Theme: Giallo Films

Giallo is a sub-genre of the Psycho-Thriller made in Italy. Giallo is the Italian word for yellow and is named after Il Giallo Mondadori, a series of books from the Italian publishing house Mondadori Publishing that issued translated copies of English-language thrillers with distinctive yellow covers.

Since then, giallo has evolved into a term applied to a series of extravagant sado-sexual films that started in the 1960s. The genre was not begun by but was shaped by director Mario Bava. Giallo built on the psycho-thriller established by Alfred Hitchcock in Psycho (1960). Bava’s addition involved a greater focus on eroticism, extravagant murder set-pieces, garishly coloured lighting schemes and improbably contrived plots revealing the identity of the killer.

The genre was popular during the 1960s and 1970s tapering off in the 1980s. Noted directors to work in the genre include Lamberto Bava, Alberto de Martino, Lucio Fulci, Umberto Lenzi, Antonio Margheriti, Sergio Martino and Michele Soavi while the star of the genre became Dario Argento. In the 2010s, there have been several films homaging the style of the giallo film.