Giallo (2009)

Adrien "Batman Voice" Brody stars in Dario Argento's GIALLO.  And, want to know what's really odd about it - the movie, that is. I didn't DETEST it. It was actually ok.

DO YOU LIKE HITCHCOCK was the last Argento film I watch and didn't hate. MOTHER OF TEARS was extremely disappointing. To the point of wanting my 90 plus minutes back. It was such a horrid round out of the Mother Of Tears Trilogy. So, when the negative rumblings started about GIALLO and the over the top Brody was cast, I didn't have high hopes at all. But, you know what...it didn't suck.

 We're into old school giallo fair here. There's a bad man killing hot girls. Ok. Sure. It's Italy. Happens all the time, right? Serial killer madness with Brody on the case. See, he's a tough, New York cop in Italy looking for this killer. The killer is bad, see, and Brody...see...he's a tough cop. See? :)  Seriously, Dario manages to dial in many of the old giallo tropes and I liked it. The bait and switch, the red herrings and McGuffins and the crazy giallo violence. It all works for the most part. I'd even say that Dario manages to tap into some old school giallo vibes that have not been seen a while. This thing even had the classic flash back stuff we all know and love in giallo. But, if you're a hardcore movie and giallo fan, you'll poke holes in this film. you'll HAVE to.

All jokes aside, it's not bad. If you like old school giallo mysteries, you can check this out. Just keep expectations a little lower and you'll be fine. Brody doesn't suck. He's himself. The lead actress is Emmanuelle Seigner and she's better than Dario's daughter. :::grin::: She's been around a while with movies like FRANTIC and LA VIE EN ROSE under her belt. The script is fine. Low key and simple. And the pace is good. We have the classic "look for the victim before she expires" going on here and it works.

And, of course, this is a recent Dario Argento film, so there are things that DON'T work, of course. The "Killer" isn't great. I won't give anything away, but I will say he doesn't work. It seemed sloppy. And I had to watch the end a few times to get it. It was comical. I watched it and said, "Wait....what?" So, I rewound.

"Wait....did he...."  Rewind two.

"Ah...ok......I think that's what happened. I'm pretty sure that's what happened...."  I didn't bother rewinding. I just went with my assumption. PROBABLY not a good thing, but...you know...Dario has some street cred and can be cut some slack.

It's available for streaming as of this posting, so if you're a giallo fan and have Netflix streaming dialed in, do give it a go. If you're only planning on watching one Dario Argento giallo this year, re-watch or watch INFERNO or SUSPERIA or DEEP RED or...you get the picture. :)

I loved the theme music, too. Pretty nice work.


Check it out.