Forgotten Gialli: Volume 1 (1973-1978) coming from Vinegar Syndrome

[RossD]

Originally Posted by Dr Lenera

I thought I knew my gialli, but I honestly haven't heard of any of these. I'm going to have to buy....even if they turn out to be crap, I'm sure they'll still be fun!

Two of them are Spanish gialli I believe- which are definitely lesser known.

[RossD]

Originally Posted by snipemonkey

None of these are prime gialli but I'm addicted, so I will be purchasing this. I mean, I own Amuck! and The Doll of Satan, so how much worse can these possibly be?

I think Amuck is great actually.

[Jamiouse]

As much as the boxset looks amazing and I think it's wonderful VS are going down the giallo route, two of the titles aren't really gialli are they. There were Italian - Spanish coproduction's but are the Spanish titles here Italian coproduction's or fully Spanish productions?
I don't want to be pedantic but unless their Italian co-financed, coproduced, directed or feature Italian actors there not really gialli, their just Spanish thrillers which is fine but their not gialli.

[Diabolik008]

Originally Posted by sworntotheriff

I'm assuming since this is VS, these films are not great. I love VS, primarily for the packaging and for what they stand for, but woof do they license some awful movies. I'm assuming because those titles are cheap to get.

You are assuming right. These are package deals with licensors.
Sad thing that we're getting obscure and uninteresting flms in very good quality while other gems will remain VHS or poor dvd.
https://www.varietydistribution.it/c...a-nel-buio-la/

[sworntotheriff]

Originally Posted by Diabolik008

You are assuming right. These are package deals with licensors.
Sad thing that we're getting obscure and uninteresting flms in very good quality while other gems will remain VHS or poor dvd.
https://www.varietydistribution.it/c...a-nel-buio-la/

Don't get me wrong, I made that comment as someone who has many a VS title on my shelf.

[cakefactory]

Has anyone identified where they licensed these from and what other titles they might have gotten in the deal?

[Diabolik008]

Originally Posted by cakefactory

Has anyone identified where they licensed these from and what other titles they might have gotten in the deal?

Check the link in my previous posts. And there you can browse the catalogue.

[horroru]

Originally Posted by RossD

I think Amuck is great actually.

Rosalba Neri and Barbara Bouchet are excellent in AMUCK making it one of my favorite Gialli.

Still on the fence about this collection though - nobody here seems to be excited about all 3 films.
I have enjoyed Spanish horror/suspense films, so maybe I'll give this a chance, but waiting to hear more feedback.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by Diabolik008

Check the link in my previous posts. And there you can browse the catalogue.

I saw that link but it was in Italian and was just for one movie so I didn't realize that I could get to the catalog through it, thanks. So the English version of that link is loaded with odd English translations of titles so it's hard to tell what some things are, and some of them are definitely already licensed to others (ex All the Colors of the Dark, Iguana with the Tongue of Fire, Seven Bloodstained Orchids). I wonder which are actually up for grabs? Knife of Ice and A Blade in the Dark are the only two that jumped out at me as being recognizable, but I'm no expert on the genre, and again the aforementioned odd translations mean there might be some famous one(s) on there with a translation that isn't standard.

https://www.varietydistribution.it/en/genre/thriller/

[EvilNed]

Originally Posted by Jamiouse

As much as the boxset looks amazing and I think it's wonderful VS are going down the giallo route, two of the titles aren't really gialli are they. There were Italian - Spanish coproduction's but are the Spanish titles here Italian coproduction's or fully Spanish productions?
I don't want to be pedantic but unless their Italian co-financed, coproduced, directed or feature Italian actors there not really gialli, their just Spanish thrillers which is fine but their not gialli.

There's no such thing as a set definition of a giallo, or what makes a giallo. I consider any spanish effort trying to ride the giallo cycle to be just a viable an option as any italian one - i'd even argue that they're a subcategory of their own. To suggest that A Dragonfly for Each Corpse isn't a giallo boggles me.

Having said all that, I've heard of all three but only ever seen The Killer is One of 13. It's a pretty cozy take on the "isolated villa with a bunch of degenerate aristocrats getting offed by a killer one at a time"-trope, which is actually the most common one among all the spanish giallos. Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll, Night of the Skull, Night of the Scorpion all follow this trope. I'm looking forward to seeing it in HD. Paul Naschy plays a supporting - actually fairly minor - character.

[Pinot Grigio]

Giallo is an Italian term, but does not exclude non Italian productions from falling under it. EvilNed is on point.

[Profondo]

I surprised at the general lack of enthusiasm for this box, VS announce a great looking obscure Giallo box with movies that haven't been released before and all people can say is they are "disappointed" and moaning that (insert lists) wasn't released. If this box isn't for you? Fair enough but many (like myself) are quite happy with it and can't wait to see what VS includes in the further editions...

[EvilNed]

Originally Posted by Profondo

I surprised at the general lack of enthusiasm for this box, VS announce a great looking obscure Giallo box with movies that haven't been released before and all people can say is they are "disappointed" and moaning that (insert lists) wasn't released. If this box isn't for you? Fair enough but many (like myself) are quite happy with it and can't wait to see what VS includes in the further editions...

100% agree. This is great stuff. We've got numerous releases of Deep Red or stuff like that, this is what I want.

[Knaldskalle]

I'm definitely getting this and hoping that VS will release more! I'd like to see some of the lesser known gialli get a release.

[Diabolik008]

Originally Posted by Jamiouse

As much as the boxset looks amazing and I think it's wonderful VS are going down the giallo route, two of the titles aren't really gialli are they. There were Italian - Spanish coproduction's but are the Spanish titles here Italian coproduction's or fully Spanish productions?
I don't want to be pedantic but unless their Italian co-financed, coproduced, directed or feature Italian actors there not really gialli, their just Spanish thrillers which is fine but their not gialli.

And not all Italian thrillers are considered gialli. Mondo Macabro described IDEAL PLACE TO KILL as gialloesque.

Why are Spanish thrillers considered gialli and not those early Hammer thrillers (that have very similar subject matter) or DRESSED TO KILL or BLACK CHRISTMAS?

Are German krimis considered gialli?

[Pinot Grigio]

Originally Posted by Diabolik008

And not all Italian thrillers are considered gialli. Mondo Macabro described IDEAL PLACE TO KILL as gialloesque.

Why are Spanish thrillers considered gialli and not those early Hammer thrillers (that have very similar subject matter) or DRESSED TO KILL or BLACK CHRISTMAS?

Are German krimis considered gialli?

Black Christmas is not a giallo, but Dressed to Kill is. American, but a giallo nonetheless.

[Knaldskalle]

If it has a horrible English dub from Italian it's a giallo. If it has a horrible English dub from Spanish it's not a giallo. Apparently.

[abdurahman]

Are people really listing popular and well known gialli and hoping they would be included in a line of box sets titled Forgotten Gialli!!

One guy on FB reacted by saying that Vinegar Syndrome has always been about quantity not quality!!. Another dude goes around saying that the movies are bad and the only reason VS are releasing them is because they are dirt cheap to licence!

I mean, yea I get it, we all want The House of the Laughing Windows, Black Belly of the Tarantula, The Case of the Bloody Iris, Footprints on the Moon, Autopsy, The Killer Must Kill Again, several Umberto Lenzi and Carrol Baker gialli, Alberto De Martino gialli etc., get the VS treatment.

But as long as the words obscure and forgotten are used, we should expect stuff like The Icebox Murders 1982, The Killer is Not Alone 1975, The Specter of Terror 1973, Killing of the Flesh 1983, Orders Signed in White 1974, Snapshot of a Crime 1975, The Silk Worm 1974 etc.

Bear in mind that Severin has at least one giallo, probably more, to be released in 2020.

[johnpaul2]

Many movies released by Vinegar Syndrome aren't very good, that's for sure, but quality has nothing to do with how cheap a movie is to licence. Actually, since VS are mostly dealing with independant catalogues, it's likely many of these movies aren't cheap at all to licence.

[Diabolik008]

Originally Posted by johnpaul2

Many movies released by Vinegar Syndrome aren't very good, that's for sure, but quality has nothing to do with how cheap a movie is to licence. Actually, since VS are mostly dealing with independant catalogues, it's likely many of these movies aren't cheap at all to licence.

They are never cheap. It does cost quite a sum to release any of these Euro films.

But there's a difference in cost when you license a bunch from the same licensor or when you want to release specific films that you have to get from different licensors.

And in some cases the name of a director has something to do with how expensive a film is.

And of course it's a good thing that VS releases films that we would otherwise never see.