FILLMORE DISCOS 43 - '70s RARITIES 2

Death Laid An Egg, 1968 (*****)
a wonderfully deranged giallo hybrid that achieves the usually impossible task of bridging a powerful experimental aesthetic with intense entertainment - the result is a timeless classic of modern cinema; the similarly left-field soundtrack perfectly complements the sleaze and bizarre goings-on at the hi-tech chicken facility

Perversion Story, 1969 (***)
Fulci tries his hand at Hitchcock's Vertigo this time around and delivers an uneven, albeit enjoyable mystery that culminates in what seems to be a simple condemnation of the US legal system

Short Night Of The Glass Dolls, 1971 (****)
before arriving at its horrific finale, the movie's slow-pace is capably offset by the creepy premise of a comatose, but conscious, American journalist stuck in the mortuary; Communist Prague's interiors and exteriors provide the suitably atmospheric backdrop

Quelle Che Contano, 1974 (**)
unremarkable low-budget gangster movie that is most notable for a shockingly savage belt-beating inflicted upon Margie, the American gangster's masochistic prostitute mistress (played by Barbara Bouchet)

Macchie Solari, 1975 (***)
insane, extraordinarily chaotic banquet of simulated autopsy scenes amidst the usual heaps of italosleaze featuring the delightful Mimsy Farmer as the pathology student investigating a wave of suicides blamed on sunspots; afterwards, you will want to visit Rome's infamous Criminal Museum

The Witch Who Came From The Sea, 1976 (*****)
a highly recommended forgotten classic from the golden age of US independent cinema: Millie Perkins delivers an amazing disturbed performance as Mollie, a young mother psychologically damaged by the abusive childhood relationship she suffered at the hands of her father

Hitch-Hike, 1977 (***)
the ebullient energy of the script and the main protagonists' performances (played by David Hess, Franco Nero, and Corinne Clery) defiantly compensate for the seeming total lack of a budget

Patrick Still Lives, 1980 (***)
batshit crazy eurosleaze, maximum nudity, and an incomprehensible narrative all feature in a fun film whose final act boasts some truly jolting, gruesome violence

FILLMORE DISCOS 41 - GIALLO SPECIAL 3

Giallo A Venezia (*****)
this amazingly explicit giallo is also one of the very best: its drawn-out depictions of sexual perversion and shocking violence have an authentic resonance that's extremely rare in cinema; Leonora Fani is sensational as the young wife induced by her architect husband into acts of increasingly kinky sex

What Are Those Strange Drops Of Blood Doing On Jennifer's Body? (***)
even by giallic standards, the plot is absolute nonsense (not to mention the film's promising but irrelevant title), yet it's hard not to like for its imaginative camera angles, for its marvellous set pieces, and for the always captivating presence of Edwige Fenech

The Fifth Cord (**)
style wins out over substance in this decidedly pedestrian giallo; Bazzoni's admittedly sumptuous photography doesn't, unfortunately, compensate for the dreary uninspiring plot

The Killer Is Still Among Us (*****)
powerful, creepy, and deeply affecting movie based on the still-unsolved Monster Of Florence case: the murder sequences have a shocking authenticity, often with no accompanying soundtrack, and the narrative, experienced through the backstory of a female criminology student, allows for a heavily nuanced cognitive appreciation of the general paranoia the case elicited

The Pyjama Girl Case (*****)
ignore the haters, this is a masterpiece: stunning original giallo which, stylistically, is decades ahead of its time predating the clearly derivative styles later employed by Rob Zombie, Tarantino, and others; a geriatric Ray Milland slurs his way through his lines whilst Dalila Di Lazzaro provides classy female glamour to the sleazy proceedings set in beautiful Sydney - as if that wasn't enough we get a phenomenal soundtrack from disco queen Amanda Lear and composer Riz Ortolani (including the staggering Moroder-on-acid electronic maelstrom Il Corpo Di Linda)

The New York Ripper (****)
Fulci's cash-in of Friedkin's Cruising similarly explores the sleazy underbelly of New York in an unashamedly gruesome (and highly enjoyable) style all mixed in with your typical giallic red herrings and plot twists - the maniac's Donald Duck impersonations are notably creepy

FILLMORE DISCOS 40 - GIALLO SPECIAL 2
FILLMORE DISCOS 39 - GIALLO SPECIAL 1

FILLMORE DISCOS 39 - GIALLO SPECIAL

A good giallo, before it can be considered great, must fulfil certain specific criteria:
- stunning locations unfamiliar to the viewer
- beautiful charismatic girls of all types and backgrounds that revel in the celebration of their tarterie, to wit, the showing-off of their bodies in sensationally alluring outfits
- a brilliant eclectic soundtrack by a single composer
- an unknown sex maniac killer sporting stylish black leather gloves

Torso (****)
the red-headed beauty that is Tina Aumont, plus the extraordinary proto-slasher chase scene in the woods (remorselessly imitated ever since), would alone make worth seeing what is otherwise a patchy yet tremendously fun and sexy giallo

Six Women For The Murderer (*****)
Sei Donne, in its entirety, is a vibrantly beautiful sexy feast for your greedy eyes; Bava's 1964 classic was a huge influence on the giallo genre

A Lizard In A Woman's Skin (****)
weird and highly satisfying giallo by Fulci set in 60s swinging London, it captures the sordidness of the hippie acid scene better than most films of the era

A Bay Of Blood (****)
fascinating to see the origins of the slasher-by-numbers genre, in particular the Friday 13th franchise - the ever-inventive Mario Bava was, once more, way ahead of his time

Don't Torture A Duckling (*****)
Fulci's masterpiece, way better than all his later zombie shit; there are some extraordinarily memorable and twisted scenes, some wonderful mystery and polemic, a fine cast including the incomparable Barbara Bouchet, a killer Ortolani soundtrack, and all set in astounding locations in southern Italy; what more could you possibly want?

The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (**)
from a promising outset this starts to drag badly, the actors lack charisma, Morricone's score is substandard, and the cinematography is nothing special compared to the best of the gialli; Dario Argento is, once again, way overrated

The Red Queen Kills 7 Times (****)
brilliant stylish (and oft-overlooked) giallo by Emilio Miraglia set in beautiful Wurzburg, Bavaria - with a classic Bruno Nicolai soundtrack to match