Watching Giallo: Old-school nerves and a lot of shadow

Is it worth your time?

If you have a soft spot for 1930s European cinema and don't mind a slower pace, yes. If you are looking for the neon-soaked, blood-drenched style people usually associate with the term giallo, you are going to be bored to tears. This is a quiet, claustrophobic mystery for people who like to watch characters slowly unravel in drawing rooms.

Honestly, the whole thing feels like a stage play that decided to wander out into the street. The paranoia is the main character here. Assia Noris does a great job of looking constantly like she’s just heard a floorboard creak in the next room.

There is this one shot where she’s staring at a door handle, and the camera lingers for—I swear—ten seconds too long. It is perfectly uncomfortable. It’s the kind of choice that makes you realize the director wasn't just trying to move the plot along; they wanted you to feel as trapped as she is. 🕰️

It’s funny how different this is from the later, louder stuff. It’s less about the killer’s glove and more about the way a marriage can rot from the inside out when you stop trusting the person across the dinner table. It reminded me a bit of the tension you find in Love's Outcast, where the silence says way more than the actual lines of dialogue.

The pacing is a bit of a mess, though. Some scenes just sort of… stop. They don't resolve, they just kind of fade into the next location. It feels like the editor was working on a deadline or maybe just lost interest in the transition. I didn't mind it that much, to be honest. It adds to the disjointed, dream-like feeling of the whole thing.

There are no big flashy kills. No vibrant color palettes. Just a lot of grey, a lot of shadow, and a husband who stares just a little too intently at his newspaper. Is he a killer? Is he just a jerk? The movie enjoys teasing you with that, and it doesn't give you the satisfaction of a clean answer right away.

If you want a movie that tries to be The Family Album but with a murder mystery dropped into the middle, this is your ticket. It is not perfect, and it certainly won't win over anyone who needs constant action to stay awake. But there’s a coldness to it that I really dug. 🌫️

• The lighting in the hallway scene is absolute genius.
• The husband's hat is way too big for his head. Can't unsee it.
• Nobody talks like real people, but everyone talks like they are hiding a dark secret.