All the Colors of the Dark (1976)

The first five and a half minutes of 1972's All the Colors of the Dark (also known as Day of the Maniac and They're Coming to Get You!) subvert what I called the "graphic beauty" of the giallo in some intriguing ways.An outdoor scene of a stream slowly darkens, replaced by an old crone with blackened teeth, dressed as a child and a dead pregnant woman are both made up to be anything but the gorgeous creatures we've come to expect from these films; even star Edwige Fenech (The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh, Five Dolls for an August Moon and so many more that I could go on and on about) isn't presented in her normal role of a sex symbol. She's covered in gore, eyes open and lifeless. As the camera zooms around the room and begins to spin, we see a road superimposed and hear a car crash. Even when Edwige's character in this film, Jane Harrison, wakes up to take a shower, we're not presented with the voyeuristic spoils that one expects from giallo's potent stew of the fantastique and the deadly. She stands fully clothed, the water more a caustic break with the dream world than an attempt at seducing the viewer or cleaning herself.Again — in a genre where words possess little to no meaning — we are forced to wait five and a half minutes until the first dialogue. Richard, (George Hilton, Blade of the Ripper) her husband, bemoans that he must leave, but feels that he can't. His therapy is a glass of blue pills and lovemaking that we watch from above, his penetration of her intercut with violent imagery of a knife entering flesh. Instead of the thrill we expect from this coupling, we only sense her distance from the proceedings.As Richard leaves her behind, we get the idea of the madness that exists within their apartment: a woman makes out on the sidewalk with a young hippy man, who asks when he'll ever see her again. Mary, (Marina Malfatti, The Night Evelyn Came Out of Her Grave, The Red Queen Kills Seven Times) a mysterious blonde, glares down at him, somewhat knowingly. His wife looks lost and trapped. Without dialogue, we've already sensed that some Satanic conspiracy is afoot. Echoes of Rosemary's Baby? Sure, but you could say that about every occult themed 1970's film — the influence is too potent, a tannis root that has infected all of its progeny.Last year, a car crash took the life of Jane's unborn child. Her sister Barbara (Nieves Navarro, Death Walks at Midnight, Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals) has advised therapy, something that Richard laughs at. As Jane waits to see the doctor, she sees a man with the bluest eyes (Ivan Rassimov from Planet of the Vampires and Django in Don't Wait, Django…Shoot!) — eyes we've seen before, eyes that hint at blood and murder and madness.Even when she's surrounded by people, such as on the subway, Jane is lost in her thoughts and in another world, one of inky blackness and isolation punctuated only by the cool blue eyes of the sinister man who tracks her everywhere she goes. Even the teeming masses of the city make her feel more lost; only the light of the above ground world erase the nightmare of her stalker. That is — until he finds her in the park, where she screams for him to stop following her. The camera is detached, following her from high above, watching her run away, needing the refuge of her home. Even then, the man is still there, banging on the door, demanding to be part of her reality.Read more at bandsaboutmovies.com/2017/09/06/all-the-colors-of-the-dark-1972

A psychedelic flick with drug induced imagery and manic tenderises, covered in a thick mist of mystery and nightmarish encounters, this Italian horror simmers in its atmosphere and bound in a completely mean spirited manner. While this may not be as graphic or as sleazy as many of the other Italian giallo's, this is certainly sadistic and unnerving, adding that certain edge to the proceedings.When it comes to surreal atmosphere and sadistic content, not many films come close to this nightmarish outlook and lensed with an expressive eye and visual flare by its director Sergio Martino, this stark thriller digs deep into its intertwined mystery and overwhelming visuals and various undertones. Even in its convoluted narrative it quickly draws you into its madness but in a good way in this beautifully crafted thriller.Starring Italian Giallo goddess Edwige Fenech who gives another stunning performance as the troubled main character who may or may not be losing her mind, she really gives it her all in this with her alluring beauty; this is definitely one of her best performances and shows why she's the queen of the Giallo genre. Other standout performances include Nieves Navarro & Marina Malfatti who are both sultry as well as mysterious, who both bring a sense of awe and intrigue to their respective parts with their dreamlike appearances. In fact the entire main cast here were excellent including other big names in the genre George Hilton who also starred with Edwige Fenech in 'The Case Of The Bloody Iris', here he plays her supporting boyfriend who also has a sense of mystery about him and really keeps you interested as the movie goes on. Then there's Ivan Rassimov who takes centre stage as the cult leader who oozes mystical insanity and cruelty, he really haves fun with this role, enjoying every second.All in all this is a really great movie, although not entirely perfect where sometimes the story may become a bit uneven at times, and doesn't quite have a lot of depth, but it was a fantastically fun ride all the same and definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of giallo.

Traumatized by her unborn child's death, a woman finds that a figure from her past is causing more stress in her life which sends her into a Satanic cult which soon forces a strange murderer to strike her friends and finally brings her to an even dangerous breaking point.This is quite the engaging and wholly fascinating Giallo. One of the strongest elements working here is the way this one manages to incorporate so many incredibly varied elements into a skillfully blended whole. The complex scenario, which initially appears as a deep-set psychological trauma/mystery about the bizarre dreams and the psychiatric manner of recalling it all, the film moves into psychedelic supernatural horror to a full-fledged Giallo and all these elements make for a very enjoyable time as it blends the real and unreal very well. Opening with the bizarre dream sequence with deliberately over-the-top camera angles and distorted lenses as the figure continually stabs at the naked woman, it gradually moves into an even more stylized take with even more visualized sequences taking the actions of her visualizations to even further, darker realms as the impressive scenes add a great deal to the tension of the scenes. The wild and stunning Sabbat sequence, complete with the shrouded extras in the strange mansion and the strange manner in which they all congregate around her which brings about the greatness of the later scenes within their meetings with the hypnotic leanings and disorienting action bringing along plenty of chilling moments. Even more effective are the strong action scenes here, from the series of dreams depicting the murder of the strange woman to the chasing in the apartment as well as the short chase through the woods away from the cult's mansion that manages to spice up the film a little more. Going even further here in the last half here with the whole affair starting to come undone as well as finally featuring the ambush on the couple in the safe-house that becomes a full-fledged series of stalking and encounters throughout that offers up plenty to like, really making this one incredibly fun and enjoyable. It does suffer from a few minor problems, most notably the fact that the film decides to forgo a lot of traditional genre set-ups in favor of the hypnotic visuals and strange hallucinations. There's no real murder mystery at the heart of this one as it goes for the mental stress she's undergoing more anything, leaving this one somewhat dull for long strands of time as it goes about detailing these more than putting her in danger of a psychotic killer. That might be a source of discomfort for some, as well as the continual need for going back-and-forth between the dream sequences and reality in order to keep the surprises coming. Otherwise, there's quite a lot to really enjoy here.Rated R: Full Nudity, Graphic Violence, several sex scenes, Language and the implied aftermath of a ritualized animal sacrifice.

Opening with a knockout dream sequence (featuring a blue-eyed killer stabbing to death a grotesque old lady with rotten teeth, a pregnant woman on a doctor's table and a nude woman on a bed), this giallo seems to be taking a unusual path by twisting around the conventions set down by the genre. It actually works pretty well even though there's about one too many convoluted plot elements squeezed in at the very end. Edwige Fenech (previously seen in Martino's STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARDH) fits comfortably in her usual mentally-screwed-up-beautiful-lady-in-distress spot as Jane Harrison, a nightmare-plagued woman living in London whose mother was murdered when she was a child. Her live-in fiancé Richard (George Hilton) seems kind, patient and understanding, but he's also away most of the time at work. Jane's sister Barbara ("Susan Scott"/Nieves Navarro) also appears to be sympathetic and protective of her sister and takes her to see a psychiatrist (Georges Rigaud) who attempts to unlock the secrets of her past. After her session, Jane is pursued in a subway by the same sinister man from her dreams with the cracked blue eyes (a wonderfully creepy Ivan Rassimov in some interesting contacts). He follows her home and starts keeping watch outside of her apartment house. Jane is befriended by a new tenant named Mary (Marina Malfatti), who claims she has the answer to all of Jane's problems and then things start to get even weirder.So before long, Jane finds herself up to her neck in a black magic cult working out of a secluded castle and headed by a guy (Julian Ugarte) who wears Freddy-like claws on his hands. During her initiation, they make her drink fresh dog's blood and pass her around during a sex orgy, where she's fondled by zombie-like pasty-faced cult members. After she's pursued by the killer once again and apparently unperturbed by her first traumatic encounter with the Satanists, Jane becomes desperate enough to return to the cult, where they convince her she'll be "free" from the killer if she does just as they say. The cult leader has sex with her again and give her a knife. Mary kills herself by falling over on it and then Jane is informed she's obligated to take her place. And guess who else is involved in the Satanic sect? Why the mysterious blue-eyed killer, of course! When Jane tries to escape them, he sends Doberman's after her to chew up her arms and then chloroforms her. She wakes up back in her apartment. Are these events actually taking place or are they simply delusions in her pretty little disturbed head? After a rapid-fire succession of murders, plot twists and maybe even a prophetic dream insert, a police inspector finally reveals our answer.As usual with the majority of giallo efforts, the script is far from rock solid, but technically speaking, this movie is quite good. Martino's direction is smoother, more stylish and much more assured than it was in STRANGE VICE. Miguel Fernandez Mila and Giancarlo Ferrando's vivid, surreal and sometimes psychedelic cinematography and Bruno Nicolai's score are both huge pluses and add immensely to this film. And while there's the requisite amount of Fenech flesh on display and some blood, the film is more concerned with style and story than it is providing cheap thrills. All around, the cast is very good.  TUTTI I COLOR DEL BUIO/ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK originally made it to US theaters in 1975 under the title THEY'RE COMING TO GET YOU. It was then released to VHS as either DAY OF THE MANIAC or DEMONS OF THE DEAD. The Shriek Show DVD contains a lot of goodies, like separate interviews with the director (who claims ROSEMARY'S BABY was a chief influence) and star George Hilton, a photo gallery, alternate US title sequence, the original Italian trailer and radio spots, plus four other unrelated trailers.