10 Awesome Giallo Films Every Horror Fan Must Watch
Beauty and Fear
Giallo movies are one of my favorite horror subgenres. They’re murder mysteries generally characterized by colorful imagery, surreal storylines, a progressive rock soundtrack, themes that intermingle beauty and terror, and a mysterious assailant who often wears black gloves and/or a mask.
The term ‘giallo’ means ‘yellow’ in Italian. The genre gets its name from a series of cheap gory paperback novels that were popular in the early 20th century (similar to the term ‘pulp fiction’).
Most of the best giallo films hail from Italy, where the genre originated in the 1960s. Several prominent Italian directors, including Dario Argento and Mario Bava, are closely associated with the genre.
The popularity of giallo peaked in the 1970s. They were a predecessor to, and an enormous influence on, the American slashers that first rose to prominence in the 1980s. Giallo could be considered the horror equivalent of spaghetti westerns. If you love slashers as much as I do, you’ll probably enjoy gialli as well.
