I wrote this paper back in 2009 for my Horror Cinema class....in the spirit of the crazy storm and Halloween...enjoy...
Italian Giallo and the Slasher Film
Italian giallo, which means yellow, are part of the horror genre, and have inspired the makings of the now popular slasher film. Both have elements that are similar, but when the slasher was made it took some the elements and revamped them and added newer features that are easily recognizable and made popular by film audiences.
Giallo films began as a horror and thriller hybrid in the mid-1960’s. It has distinct elements such as the masked killer, who is motivated by a psychological trauma. This killer walks around committing highly choreographed, eroticized violence, and is usually shown with their hands gloved to hide their identity. The mass murders committed begin an investigation. Usually the protagonist is played by either American or British actors. The films relied on its camera setups that were highly elaborated and helped build the suspense with its shock effects. It also began the predatory camera work, in which the audience would get the point of view of the murderer as they chased or followed their victim. The spectacle of the violence would also overwhelm the narrative, which is sometimes already unreliable. Lastly it paid attention to body horror, by showing images of damage being done to the body.
Giallo films made their mark in the United States in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s and “were exhibited in limited release, or found on the midnight movie circuit” (Guins 2). They later were available on VHS and television. These films were intended for adult viewing, but were sold for a kid’s audience on T.V. Since they became popular with such a young audience they were heavily censored. The censorship though took away from the films, making them hard to follow, and the VHS copies were of a low resolution. The sound was also off. The giallo’s were then known as “splatter” films, since the censorships would cut the murders to only show the blood being splattered and slight gore. By 1997, the films were identified as art and released on DVD and redefined as “Horror” artistic films with auteur markings. It also included DVD extras not found on the VHS copies.
Deep Red by Dario Argento was made in 1975. It’s an example of giallo films because it incorporates its elements into its story. Starting off the audience witnesses a murder and later sees the legs of a child, it does not identify who these people are, but this part is crucial to the climax of the film. The audience is then introduced to a musician who takes on the role as the detective in trying to uncover the mysterious murders that keep occurring around him. At times the films narrative is not reliable, once the audience and the protagonist think they are on to something the story changes. The killer has a tune that comes up when they are in the scene and also alerts the audience that something is up. The tune also signals part of the murderer’s traumatic past. The murders are also violent and memorable. For example in one scene a man is shown in his study also trying to investigate the murders, and it seems he is on to something. At this point a music cue goes on and he becomes aware that he may not be alone in the room. He grabs a knife and keeps his eyes on the door. The music picks up pace raising the suspense that the murderer is going to come through the door. Suddenly the music stops, and the door opens to reveal a doll that makes its way towards the man. The man slashes it down, but remains looking at it. The music picks up again and the killer comes out from behind the curtain right next to him, bashing the man’s head into the desk and killing him. The scene is memorable by showing the man’s face as he’s being bashed into a table because first the doll that appears seems to give the audience false suspense making them think it’s nothing, but it leaves the man confused as if it’s telling him that the killer is there. Second the camera provides the audience a close up look as he is brutally killed, first by having his teeth bashed and then followed by being stabbed. The audience does not see the stabbing and but is only left with the view of the man’s face as he is looking up and leaving the audience to think that he got a view of the killer and is left to die looking at him.
Around 1978, the slasher film was introduced to American audiences. Influenced heavily by the giallo films they even borrowed the same elements. They included erotized violence, hand held camerawork from the killer’s point of view, and the killer is also motivated by a psychological trauma. The killer also has a tendency to be falsely killed, meaning the protagonist thinks they get rid of him only for later the killer appears again. Violence towards females was also much more excessive, than the violence towards males. But not all females were victimized in the films; the slasher introduced the concept of the final girl.
The final girl became a well known feature to the slasher. She has abilities not seen in other characters. She is alert to her surroundings and would notice when things are slightly off. She also is said to be “a female who is actually deep down a man in drag” (Pinedo 81). Seen with masculine abilities, she is capable to run from the killer, dodge blows, and must be resourceful in making weapons that will aid her in her final battle with the killer. Not following the female stereotypes of being the “damsel in distress”, she is given a moral alibi to be able to fight back, since she has witness the death of her own friends at the hand of the killer. Unlike her female comrades though she avoids participating in sexual activity, another element of the slasher. The films have a puritive view towards sex; those who are seen doing it end up as victims to the killer. This was changed though in the 1990’s in Wes Craven’s Scream in which the final girl is seen having sex with her boyfriend, but survives in the end after her battle with the killer.
An example of the slasher film is with John Carpenter’s Halloween. Premiered in 1978 it introduced audiences to “The Shape” later known as Michael Myers. The film begins with a look at a house, it’s not clear whether it’s someone’s point of view or not, but later the audience is placed into the point of view of a character as they go into the kitchen get a knife. The narrator then puts on a mask, and the audience gets the view from the mask, seeing through he eyes holes as the mysterious narrator enters a room with a girl, whom the audience has seen already through the window from before. The girl is naked and turns and yells at the narrator and at that moment she is stabbed to death. It then cuts to the narrator sitting outside and the audience is shown that they just witnessed through a young Michael Myers his first murder. The film then forwards a few years to reveal that Myers has escaped on a Halloween and has returned to his hometown. His motives are unknown as he is shown following Laurie Strode, a teenage girl who is babysitting for the night. His appearance throughout his cued by a theme song, that is now extremely popular among fans of the series. Laurie is the final girl of the film. Throughout the film, she picks up that she is being watched and notices inconsistencies that her friends do not pick up on. While her friends participate in sexual activities and substance abuse, she remains as the “girl scout”, until she sees her friends have been murdered. At this point she changes her role from being damsel to hero as she goes up against Myers in fight in the end. She becomes resourceful using a hanger to poke his eye through his mask, giving her a chance to get away. Laurie also demonstrates a productive fear, in which she is afraid but tries to protect herself and friends, such as the children she is taking care of.
Bay of Blood by Mario Bava and Friday the 13th part II by Steve Miner both provide how close the giallo and the slasher are, and the influence of the Italians had on the American horror genre. Bay of Blood has a scene in which a young couple is shown having sex and is killed by having a spear penetrate through both of them by a mysterious killer. This scene was done over in Friday the 13th part II by showing a couple also having sex, only to then be stabbed together by Jason. This clearly shows how American filmmakers watched the giallos and got ideas from them. The murders and gore would play a big part in slasher films and as years go on they get more and more gory.
What makes the Italian giallo films fascinating now is the way they were shot and how elaborate their sets were. They were creative in bringing out a story about a string of murders and kept the audiences asking for more. The same can be said for slasher films as some of the original films form the 1980’s are constantly being remade and brought back through sequels. This shows how audiences still ask for more and continue to see them as they are released in theaters. DVD sales also demonstrate how popular the films have become.
Works Cited
Guins, Raiford. "Blood and Black Gloves on Shiny Disks: New Media, Old Tastes, and
the Remediation of Italian Horror Films in the United States." n. pag. Web. 12
Nov 2009.
Pinedo, Isabel. Recreational Terror: Women and the Pleasures of Horror Film Viewing.
Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1997. Print.
