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Florinda Bolkan (Flavia The Heretic) delivers a masterful, nuanced performance bringing captivating depth to the character of Alice – a young translator grappling with memory loss and struggling to recall three missing days. Tormented by nightmare visions of a sinister scientist deliberately abandoning astronauts to die on the Moon, Alice embarks on a quest to unravel the mystery shrouding her identity and the events of those missing days – a pursuit which culminates in murder and extraordinary surrealism. Director Luigi Bazzoni’s (The Fifth Cord) unique vision is brought to life by three-time Oscar winner Vittorio Storaro’s striking cinematography, delivering haunting visuals and powerful emotional depth, standing as the most visually stunning Giallo you will ever see. Footprints unfolds as a mesmerising exploration of identity and the boundaries of perceived reality, memory, dreams, and existential mysteries, presented here restored from 4K scans of the original camera negative, finally doing justice to...

The Bloody Disgusting-powered Screambox is home to a variety of unique horror content, from originals and exclusives to cult classics and documentaries. With such a rapidly-growing library, there are many hidden gems waiting to be discovered.

Here are five recommendations you can stream on Screambox right now.

The Collector

If the triumphant return of the Saw franchise has you in the mood for more trap-laden horrors, look no further than The Collector — which was originally conceived as a prequel to Saw that would show Jigsaw’s original story. When producers passed on the idea, writers Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan (Saw IV-vii) reworked it into an original script, which Dunstan directed in 2009.

A slasher/home invasion hybrid for the so-called “torture porn” era, The Collector stars Criminal Minds‘ Josh Stewart as struggling ex-con Arkin. A planned heist at his new employer’s home to repay a debt becomes deadly when he...

Having recently shifted away from their one-film-a-day approach, Mubi has now unveiled their October lineup, which is headlined by Ira Sachs’ stellar drama Passages following its theatrical run this summer. The slate also features handpicked selections by Sachs, with work by Maurice Pialat, Luchino Visconti, Jack Hazan, Shirley Clarke, and Tsai Ming-liang.

Also arriving in October is “Watch If You Dare: Horror Halloween,” a series featuring a trio of giallo classics, with The Fifth Cord, The Possessed, and Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion, alongside Guillermo del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone and more. The service will also spotlight the work of underseen Japanese director Yasuzô Masumura, including his aching melodrama Red Angel, his biting workplace satire Giants and Toys, his thrilling noir Black Test Car, and more.

Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.

October 1

The Infiltrators, directed by Alex Rivera, Cristina Ibarra | National Hispanic Heritage Month

The Vanished Elephant,...

August has been a significant month for Screambox, which celebrated the anniversary of Tobe Hooper’s original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, took a look back at the classic 1985 Clue in Who Done It: The Clue Documentary, got creature feature crazy with the sci-fi horror Subject, and had a blast with the Ghostbusters-inspired sci-fi horror comedy The Ghastly Brothers.

In addition to the extremely controversial The Woman hitting the streaming service earlier this week, Screambox has now added a trio of classics, including David Blyth’s 1992 My Grandpa Is a Vampire, which stars Al Lewis as a frail old man by day and fanged flyer of the undead at night. But when his visiting grandson discovers Vernon’s dark secret, can they team up to take down a stake-making slimeball?

Also added to the service is Grzegorz Warchol’s 1986 I Like Bats, which combines absurdist black comedy with jolts of...

Severin’s October offerings include this investigation of Euro-weirdness curated with academic purpose and clarity by Kier-La Janisse, evoking the name of her book from 2012. The thesis is the representation of women in filmic horror — except that in these strange experiences, hysteria transforms into a liberating form of empowerment: Identikit, I Like Bats, Footsteps and The Other Side of the Underneath. Elizabeth Tayor and Florinda Bolkan are the top stars in the collection, two of which bear the cinematography of Vittorio Storaro. The final film is a totally different, experimental experience. Ms. Janisse’s introductions connect the dots for these filmworks that envigorate and disturb.

House of Psychotic Women

Blu-ray

Severin Films

1972 – 1986 / Color / 1:85 + 1:66 + 1:85 + 1:33 / 102 + 81 + 96 + 111 min. / Street Date October 25, 2022 / Available from Severin Films / 104.95

Starring: Elizabeth Taylor; Katarzyna Walter; Florinda Bolkan; Sheila Allen, Ann Lynn, Penny Slinger, Jane Arden .

Directed by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi; Grzegorz Warchol; Luigi Bazzoni; Jane...

Giulio Questi's Django Kill... If You Live, Shoot! (1967) and Death Laid an Egg (1968) are playing October and November 2019 on Mubi in the United States.Django Kill... If You Live, Shoot!In December 2014, Giulio Questi died, and the cinema lost an unflappable renegade of the arts. His name does not get dropped as often as that of his contemporaries, but those that know his films speak of them with open-eyed reverence, as much in awe of their existence as of their quality. Marked with a crazy energy, a surreal visual style, and an eccentricity in narrative that can leave a viewer baffled, his work has that experiential cult quality akin to that of Alejandro Jodorowsky: you have to see it to believe it. His career was marked with notable lapses and absences. “My movies have always been appreciated and admired by cinema insiders but they did not get a lot of money,...

When reminiscing about ’70s exploitation cinema and its multitude of subgenres, it’s easy to skip over giallo. The gory Italian crime films, full of switchblade stabbings and gratuitous sex, are pure fun with an artful touch. With their stylized nature and refusal to shy away from violence, these movies are often thought of as the thriller equivalent of spaghetti westerns. Adapted from pulpy paperback books (the term “giallo” is a reference to the yellow color of their pages), their over-the-top titles are often just as fun as the films they describe.

Giallo may not dominate the zeitgeist these days, but somebody had to recognize their artistic significance. Lately, Quad Cinema has been stepping up to do just that. Last year, the New York theater brought six newly-restored giallo films to the big screen. The series was a success, so they’re back for more. Starting this Friday, six more giallo restorations will be screening,...

Above: Italian poster for The Possessed [La donna del lago]. Artist: Piero Iaia.Starting next Friday, the Quad Cinema in New York is playing six newly restored Italian gialli in "Fresh Meat: Giallo Restorations Part II," a follow-up to last fall’s "Perversion Stories: A Fistful of Giallo Restorations." Titles are very important in Italy’s giallo genre, the more baroque and evocative the better, like “Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion” and “The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire.” The Italian word for “yellow,” the term giallo was initially used in post-war Italy to denote pulp fiction mystery novels with yellow paperback covers. Within Italy today the term giallo in cinema refers to any thriller or murder mystery, but in the English-speaking world giallo has come to refer exclusively to the Italian horror-thriller genre which had its heyday in the late ’60s and ’70s. The posters for the five films in the series,...

Review by Roger Carpenter

Originally entitled The Lady of the Lake—a much more accurate title then The Possessed—this is a unique genre film that is part noir, part art film, and is also considered a proto-giallo film.

Based on a hit book that was based itself on a notorious Italian murder, The Possessed tells the tale of Bernard, a lost and depressed author (played by Peter Baldwin) and a hotel maid, Tilde (Virna Lisi), whom Bernard has become obsessed with.

The film opens as Bernard makes his way to the isolated hotel where he first met Tilde, and where she still works. It is winter and the hotel is closed for the season. However, Bernard has had some success with his first novel so the proprietor welcomes him with open arms. Soon, though, Bernard discovers that Tilde has committed suicide since he was last at the hotel. Or perhaps it was murder.

Nearly a year after its surprising drop on Netflix after the Super Bowl, The Cloverfield Paradox arrives on both Blu-ray and DVD this week, making it just one of the highlights of this week’s batch of home media releases. The horror comedy You Might Be the Killer also arrives on both formats this Tuesday, and Scream Factory has Mermaid: Lake of the Dead on tap this week as well.

Other notable releases for February 5th include a Special Edition version of The Possessed from Arrow Video, Black Magic, Nazi Overlord, American Poltergeist: The Curse of Lilith Ratchet, and The Cloverfield 3-Movie Collection.

The Cloverfield Paradox

Producer J.J. Abrams takes you deeper into the Cloverfield universe than ever before with this mysterious sci-fi thriller. Orbiting Earth on the brink of a devastating energy war, scientists prepare to test a device that could provide unlimited power or trap them in a terrifying alternate reality.

The Possessed will be available on Blu-ray February 5th From Arrow Video

The Possessed is a wonderfully atmospheric proto-giallo based on one of Italy s most notorious crimes, the Alleghe killings, and adapted from the book on that case by acclaimed literary figure Giovanni Comisso.

Peter Baldwin stars as Bernard, a depressed novelist who sets off in search of his old flame Tilde, a beautiful maid who works at a remote lakeside hotel. Bernard is warmly greeted by the hotel owner Enrico and his daughter Irma, but Tilde has disappeared under suspicious circumstances. Bernard undertakes an investigation and is soon plunged into a disturbing drama of familial secrets, perversion, madness and murder…

Co-written by Giulio Questi and co-directed by Luigi Bazzoni, The Possessed masterfully combines film noir, mystery and giallo tropes, whilst also drawing on the formal innovations of 1960s art cinema (particularly the films of Michelangelo Antonioni). A uniquely dreamlike take on true crime,...

The Fifth Cord will be available on Blu-ray February 5th From Arrow Video

The success of Dario Argento s The Bird with the Crystal Plumage ushered in a host of imitators, seeking to capitalize on this new, modern take on the giallo thriller. Many were highly derivative, but a number nonetheless rose above the crowd thanks to skillful execution and a willingness to experiment stylistically. Once such example is The Fifth Cord ¬ which, in the hands of director Luigi Bazzoni, turns a conventional premise into a visually stunning exploration of alienation and isolation.

When a man barely survives a brutal assault en route home from a New Year s party, washed-up, whisky-swilling journalist Andrea Bild is assigned to report on the case. Before long, the maniac strikes again, this time with fatal results. As the body count rises, Andrea falls under suspicion himself, making it even more imperative that he crack the case.

Ithaca Fantastik Festival 2017 returns this November in Ithaca, New York, and we have details on what will be screening at the festival, including the new horror comedy Tragedy Girls. Also in today's Highlights: Bram Stoker busts, details on the short film Terror at Station 13, a look at a new teaser trailer for Shortwave, information on 2-Headed Shark Attack screenings, and a new Prodigy teaser trailer.

Ithaca Fantastik Festival 2017 Lineup Announced: Press Release: "Ithaca, NY, September 19, 2017 - The Ithaca Fantastik (If) festival returns to Ithaca, New York, November 3-12, 2017 with a carefully curated selection of new and classic genre films. With less than a month and a half to go, If is announcing exciting changes, its first wave of titles, and a truly inspired retrospective!

Returning audiences will notice an expanded schedule as the festival grows from half a week to a full nine days. The festival’s two weekends will...

The Ithaca Fantastik (If) Festival returns to Ithaca, New York, November 3-12, 2017 with a carefully curated selection of new and classic genre films – and with less than a month and a half to go, If have officially announced the first wave of titles, including a truly inspired retrospective!

For those unaware, The Ithaca Fantastik Festival is a ten-day film, art, and music festival that takes place over the first weekend of November in Ithaca, NY. This years festival features an expanded schedule as the festival grows from half a week to a full nine days. Both weekends will be dedicated to the best in current genre and festival cinema, with the week between featuring classic retrospective selections. Visit the If website (www.ithacafilmfestival.com) and stay tuned for more Fantastik announcements and title waves soon!

From the press release:

Our first weekend begins with the return of the Cinema Pur miniseries,...

On the heels of his first big break in the 1966 western Django, playing the coffin-dragging drifter of the title, and a part as Sir Lancelot in Joshua Logan's Camelot (where he met future wife Vanessa Redgrave), Franco Nero took a dip in giallo waters with spaghetti western director Luigi Bazzoni and Oscar-winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro for 1971's The Fifth Cord. Boozy writer Andrea Bild (Nero) is assigned to cover a series of murders, but winds up launching his own investigation to get to the bottom of the grisly crimes, then gets pulled deeper into the case when the killer frames him as a suspect. The only clue left at the scene of each murder is a single black glove with a missing finger. The Fifth Cord is a hybrid of sorts: Nero's character may be a reporter, but he's no average newshound. Instead, the Italian actor plays a hard-drinking...

Hotels are cinematic. First of all, they are perfect microcosms, whether of a nation or of the world. Also, they work as a metaphor for cinema itself: a space where individuals, couples and families check in briefly, abandoning their regular life to be somewhere else. In La donna del lago (The Woman in the Lake, 1965) writer-directors Luigi Bazzoni and Franco Rossellini set their mystery in a hotel by a lake, where the writer protagonist soon finds himself lost in a narrative labyrinth, unable to tell fantasy from reality. Here, the hotel is like a projector (a dark box full of dreams) with the lake as its screen, upon which crazy lies and imaginings are projected.

In other words, this film is a prototype both for the whole giallo genre, and for Antonioni's Blow-Up and its descendants. Yet Rossellini, nephew of the more famous Roberto, and Bazzoni, brother of the less famous Camillo,...

For the horror buff, Fall is the best time of the year. The air is crisp, the leaves are falling and a feeling of death hangs on the air. Here at Sound on Sight we have some of the biggest horror fans you can find. We are continually showcasing the best of genre cinema, so we’ve decided to put our horror knowledge and passion to the test in a horror watching contest. Each week in October, Ricky D, James Merolla and Justine Smith will post a list of the horror films they have watched. By the end of the month, the person who has seen the most films wins. Prize Tbd.

Ricky D (5 viewings) Total of 76 viewings

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Purchase

Spirits Of The Dead (Histoires extraordinaires)

Directed by Federico Fellini (segment Toby Dammit), Louis Malle (segment William Wilson), Roger Vadim (segment Metzengerstein)

France, 1968

First thing to notice is the three directors: Federico Fellini,...

The term “giallo” initially referred to cheap yellow paperbacks (printed American mysteries from writers such as Agatha Christie), that were distributed in post-fascist Italy. Applied to cinema, the genre is comprised of equal parts early pulp thrillers, mystery novels, with a willingness to gleefully explore onscreen sex and violence in provocative, innovative ways. Giallos are strikingly different from American crime films: they value style and plot over characterization, and tend towards unapologetic displays of violence, sexual content, and taboo exploration. The genre is known for stylistic excess, characterized by unnatural yet intriguing lighting techniques, convoluted plots, red herrings, extended murder sequences, excessive bloodletting, stylish camerawork and unusual musical arrangements. Amidst the ‘creative kill’ set-pieces are thematic undercurrents along with a whodunit element, usually some sort of twist ending. Here is my list of the best giallo films – made strictly by Italian directors, so don’t expect Black Swan, Amer or...

For the horror buff, Fall is the best time of the year. The air is crisp, the leaves are falling and a feeling of death hangs on the air. Here at Sound on Sight we have some of the biggest horror fans you can find. We are continually showcasing the best of genre cinema, so we’ve decided to put our horror knowledge and passion to the test in a horror watching contest. Each week in October, Ricky D, James Merolla and Justine Smith will post a list of the horror films they have watched. By the end of the month, the person who has seen the most films wins. Prize Tbd.

Justine Smith (11 viewings) Total of 31 viewings

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Spider Baby or The Maddest Story Ever Told

Directed by Jack Jill

This movie is very fun, not so much scary as gleefully depraved. The film revels in it’s childhood attitude,...

Variety reports that veteran actor Edmund Purdom, star of numerous Eurohorror features, passed away January 1 in Rome. He died of natural causes, at age 85.

Originally a stage actor who was part of Laurence Olivier’s company, Purdom traveled with Olivier to Hollywood in the ’50s, where he had leads and key supporting roles in the likes of The Student Prince, Julius Caesar and The Egyptian. Later in the decade, he moved to Italy and began a long career in European features, including numerous actioners, Westerns and horror films. Among the latter were Luigi Bazzoni’s 1971 giallo The Fifth Cord, Paolo Lombardo’s The Devil’S Lover (1972), Jess Franco’s The Sinister Eyes Of Dr. Orloff (1973), Dick Randall’s Frankenstein’S Castle Of Freaks (1974), Massimo Dallamano’s Night Child a.k.a. The Cursed Medallion (1975), Joe D’Amato’s The Monster Hunter a.k.a. Absurd and Anthropophagus 2 (1981), Neri Parenti’s 1985 horror/comedy Fracchia Vs.