The horror genre is built on many subgenres and tropes that are so common that they’re taken for granted or wholly unnoticed by even the most seasoned fan. The slasher subgenre is one of the most popular within the horror community. Many fans don’t realize that slashers owe a debt of thanks to a lesser-known subgenre of film from Italy called Gialli. The recent release of MAXXXINE offers a great opportunity to dig into Gialli and learn where our beloved slasher films were birthed and bathed in blood.
Director Ti West has explained that MAXXXINE was built on two retro horror subgenres: L.A. sleaze films, such as Vice Squad and Gialli. Giallo means yellow, and in storytelling, it specifically refers to classic Italian pulp novels from the 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s. The covers of those pulp novels were brightly colored, usually yellow. Director Mario Bava is credited as the director who launched the genre with his films THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1963), and most notably BLOOD AND BLACK LACE (1964). Gialli films are highly stylized and feature a set of very specific elements to be considered a Giallo film.
The Giallo formula follows a psychopath who kills beautiful women and a bystander who is trying to solve the mystery. The bystander may be law enforcement, a writer, or a potential victim. The subgenre has been called misogynistic due to its focus on killing women. This type of story clearly grew from those classic pulp novels; it’s the filmic esthetic that sets the Gialli subgenre apart.
Alienation, sexuality, and trauma are most often the foundation for Gialli films. Killers exist outside societal norms, have experienced violence, or even witnessed violence but were never believed by their peers or authorities. These experiences create the monster.
Animals are very often featured in Gialli titles. Having an animal in a Giallo film titles isn’t a requirement because there are plenty that don’t, but it’s worth mentioning because so many films do feature animals in their titles. Some of the best Gialli with animals in their titles are Don’t Torture a Duckling (Fulci), Cat O’ Nine Tails (Argento), A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin (Fulci), and The Case of the Scorpions Tale (Martino).
Lurid and Lavish
Gialli films generally feature very high production values, being shot beautifully and usually taking advantage of the stunning architecture and landscapes in Italy to make the proceedings feel lavish and gratuitous. Gratuitous is a great definition of Gialli in general as everything related to the subgenre is gratuitous whether it be lush locations, nudity, or kills. It can be sensory overload for uninitiated viewers to see beautiful people in beautiful locations in slow-paced sequences suddenly murdered in extremely violent ways.
The very definition of lurid is “vivid color” and no filmmaker embodies lurid in Gialli filmmaking like Dario Argento. Mario Bava and Lucio Fulci took a very naturalistic approach to Gialli but Argento chose to splash the screen in color from wardrobe to sets and most notably with lighting. Argento took ownership of the genre with a long run of Gialli films through the seventies and early eighties.
If the Glove Fits
The most consistent and well-known element of Gialli films is the use of black leather gloves by the killer. Additionally, murders are shot from the killer’s point of view usually pushed in tight on the gloved hands and the weapon doing its business. The killer is also a voyeur slowly stalking their prey, watching the victim at their most vulnerable moments waiting for the opportunity to strike. Anecdotally, Dario Argento often played the role of the killer by wearing black gloves for the P.O.V. sequences in his films. Argento was known to not like most actors, so one could speculate that he got a cathartic release portraying the killer in the murder sequences.
Inspiration and Evolution
Modern slashers such as Friday the 13th and Halloween took great inspiration from Gialli films. The modern slasher would not exist without Gialli. Most film scholars and critics agree that A Bay of Blood (Twitch of the Death Nerve) 1971, is the first slasher. This Mario Bava film bridges classic Gialli films and the modern slasher formula. It’s easy to see that Friday the 13th leans heavily into the Bava and Fulci naturalistic approach and director John Carpenter chose to take more inspiration from Dario Argento’s use of color for Halloween. Both Halloween and Friday the 13th utilize murders from the perspective of the killer and both films feature voyeurism from the killer’s perspective as they stalk their prey. Halloween often features vibrant blue lighting with no reasonable source for the light, a very Argento move. The biggest element of Gialli not featured in these movies, and most slashers is the detective trying to unravel the mystery. Dr. Loomis is chasing Michael in Halloween but there’s no mystery. Loomis is just trying to stop his patient from killing people. Modern slashers, while still focusing on beautiful women, did become a little more equal opportunity by killing off male characters too.
MaXXXine is interesting because it’s a hybrid film built both on Giallo and on 80’s L.A. B movies. One could argue that the film is an homage to the genre but in reality, it’s simply utilizing Gialli tropes and style as a storytelling tool. Gialli has been mostly a forgotten subgenre so seeing it featured to the fullest in MaXXXine seems fresh compared to the current crop of horror films hitting the big screen. MaXXine embraces all of the key elements of the Gialli, black gloves, kills from the killer’s P.O.V., Argento’s impressionistic use of color, and detectives trying to solve the mystery. MaXXXine isn’t likely to spur a run of new Gialli films but hopefully, it inspires film fans and filmmakers to watch the classics. MaXXXine is interesting because it’s a hybrid film built both on Giallo and on 80’s L.A. B movies. One could argue that the film is an homage to the genre but in reality, it’s simply utilizing Gialli tropes and style as a storytelling tool. Gialli has been mostly a forgotten subgenre so seeing it featured to the fullest in MaXXXine seems fresh compared to the current crop of horror films hitting the big screen. MaXXine embraces all of the key elements of the gialli, black gloves, kills from the killer P.O.V., Argento’s impressionistic use of color, and a detective trying to solve the mystery. MaXXXine isn’t likely to spur a run of new Gialli films but hopefully, it inspires film fans and filmmakers to watch the classics.
Where to Start
There are hundreds of Giallo films to seek out and experience but if you’re new to the genre here is my list of must-watch films to get to know Gialli.
Blood and Black Lace 1964
Directed by Mario Bava
Hatchet for a Honeymoon 1970
Directed by Mario Bava
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage 1970
Directed by Dario Argento
A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin 1971
Directed by Lucio Fulci
A Bay of Blood (Twitch of the Death Nerve) 1971
Directed by Mario Bava
Don’t Torture a Duckling 1972
Directed by Lucio Fulci
Torso 1973
Directed by Sergio Martino
Deep Red 1975
Directed by Dario Argento
Tenebrae 1981
Directed by Dario Argento
The New York Ripper 1982
Directed by Lucio Fulci
