing the real-life deaths of a number of animals.
Deodato continued to work in the genre after this film,
with 1993’s Washing Machine widely regarded as his other
notable work.
Mario
Bava’s son, Lamberto Bava, also made his mark with films
such as Demons (1985) and Demons II (1987). Lamberto Bava
outdid those who were ripping off The Exorcist or Dawn of
the Dead or by combining the themes of zombies and demonic
possession into one film.
The
Decline of Italian Horror Movies
As the 1990s rolled around, the momentum of the Italian
horror film had started to slow. Dario Argento tried his
hand at Hollywood, but the results were disappointing. Mario
Bava passed away in 1980, and Lucio Fulci died in 1996.
One
of the few significant Italian horror movies to be released
in the ‘90s was Cemetery Man (aka Dellamorte Dellamore),
directed by Michele Soavi. Starring Rupert Everett, Cemetery
Man tells the story of a cemetery caretaker whose corpses
won’t stay in the ground. Filled with plenty of nudity,
gore, and dark comedy, many credit it with single-handedly
keeping the Italian horror movie alive during the decade.
But
by the dawn of the new millennium, the state of the genre
was rapidly deteriorating. Dario Argento’s movies lacked
their former visceral power, Sergio Martino had transitioned
to working in Italian television, and even Lamberto Bava
expressed a preference for making movies aimed at children.
At the
same time, the mainstream Italian cinema was experiencing
a resurgence led by men such as Giuseppe Tornatore, Gabriele
Salvatore, Roberto Benigni and Nanni Moretti. This, coupled
with the explosion of the Asian horror market, served to
diminish the popularity of Italian horror films both at
home and on the international market.
As of
this writing, the horror genre has been somewhat forgotten
in Italian cinema. While fans can still choose from hundreds
of “classics,” anyone looking for new Italian horror films
will have to wait patiently until the next Argento, Bava
or Fulci comes along and reignites the industry.(Here)
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