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The notion of the “DeAngelis triplets” is scarier than any
film in this thread.
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More Argento as he attempts to bring giallo into the new
millennium with-
Sleepless/Non ho sonno (2001)
Turin, 1983-a boy witnesses the nasty murder of his mother
and the inspector on the case (Max von Sydow) vows to find
the mad assassin…
17 years later the killings begin again and reunite the grown
boy who is haunted by the past and the inspector who is having
trouble remembering it…
Kicks off like a house on fire, full of crazy energy, gets bogged
down by awkward exposition (most of which thankfully is handled
by reliable Max) that throws in some macabre details which would
have been better served visually/“cinematically”
Also self-referential as hell, with plot tropes and visual nods openly
from Crystal Plumage, Deep Red, and Tenebrae. It doesn’t have the
impact of them, but it seems fairly swell considering the Argento
turkeys to come.
Music by Goblin, temporarily reunited with their classic 70s lineup,
a slick, more varied effort that retains their original personality. It’s
their final score to date.
WARNING possible spoilers ahead-
You might laugh at one inspector’s final comments that serve as a
little meta-commentary on their shitty track record in these films.
Also, no one has ever accused Argento & co. of being whodunnit
masters but they make the murderer easy to spot by treading on
the reliable Giallo Law of Murderous Efficiency
Funky music- for a 2000’s film, yes
Witness to murder- in the first minute, yes
Death by stabbing- musical instruments, knives, pens, etc, yes
Naked woman- one at least full frontal, yes
Overloud inappropriate music- I don’t think so
Black gloves- yep
Bath or shower- indoor drowning but no
Goofy inspector- not really
Important picture- not this time
Important memory- a weird sound, yes
Gay characters- no
Killer’s POV-yes
Twist ending- not so much
Striptease-no
Man slaps woman-no
J&B-too late for this product placement
Outrageous title-no
Red herring- a couple, yeah
Blackmail- shortly, yes
Scene in Italian- no, sometimes awkwardly dubbed
Ooh ooh music- a little soprano stuff but no
Death by razor- no, but everything else
Childhood trauma- big time, yes
Killer’s footsteps- a little bit
Rambling on again, 11 points.
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Sleepless, one I haven't seen. So....
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I think it was I who rated perfume. It is a classy little offering. A bit more effort has gone into it and Piovani's music is lovely in parts.
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Kids: Hey Grandpa, we got you hooked up to the World Wide Web!
Dario Argento: Is that like a web of macabre murder and
broken minds?
Kids: No, it’s the intranet! You can send electronic mail and
play poker!
D.A.: Poker? I hardly know her!
Kids: Ha ha! Oh grandpa!
And so is born Rome’s next black-gloved screwball, known as…
The Card Player/Il cartaio (2003)
A milf-tastic Italian policewoman and an Irish forensics guy are
after a nut who kidnaps women and challenges the cops to
gamble for their fate with….clunky video draw poker!
Meant to evoke American junk like Silence of the Lambs and
Seven with the subtext of Fritz Lang’s Mabuse the Gambler, but
ends up as a TV police procedural with characters who are a
compendium of TV cliches (the actors try)
Notable for Argento’s handling of the surprising sequences
involving the main characters’ fates, which show a little verve.
The crap with the early-internet poker is slow and sucks. It makes
you wish they had faced off with a little Nintendo Duck Hunt.
To use an equally outdated term, it’s 2000-late.
Music by Claudio Simonetti, who unwittingly provides the film
with its one genuine moment of emotional joy when the police
woman pumps a car stereo playing his music full of lead.
Funky music- only in the “expired meat in the fridge” sense
Witness to murder- yes, the murderer shows them live and in color
Twist ending- no, but involves some jive from like 1920
Striptease- if only
Killer’s POV- yes
Man slaps woman- yes one near the end
Overloud inappropriate music-not really but you will grow
to hate the internet poker music
Outrageous title-no
J&B- not a 1970-1982 film
Naked woman- yes, but a couple days dead
Death by stabbing- yes with box cutter
Red herring- yes the delivery guy from the Herring deli
Black gloves- of course
Goofy inspector- dummies but not comical
Important picture-no
Woman in bath/shower- unfortunately no
Blackmail- no
Gay character-no
Important memory- no
Scene in Italian- no totally dubbed
Ooh ooh music- negative Nancy
Death by razor- yes box cutter with razor blade
Childhood trauma- no
Killer’s footsteps- yes will make you guess the killer
9 giallo points, 200 points for the police gal.
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Phenomena (1984) directed by Dario Argento
with Jennifer Connelly and Donald Pleasence
In “Swiss Transylvania” at the “Richard Wagner International School for Girls”, new
student Jennifer (who can communicate with and control insects) teams up with
handicapped Scottish entomologist Donald (and his chimp companion) to bust a
(rather short) black-glover who’s got a sharpened pole to grind with the silly
students who wander about at night….
A whack-a-doodle “Alice in Wonderland” to Suspiria’s “Snow White” that thankfully
finds Argento and crew in good technical form, telling its goofy story coherently
(if not sensibly);you’ll probably even like Jenny and Donald (in probably his most
sympathetic role since The Great Escape). But…
Fair warning, this plows through its giallo trappings in its final section and dives
deep into the over-the-top world of ‘80s Italian horror that (almost) reaches
Fulci-level grotesqueness-not for the lily-livered and/or yellow-bellied…
Music by (then-current) Rolling Stone Bill Wyman, Simonetti and Pignatelli of
Goblin, Simon Boswell, Iron Maiden and Motörhead.
Funky music- Wyman’s unreleased “Valley Bolero” at the 39-minute mark
qualifies, I think, point
Twist ending- tempting, but as I posited earlier in this thread “an unexpected
killer demise does not a twist ending make” I’m gonna say no
Witness of murder-while sleepwalking, point
Striptease-no
Killer POV-Steadicam on display, point
Man slaps woman-no
Overloud/inappropriate music- between Maiden’s “Flash of the Blade” and
Motörhead’s “Locomotive”, big time point
Outrageous title-no
J&B-no
Naked woman- they’re much too young, no
Death by stabbing- sure, point
Red herring- not really
Black gloves- point
Goofy inspector-no, but he doesn’t do himself any favors
Important picture-no
Bath or shower-no
Blackmail-no
Gay character-no
Important memory- a housefly remembers where the killers live, point
Scene in Italian-no
Ooh ooh music-scary soprano from the Goblins, not quite the ticket
Death by razor-a nasty one, point
Childhood trauma-a fkn walking breathing one, point
Killer’s footsteps- I think so, point
A not-so-phenomenal 10 points.
I pretty much go with Roofie's assessment. Although I'd argue that there is a red herring - and also it's a bit of a funny twist concerning who dispatches the killer at the end! Two more points, maybe?
I like the use of dreams, nightmares, premonitions, even a hint of "backrooms."
I'm with J-Con: I hate it when people freak out over the presence of a bee and swat at it furiously. Just leave it bee...
We have to find some way to mention the girl in the classroom wearing a T-shirt with an enormous photo of Barry Gibb.
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Glad to see you here again to keep our US-UK contingents even 
We’ll let our bingo judges from across the pond make the call
I don’t think this one had enough characters to establish a herring
(it was more concerned about the murders than the what-dunnit)
Can you give me a clue on that one?
And yes the end is pretty surprising but to me if the villain is taken
care of, even in the most insane looney tunes way, that’s kind of a
“normal” ending. Your mileage may vary.
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Did any of the villains really have a snowball’s chance in hell against
a girl who could summon The Swarm/Exorcist 2 special effects?
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Did any of the villains really have a snowball’s chance in hell against
a girl who could summon The Swarm/Exorcist 2 special effects?
I'm not certain about the chronology, but I wondered if Jennifer Connally was still in Italy after completing Once Upon a Time in America.
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I put this thread second only to the "unrecognized item on the scanner" thread for incomprehensibility.
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The “bagging area” thread was tops, hope it didn’t get locked
like the other humorous FSM winners.
This thread is like the focused version of the “rate 1-10” minus
a lot of the cockeyed underratings of terrific 70’s movies.
“Not everybody likes us but we drive some folks wild”
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THE FLESH AND BLOOD SHOW (1972)
A British giallo/slasher/Grand Guignol
Funky music - Yes, and by Cyril Ornadel at that!
Twist ending - Yes. A second killer revealed during the last minute.
Witness of murder - Yes, in a flashback.
Striptease - Plenty of sensual slow taking off of clothes.
Killer’s POV - Yes.
Man slaps woman - Yes.
Overloud or inappropriate music - Yes, some irritating loud chords
Outrageous title - Outrageous in the sense of provocative. There certainly are gobs of flesh and blood.
J&B bottle - More tea than anything else. It's England.
Naked woman - Lots of young British birds.
Death by stabbing - Yes
Red herring - Yes. A prank-player makes the others suspicious.
Black gloved killer - No.
Goofy police inspector - No.
Important picture - No.
Woman takes bath or shower - Amazingly not on screen, despite the many depictions of clothes-shuckings.
Blackmail - No.
Gay/lesbian character - Angela comes on to Jane.
Important memory - Yes.
Random scene in Italian - No.
Ooh ooh music - No.
Death by razor - No.
Childhood trauma - Yes.
Killer’s footsteps - Yes.
I get a healthy 15 points out of this one.
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THE FLESH AND BLOOD SHOW (1972)
Thanks - it’s on the score card, if not in my Giallo bible.
It's probably not an official giallo, but it sure has many of the tropes!
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I’m glad to hear that Blood and Black Lace has a shiny new
presentation (I have an old version that, in the commentary,
explains its’ color symbolism nicely)
I really like the opening credits that showcase the cast standing
around looking shifty in beautifully-composed, funereal settings.
PS I bingo-rated Argento’s the card player a few notches back, it’s
not all that but it should be on the master list. Once I hack through
it Argento’s Do you like Hitchcock? is next.
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