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Giallo in Venice

Giallo in Venice

The bodies of Fabio and his wife Flavia are found dead in the dockland area of Venice, Fabio had been savagely stabbed in the crotch with a pair of scissors,Flavia had been drowned but mysteriously been dragged from the water. Insp De Paul is assigned the case and immediately begins to investigate their friends, among them Marizia who reveals to DePaul that Fabio was a sex crazed cocaine addict who got his thrills by ever more salacious sexual encounters, who beat and raped and forced Flavia into encounters with other men for his gratification. Marizia receives threatening phone calls, Depaul urges her to make an official complaint against a former lover whom she refuses to reveal to DePaul….this seems to trigger a whole spate of savage killings, a hooker is brutally stabbed in the'*, another friend of Marizia is shot and then doused in gasoline before being set alight and Marizia is raped and tied to a kitchen table naked where she has her leg removed with a kitchen implement.. Giallo a Venezia has justly received its notoriety as a savage film, it is a highly sexed up and graphic film whose violence beggars belief, it is a soft * Giallo except that it maybe isn't a Giallo at all.The sex scenes are at times over long which detracts from any suspense that might have been there in the first place, but for gore and porno fans that wont be a problem. So if Landi's intentions were ever to make an suspenseful thriller? Well then he failed but if his intention was to show women being raped, butchered and sexually degraded?…well then Giallo a Venezia is a sure fire hit. Landi's direction is average the footage is grainy and dirty, even the scenes in Venice look tawdry,the acting as you might expect is porno standard, there is a nice score but it doesn't seem to suit the film, if you thought the likes of Fulci's New York Ripper was extreme and misogynistic you've seen nothing….approach this film with caution and an open mind. 6/10

Honesty and openness are characteristics that you rarely ever come across in the horror genre. Doesn't it frequently happen that you purchase a title that loudly promotes itself as "the ultimate experience in pure terror" whereas, in reality, it's just another dull and totally unoriginal thriller that wasted both your time and your money? Well, at least Mario Landi's "Giallo A Venezia" is completely different! The brief description on the back of the VHS cover sincerely admits already that this film is a total failure when it comes to building up mystery or suspense, but takes pride in the fact that it is one of the nastiest, sleaziest and most brutal gore flicks ever produced in Italy. And let me assure you, this isn't a lie! Every single reviewer on this website agrees that this is a sick, sick, sick, SICK film and exclusively meant for horror freaks who're constantly searching for new heights in extreme film-making. The plot of "Giallo A Venezia" is hardly worth mentioning, as Landi doesn't even attempt to involve the viewers in the search for the demented serial killer on the loose in the streets of Venice. The mutilated corpses of a young couple are found near a river and pretty soon it becomes clear that they were fanatically into bizarre sexual fetishes and perverted games. A duo of unlikely police inspectors, one addicted to eating boiled eggs and the second looking like a homicidal maniac himself, investigate the case by questioning local prostitutes and their clients. Even though the killer isn't very good at keeping his identity secret, he still manages to commit several more very gruesome and misogynistic murders. As promised, there's absolutely no tension or atmosphere and even the 'surprise' ending is rather laughable. Although supposedly set in one of the most beautiful places in the world, every filming location and piece of scenery looks ugly and unappealing while there isn't the least bit of variety in camera-work or choreography. Mario Landi lacks all the qualities of a real director and allows his cast to do whatever they want, naturally resulting in atrocious performances. It really just is the graphic sickness that makes this movie memorable. The killer, wearing horribly over-sized sunglasses, repeatedly stabs a defenseless woman in the crotch with scissors and the camera proudly zooms in on how the blood floods down her legs (yikes!). Another poor sucker is shot multiple times and subsequently set on fire, yet he remains floundering until all his skin and flesh is burnt up. Mariangela Giordano stars as well and this woman urgently deserves a statue for being the Italian actress who suffered THE most on screen! In "Burial Ground", she had her nipple bitten off by a zombified teenager, in "Patrick Still Lives" (by the same director) she got vaginally impaled with a poker and, in this dubious classic, her leg is sadistically amputated with a rusty saw. Personally, I moved heaven and earth in order to finally obtain a copy of this notorious horror-shocker and, as disturbing as it may sound, I'm actually proud to add it to my collection, even though 99% of the film revolves on UN-sexy sex sequences and sickening gore. Consider yourself warned

I can't say that I've seen too many of Landi's films - but after PATRICK STILL LIVES and this one, I must say that the man sure loves his crotch-violence...and dammit - so do I. GIALLO A VENEZIA is a film I've been looking to get ahold of for a while but kept putting off - until now. I enjoyed this one quite a bit, and am actually surprised, because I thought that the only thing I would get from this film was the often-noted misogynistic violence - but I felt that GIALLO A VENEZIA worked pretty well as a mystery-film as well... A habitual hard-boiled egg eating detective is on the trail of a killer who uses scissors to dispatch his victims. Throughout the investigation, we learn that there is more to the killings than meets the eye, when we discover a husband whose twisted desires cause major problems for his wife (among others), a hooker who is brought into the "game", and some friends of the troubled couple who have much of their own to hide, and a jealous ex-lover who won't take "no" for an answer... GIALLO A VENEZIA is an obviously low-budget "shock" film that is meant to be as sleazy as possible - and it definitely works on that level. The vag-stabbing that pretty much every reviewer will note, is definitely graphic and "rough", and the hooker-leg-sawing is also protracted and "nasty" - if a little phony looking...but again - I felt that the storyline of VENZIA worked pretty well and provided the requisite "twists" that any decent giallo should contain. The performances were decent, and the balance of decent story-line and super-trashy sex and violence worked in the film's favor to create something relatively unique. Fans of ultra-sleaze cinema should definitely get a kick out of this one...8.5/10

Wow! I don't think there is another film out there this messed up! The film itself is part soft core * part mystery/slasher. The murders that are included are totally shocking, especially the hooker being stabbed in her well.... you know where. This is one of those Italian Giallo films based on the graphic novels in Italy in the late 60's. The Giallo's are fascinating films and are not made for the casual American movie goer. The only available print is in Italian , so I can't judge the acting very well but the screenplay is fine and the pacing and set up is fine. The sex will keep most males very interested and the gore scenes will thrill all gore hounds far and wide!!! Watch Giallo a Venezia for a real THRILL!!!

The world that "Giallo a Venezia" depicts is grim, nasty, brutal and realistic, but contradictorily it feels refreshing when you compare it to similar Hollywood films that try really hard to look nasty but never quite succeed. Even when they are able to rid themselves of their puritan stench, that typical American cleanliness (ready to be consumed by the general audience) remains. The Venice shown in "Giallo a Venezia" is not the one we know from postcards, and the same applies to the characters. That is not to say that the characters are particularly nasty and/or monstrous. They are to find everywhere, in every big city. And if you sometimes read the crime page of a newspaper you can easily find stories that resemble the one told by the film. Now to "Giallo a Venezia": A couple is found dead in mysterious circumstances – there are some puzzling details concerning their murder. The detective inspector in charge of the case (Inspector DePaul – Jeff Blynn) is trying hard to understand the motives and, most of all, the strange modus operandi of the killer. The only lead he has is a photo displaying the couple together with some friends. Inspector DePaul succeeds in finding one of the people present in the photo. She is Marzia (Mariangela Giordano), a writer, who will help him to have a more precise picture of the couple. They were Fabio (Gianni Dei) and Flavia (Leonora Fani). They were married for some years. For getting more excitement and more sexual pleasure, Fabio induces Flavia (against her will), to get into kinky sexual practices. But Fabio will need to go further and further.... Marzia herself is receiving threatening calls from a jilted lover. And Marzia knows still more people. Inspector DePaul has his hands full with things to do. He has to locate the other people present in the photo. And there will be other murders. Nasty and brutal murders. "Giallo a Venezia" is not for people with a weak stomach (or for those faint of heart). The film is, as I said before, realistic, the story is well told and the characters feel real. Those who only like colorful gialli with posh locations and lots of pretty girls should approach this film with care. But if you like Mariangela Giordano and Leonora Fani... "Giallo a Venezia" has naturally lots of (good) sex scenes (but not hardcore *). It's a very unusual giallo. If you want something different, disturbing and exciting, see it. I've ordered this film through the ebay. Alternative market. I was sent a DVD-R containing the film in good condition, in the original Italian language (lucky me!) and apparently uncut.

Considered by many giallo fans to be one of the least palatable examples of the genre, Giallo a Venezia's notorious reputation as a total sickie is well deserved, giving even Lucio Fulci's New York Ripper a run for its money in the misogynistic violence stakes. Director Mario Landi turns what could easily have been a fairly mundane murder mystery into an exercise in pure depravity through the use of wall to wall sex and a few extremely harsh murders, making this unmissable stuff for those who love their Italian horror/thrillers to be as twisted as possible. As Venetian copper Inspector DePaul (Jeff Blynn) investigates the deaths of exhibitionist architect Fabio (Gianni Dei) and his submissive wife Flavia (Leonora Fani), he slowly unravels their life of sexual experimentation and moral abandonment, allowing Landi to pile on the wanton debauchery and extreme brutality. In a series of flashbacks that portray the events leading up to the young couple's deaths, viewers are treated to all manner of sexual shenanigans, and one or two really grisly scenes of carnage, including a hooker stabbed in the crotch with a big pair of scissors, a guy doused in petrol and burnt alive, and a woman having her leg cut off with a massive kitchen knife—all of which qualifies Giallo a Venezia for a sleaze-tastic rating of 8/10 from this particular reprobate.

This is an extremely rare, hard to find movie which to be quite honest is no bad thing. The version I viewed was in its native Italian tongue and is, as far as i'm aware, the only way anyone's likely to see it. The film begins with the dockside discovery of a murdered man and woman which starts an investigation undertaken by a cop (Jeff Blynn) whose favourite past-time is eating hard boiled eggs! (well Kojak had his lollipops I guess). A series of seemingly unrelated murders start to occur, two of which are very nasty, so nasty in fact that I couldn't possibly describe them on such a family friendly site such as this. An already cheap and cheerful film is cheapened further by endless scenes of a couple participating in various sex games, all backed by a Berto Pisano score which wouldn't seem out of place in one of your dad's "stag" flicks. Needless to say these sub- plots seem to tie up in the end (well...at least I think they do). The term "giallo", is the Italian word for yellow and these thrillers (BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE, BLOOD AND BLACK LACE and WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO SOLANGE? being amongst other examples of this fascinating and addictive genre) have their origins in the mystery books published years ago in Italy, which were distinguishable by their yellow covers. When all's been said and done, I cant really recommend this sleazy, sordid affair (not that it's readily available anyway!), unless your idea of a nice night in is a showing of Lucio Fulci's equally misogynistic (but more fun) THE NEW YORK RIPPER. Happy hunting.....