Dario Argento

Fellini’s Casanova boasts an assortment of people, locations, and entire sequences that are created and realized in a way that can only be called “Felliniesque.” Clichéd though it may be, there is simply no other adequate description.

Two international producing companies, France’s Atlantique Productions and Italy’s Cattleya, have joined forces to co-develop and produce television adaptations of two cult Italian film properties. According to Slashfilm, the two companies intend to adapt the spaghetti western icon Django based from Sergio Corbucci’s original film and Italian horror film classic Suspiria by Dario Argento which …

What [Fulci] did best within the [horror] genre, he did as well as any other filmmaker…. And arguably his finest achievement, certainly one that perfectly showcases his style and skill, is The Beyond (1981), out now on an extensive 3-disc collectors edition Blu-ray.

Here are two films from the Chicago International Film Festival that couldn’t be more different. First is Miss Julie, based on the play of the same title by August Strindber, directed by Liv Ullmann and stars Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, and a pug. The general plot is simple, but the drama and themes, are …

Suzy manages to hail a cab after arriving in Munich, rain pouring down like the gods are dumping giant buckets of it onto her. It sounds like the apocalypse is happening all around, not least because of Goblin’s typically menacing score, which we are hearing for the first time. A McDonald’s visible in the distance, she pushes her way through the rain in order to yell down a cab and get inside (after the driver refuses to come outside and get her bags). She wipes herself off, reds and blues washing over her and the car. She tells the driver where to go (with some difficulty), then she’s off to the dance academy, with many different vibrant colors flashing through the cab and the thunder crashing all around. This is our introduction to Suzy Bannion. This is Suspiria.

“‘Dracula 3D,’ despite its shortcomings, is a rather sardonic, pleasantly schlocky, and at times visually dazzling take on the familiar Dracula tale.”

  With the eve when the veils between worlds is at its thinnest around the corner, it’s difficult not to think of the day’s most prominently featured figure: the witch. Below is an essential viewing list, ranging in genre and targeted age group, of filmic work that showcase witches (loosely defined for our purposes) and …

The etymologic history of the giallo sub-genre is well-documented by now. Giallo, Italian for yellow, refers to the cheap mystery books that at least partially inspired a cross-section of gruesome murder films from the likes of Mario Bava, Dario Argento, and Lucio Fulci.  Bava’s The Girl Who Knew Too Much from 1963 is commonly referenced …

Death Proof Written by Quentin Tarantino Directed by Quentin Tarantino 2007, USA **Contains Spoilers*** Tarantino’s many skills set him apart from other auteurs working in the film industry today, but none of them dominate in his work as much as his ability to seamlessly weave his narratives through genre/sub-genre mash-ups. The Nouvelle Vague coolness and …

Rutger Hauer has reportedly been cast as Van Helsing in Dario Argento’s upcoming Dracula 3D. As much as I like the actor, I am not sure if this is good news. It’s been years since Dario Argento made a film worth watching. In fact his last two movies, Giallo and Mother of Tears both made …

Reportedly Michele Soavi, the director behind Dellamorte Dellamore, released as Cemetery Man, is preparing to return to the filmmaking, starting with a sequel to his widely acclaimed 1994 Italian horror/comedy. Soavi has been credited as almost single-handedly continuing the traditions of Italian horror in the 1990s, but stayed away from the genre for quite a …

London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts recently hosted a murderous double bill to celebrate the imminent Blu-Ray release of 2009’s postmodern Giallo homage Amer, directed by real world couple Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, both of whom were on hand to provide an insightful Q&A session after the screening, alongside a rare projection of the 1982 …

Going into the final day of the competition, I was trailing by two films. Things didn’t bode well for me, because time just was not on my side. Though I’ve taken every year by a landslide, I am more than satisfied with the results here. I may not have won, but my record is still …

Horror fans are a mysterious, cultish bunch. Or at least, they like to think they are, imagining themselves the vanguard of the underground; Morlocks feeding off pampered, mainstream Eloi dandies with D&G sunglasses and designer perfume. But go to any horror film screening, and see if you’re not surrounded by Blackberry-toting shitheads who got armband tattoos so they look good pounding Redbull & Vodkas at La Boum. Sure, there are the hardcore horror fans, concave chests vainly attempting to fill out Necrophagist t-shirts, keeping the black flame alive on message boards that use crime scene photos as wallpaper. But they’re dwarfed in number by the Friday night date crowd, who wouldn’t dare miss opening night for the latest Rob Zombie movie, provided Fast and Furious isn’t playing somewhere.

“Opera showcases Argento at his insane stylistic best that rivals the Technicolor mastery of Suspiria.” Opera Director: Dario Argento Writers: Dario Argento, Franco Ferrini Starring: Christina Marsillach, Ian Charleson, Coralina Catildi-Tassoni 1987 Italy | R | 107 mins You know a Dario Argento film when you see one – vivid and hypnotic colours, elaborate camera moves …

It is the second week of the contest, and this is traditionally when we first start feeling a little horror burnout. This year was no exception, but I managed to trudge through it and watch 13 films, and some were even good. The week started on a high note with Lucio Fulci’s City of The …

It is horror season again, my favorite time of year, which means my dear friend Justine and I reprise our rivalry and do our best to out-watch each other, for no other prize other than bragging rights for the year. Really, it is an excuse for two horror fanatics to cram their brains with as …

Shocktilyoudrop.com broke news today that two of the biggest ongoing trends in the film business are ready to overlap: vampires and 3-D.  Dario Argento, famed Italian horror director, has announced his next project: a 3-D movie rendering of the classic Dracula. The news comes direct from the Cannes film festival, where FilmExport Group is working …

Undertones: Volume 7 It’s the time of the year again where folks’ minds turn to the macabre and the ghoulish; where death is celebrated rather than feared and of course, when dusty copies of horror films are taken off the shelf to terrify and amuse. So, in honor of the Halloween season it would seem …

Cult Cinema: Volume 10 Horror fans are a mysterious, cultish bunch. Or at least, they like to think they are, imagining themselves the vanguard of the underground; Morlocks feeding off pampered, mainstream Eloi dandies with D&G sunglasses and designer perfume. But go to any horror film screening, and see if you’re not surrounded by Blackberry-toting …