Home
search
more | tips
IMDb > Giallo (2009)

Overview

User Rating:
7.5/10   49 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 8% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Dario Argento
Writers:
Jim Agnew (writer)
Dario Argento (writer)
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Giallo on IMDbPro.
Genre:
Crime | Horror | Thriller more
Plot:
In Italy, a woman fears her sister may have been kidnapped. Inspector Enzo Avolfi fears it's worse. They team up to rescue her from a sadistic killer known only as Yellow. | add synopsis
NewsDesk:
(79 articles)
New Trailer - Dario Argento's Giallo
 (From Dread Central. 8 July 2009, 10:59 AM, PDT)

Giallo trailer
 (From JoBlo. 7 July 2009, 4:21 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Not quite what you might expect... more

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Adrien Brody ... Inspector Enzo Avolfi
Emmanuelle Seigner ... Linda

Elsa Pataky ... Celine

Robert Miano ... Inspector Mori
Byron Deidra ... Yellow

Silvia Spross ... Russian Victim

Lorenzo Pedrotti ... Delivery Boy
Valentina Izumi ... Keiko
Daniela Fazzolari ... Sophia
Luis Molteni ... Sal
Taiyo Yamanouchi ... Toshi
Barbara Mautino ... Nurse
Giuseppe Lo Console ... Butcher
Linda Messerlinker ... Girl Victim
Massimo Franceschi ... Coroner
Nicolò Morselli ... Young Enzo
Maryann McIver ... Girl In Bookstore
Giancarlo Judica Cordiglia ... Desk Sergeant
Andrea Redavid ... Officer #1
Liam Riccardo ... Baby Yellow
Anna Varello ... Butcher's Wife
Farhad Re ... Designer
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
92 min
Country:
USA | Italy
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Filming Locations:
Turin, Piedmont, Italy

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
This is Dario Argento's first theatrical directorial feature which isn't based on an original script by himself. However, the script was written specifically for him. more

FAQ

Who or what is "Giallo"?
Is this movie based on a novel?
A Note Regarding Spoilers
more
2 out of 4 people found the following comment useful:-
Not quite what you might expect..., 29 June 2009
4/10
Author: Mondo_Giallo from Edinburgh, Scotland

The latest movie from Dario Argento, the master of the giallo film, is called, perhaps unsurprisingly, Giallo. Perhaps influenced by the self-referential Tarantino/Rodriguez movie Grindhouse, Giallo is another film named after an exploitation genre. What IS somewhat surprising, however, is that Giallo isn't really a giallo at all. Argento seems to have instead opted to have a go at the sub-genre known as torture porn. This is a bit perverse from a man whose output has been made up almost exclusively of gialli, or at the very least non-giallo movies that retain many of the conventions of the genre, i.e. the mystery killer attacks of the supernatural horror films Suspiria and Inferno. So it may seem like a joke on the director's part that Giallo isn't a giallo. Why doesn't it fit into the genre? Well, the main reason is the fact that the killer's identity is revealed early in the film; gialli can vary greatly in content and style but the one thing they must retain is an element of mystery and this film abandons that early on. Instead the film adopts the approach of the torture porn sub-genre, of films like Hostel, dwelling as it does in scenes of torture rather than murder set-pieces. This extends to the grungy and grimy look and colour scheme; we don't have the rich, vibrant colours of Argento of old, or the inventive camera-work that he was once famous for. Giallo is quite an ugly looking film, fitting perhaps as the title villain (Yellow/Giallo) is one ugly dude; he looks a bit like the bastard child of Carlos Puyol and Mark Knopfler, only much, much worse. He is very repellent but I, for one, much prefer Argento's androgynous black leather clad maniacs of old. I also preferred their HINT of sexual deviancy, as opposed to the spectacle of Yellow masturbating in front of his laptop to images of bloodied women. Too much Dario, too much...

For those of you hoping for a homage to Argento's gialli classics of old, I have to sadly say this is not it. I have read that Argento was actually a director for hire in this movie and that would not surprise me as the feeling I had watching this was that the director wasn't entirely giving his all in this film. It all seems a bit half-hearted. And that extends to the acting performances too, which are a bit stiff throughout. Although I don't see much point in saying too much about this as its par for the course with Argento movies, his scripts and direction of actors have been notoriously uneven throughout his career. However, the same cannot be said of the soundtracks in his previous films, the music from the likes of Deep Red and Suspiria is legendary. Here, sadly, the score is a bit uninspired. Not bad exactly, just unmemorable and workmanlike. The look of the film too is very pedestrian. Sadly, not very Italian looking.

On the plus side it's briskly paced and is never actually boring. And some of the unintentional silliness is really quite enjoyable if you approach it with the right frame of mind. The flash-back scene near the end of the film had some people in the audience at the screening I attended in absolute hysterics, although, in fairness, this is not something that will necessarily surprise Argentophiles, as much of his output does contain a fair bit of daftness. It has to be said that Adrien Brody does put in a very hammy performance as the cop, which is almost in Frank Drebin territory. Although some of the humour was surely intentional too, the scene where the coroner and Brody light up cigarettes over the corpse was hysterical. I suspect there cannot be a smoking ban in effect in Italy. Of additional note is the rather strange ending. I won't describe it but it does seem really wrong, and dare I say it, pointless, I will leave you to be the judge of this for yourself though.

Sadly, I don't think Giallo is going to kick-start the moribund Italian film industry into producing superior horror and thriller films. It isn't really a return to form for the director either. But, ultimately, perhaps last night's audience reaction wasn't too far off the mark. There was quite a bit of laughter at some of the sillier scenes, however, at the end there was a round of applause. And I must admit I joined in too because despite the myriad of faults in this latest Argento offering, I did quite enjoy myself.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Giallo (2009)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
So much worried, but... SPOILER Gandalf086
Not premiering at Cannes? asgard-5
Why This Might Suck phenlandia
UK Release lynx2051
Teaser poster Lord_Orpheus
Sergio Stivaletti speaks about Giallo mestupvizionz
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Giallo a Venezia La polizia chiede aiuto Il gatto a nove code La coda dello scorpione Sei donne per l'assassino
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Crime section IMDb USA section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.