#horror – #horrormovies – #ForgottenGialliVolume4 – #VinegarSyndrome – @VinegarSyndrome –
As the popularity of the giallo genre began to dwindle in the late 70s through mid 80s, producers and directors needed a new hook to lure in audiences to see mysterious killers violently dispatching their victims. They found their answer in sex. Collected here are three mystery-and-mayhem-filled gialli from just after the end of the golden age, which not only feature gruesome kills but are also jam-packed with plenty of sex and nudity.
ARABELLA BLACK ANGEL (1989 / 89 min / 1.33:1 / Italian/English): Beautiful Arabella is an insatiable nymphomaniac with a crippled writer husband, Francesco, who is unable to pleasure her. Instead, Arabella searches for lovers in illicit dens of debauchery, bedding an endless array of men. However, when her husband discovers her having sex with a stranger in their shed, Arabella panics and kills the man, only to discover that her sudden act of violence arouses creative inspiration in her husband, Francesco. Covering up the crime, Francesco asks his wife to further explore her sexual fantasies and report back on her experiences. Unfortunately, Arabella’s lovers are subsequently visited by someone else…a vengeful murderer who violently castrates them.
THE KILLER IS STILL AMONG US (1986 / 83 min / 1.66:1 / Italian): Christiana is a college student who is studying criminology. After becoming intrigued by a vicious murder and mutilation of a young couple on a secluded lover’s lane, Christiana begins her own investigation into the slayings. As she gathers clues that she hopes might lead to the killer’s identity, she begins to find strange parallels with her unassuming boyfriend. And when the killer strikes again, Christiana becomes increasingly afraid that she is, in fact, living with a depraved sex killer.
THE SISTER OF URSULA (1978 / 95 min / 1.85:1 / Italian): Timid and reserved, though mildly psychotic, Ursula and her lusty sister Dagmar, along with Dagmar’s drug-dealing friend Filippo, have arrived at a beautiful seaside hotel in order to locate their estranged mother and complete their obligations regarding an inheritance. But shortly after their arrival, they become embroiled in a web of terror as a black-clad mystery assailant begins murdering other guests with a most unusual weapon.
STARRING: Francesco Casale, Tinì Cansino