For this year’s 31 Nights of Horror Challenge, the Day 24 prompt was Giallo. I am not too familiar with a lot of Italian horror movies so I went with the suggestions on IMDB and picked Blood and Black Lace (1964).
Storyline
Isabella, a young model is murdered by a mysterious masked figure at a boarding house run by Max Morlan and his lover Countess Christina Como. When Isabella’s boyfriend is suspected of the killing, her diary, which apparently has some incriminating evidence linking her to the killer, disappears, the masked killer begins killing off all the models in and around the house to find the diary.
Our Thoughts on Blood and Black Lace
As mentioned I don’t know too much about Italian cinema but this is a landmark film in Italian cinema because it began the giallo genre. The giallo genre remains Italy’s longest running cinematic movement.
Giallo refers to a murder mystery in Italy.
A cross between a horror and a detective, almost a movie turns out to be enjoyable and not dull. It develops interesting characters and a very good story.
5.5 out of 10
Trivia
Due to the film’s low budget Mario Bava mounted the camera on a child’s wagon and used it for tracking shots.
