A big part of the charm of the Italian Horror films of old, was their lack in quality. Many of the plots made no sense; the acting was not very good at all; the dubbed English voices were more humorous than they were ever meant to be; and a great many Italian Horror movies had endings that involved freeze-frames that made absolutely no sense.
But damn, were they ever enjoyable on every other front.
If you're looking for a proper introduction to the world of Italian Horror, then any of the movies in our Top Six will do you right. We'd urge you to start with Deep Red, Suspiria, and The Beyond, as they are probably the "best" of them, but most of the movies below represent Italian Horror very well, each in their own way, so why not enjoy them all!
Also, be sure to check out our Women of Italian Horror post HERE.
*Most of the links go to Amazon so that you can stream or grab yourself a copy of the movies; our review of the movie (when applicable); or in the case of some of the older & more obscure titles, IMDB, because they simply aren't available to stream or purchase.
Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972) - just saying since you have an empty space there. :)
ReplyDeleteAh yes, that's one I forgot. There's a new Arrow Blu-ray coming out in 2 weeks too :)
DeleteGreat list! (As usual!). As someone who grew up in Italy in the 80s and watchedo these movies on local TV channels (they were a popular choice for post-prime time), I really appreciate your selection. However, I believe that "Pieces" is actually a Spanish/American production, not an Italian one...
ReplyDeleteIt must hve been great growing up in the 80's in Italy!
DeletePieces is a Spanish, U.S., and Italian co-production. I stretched a bit including it here, probably because I had just watched it :)
It was, honestly, quite fun, especially if you are an horror fan :-) As for pieces, well, if it is at least partly Italian, it counts! I'm also glad you included one of my favorites, Pupi Avati's The House With Laughing Windows. It was shot not far away from where a I grew up, in Italy's poor (at the time) northeaster region. Avati made two other horror flicks, which are also very dear to my heart: Zeder (Revenge of The Dead in the US; The resurrected priest still gives me the creeps) and L'Arcano Incantatore (Arcane Sorcerer). Since you seem to have seen *everything*, you have probably already seen these two... But I thought I should mention :-)
DeleteAndrea, we have NOT seen everything. I wish :)
DeleteItaly is such beautiful country to shoot any movie in, especially Horror. There's an outdoor scene in Argento's Phenomena that always makes me wish I lived there, right in that area. So beautiful. Or is it cosi bella? :)