'The Birth of Giallo,' and 'The Bava Influence.'

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'Giallo' initially found its roots in the German 'Krimi.' These were adaptations of British writer Edgar Wallace mystery and crime stories, made specifically for the German market between 1959 and 1972. 'Giallo' were more baroque in style and notable for extended murder sequences, stylish camera work, and Grand Guignol style drama. Full of madness, alienation and paranoia; atmosphere is everything and character development, acting, and strong pacing are immaterial. Unlike the American horror / stalker / slasher / final-girl films, the killer is rarely male or suffers from gender confusion that places him in the feminine position; Argento's The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (1970) is an example, as is Fulci's A Lizard In A Woman's Skin (1971). Almost as a convention, 'Giallo' titles frequently feature animals or numbers, such as Fulci's Don't Torture a Duckling (1972), or Umberto Lenzi's Seven Blood Stained Orchids (1972).

Mario Bava's "The Girl Who Knew Too Much" (1963) is considered the first 'Giallo' film. A cinematographer who received his first chance to direct finishing Riccardo Freda's 1956 I Vampiri (which is considered the first Italian horror film), Bava then handled cinematography and special effects on Hercules (1957) kick starting the sword and sandal genre. He shot The Day The Sky Exploded (1958), which is the first Italian sci-fi film, with a large German 'Krimi' cast. He then had a chance to shoot and finish directing another Freda film, Caltiki – The Immortal Monster (1959), a genre favourite. It is remarkable to watch Planet Of The Vampires (1965) and then take a moment to think about whether Alien (1979), could exist without it (answer? It couldn't). Bay Of Blood / Twitch Of The Death Nerve (1971) was hugely influential in regards the American 'slasher'/'body count' genre.

The Girl Who Knew Too Much establishes what will become one of the critical conventions of 'Giallo,' that of an outsider or foreigner who witnesses a murder and investigates the crime. Trouble comes when warnings not to get involved are ignored. 'The Girl…' is more restrained than any of Bava's later 'Giallo,' in which he would develop a baroque and garish use of colour. Filmed in black and white that connects it to film-noir (the literary-pulp origins of 'Giallo'), and Hitchcock's influential Psycho (1960, and the title refers to Hitchcock's 1934 and 1956 The Man Who Knew Too Much), Bava mixed in the conventions of the thriller, film noir and horror creating 'Giallo.'

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score 8/10

grahamcarter-1 10 May 2017

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3705129/