Deep Red (1975)

Directed by Dario Argento

Giallo, a subgenre of horror that I tend to struggle with. Everyone seems to sing its praises, but I find myself lost and bored most of the time. I keep pushing myself into it, because of its impact on slasher movies, my favorite subgenre. Will Deep Red change that?

Deep Red is about a pianist and a journalist getting pulled into a web of mystery after the pianist witnesses the brutal murder of a psychic. Soon an unknown killer wearing leather gloves stalks them. Most giallos are pretty similar, always with the gloves…OJ! The pacing in this one is fairly good. It helped a lot to have Joe Bob pop up and explain shit for idiots like me haha. The blood is neon red like a Nintendo Switch Joycon which is hilarious.

The special effects are pretty fun and the kills are brutal at times. A dude gets his mouth crammed into the corner of a mantle which made me squirm. Busting your teeth on that…yikes! The killer meets their end in a brutal way too, which I won’t give away, I know this movie is old but the mystery is the biggest part of it. There are other scenes that are disturbing. Right before the guy gets his teeth busted, a creepy ass doll comes flying across the room cackling. Not sure how it moves, not sure where it came from but damn its creepy haha.

I might have to rewatch this, it is well done, the music by Goblin rocks and the kills are effective. I did still have a hard time figuring it out, even with Joe Bob explaining things. I did enjoy this film so I’ll give it a solid B. I might have a hard time with Italian movies but I can appreciate the quality and craftsmanship.