One of the best subgenres of horror is, undoubtedly, giallo. During the late 60s and 70s, Italian horror directors brought the world some of the best, craziest, blood-soaked, sexy, and positively mad pieces of cinematic excess. Paving the way for the American slasher of the 80s, the giallo film is known for its shocking yet stylish horror, generally featuring a masked killer who stalks and butchers women in gruesome ways. Giallo tends to push any regard for realism aside resulting in narratives that can be somewhat nonsensical and motives that are unclear. But rather than hurting the genre, the final product is a psychological experience, a whirl of erotic nightmares in surreal settings, rife with reoccurring images: a gloved hand, a splash of blood, a piece of art…

And now, it looks like Luciano and Nicolás Onetti will be taking us back to the glory days of giallo with their upcoming film, Francesca. Written by the brothers and directed by Luciano, Francesca looks to have the style and fantastic insanity of the giallo films of the 60s. Flashes of the eroticism, the saturated colors, the terror, and of course, the ever-ominous gloved hand, leave me feeling hopeful that Francesca will be bringing the old giallo into the new century.

Official Synopsis:

It’s been 15 years since the disappearance of little Francesca, daughter of the renowned storyteller, poet, and dramatist Vittorio Visconti; and the community is stalked by a psychopath bent on cleaning the city of “impure and damned souls.” Moretti and Succo, questioned by the ineffectiveness of the police force, are the detectives in charge of elucidating the mystery surrounding these “Dantesque” crimes. Francesca seems to have returned, but she is not be the same girl who everyone knew…

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