The Italian godfather of horror Dario Argento is back. But should he have stayed away? Giallo stars Adrien Brody as an Italian detective trying to save an American girl from a serial killer known only as ‘Giallo’. Here’s the trailer -

Interestingly Giallo is both the title and the genre of the film. Directly translated from Italian, ‘Giallo’ means ‘yellow’, a reference to the yellow covered detective novels on which the films are based. Traditionally the genre combines the detective aspect with excesses of bloody violence, sex and nudity. Argento is one of the key figures in the genre which originated in Italy and he helped popularise it around the world.

It’s not hard to see the connection between the Giallo genre and so called ‘torture porn’ of modern day films such as Hostel. Argento seems to be making a bold statement by titling this film, almost as if he’s claiming back the genre from cocky young bucks like Eli Roth.

Argento’s films have always been less focussed on the quality of the acting, the script or the need to have a comprehensible narrative. Instead they’re all about technique and atmosphere. They play out like nightmares, complete with the non-logic that dreams have. Despite his film’s shortcomings (particularly apparent when viewed from a contemporary perspective) there is a strange sort of beauty to the garish excess of the likes of Suspiria which has helped him develop a large cult following over the years.

As for the Giallo trailer, sadly it feels like we’ve seen it all before, his unique visual style seems to have all but vanished. Reports from the Edinburgh Film Festival, where the film was screened, say it had the audience in fits of laughter. Not a good sign…

Source: Empire