Seven Blood Stained Orchids [Sette orchidee macchiate di rosso]

Methodically ticks nearly every tick box you could want a Giallo to tick.

La Casa 4 [Witchcraft (Evil Encounters)/ Witchery/ Ghosthouse 2]

Despite all the titles trying to convince you otherwise the only connection this has to the other films in the series is that it’s set in a house. Not that the house has anything to do with the story in this one either, it’s actually about a witch who drags people through portals into hell where utterly horrific acts are rendered laughable by shoddy special effects work. Originally intended to be a Luigi Cozzi project, but he passed because he felt the script wasn’t up to scratch, which tells you exactly how good this is.

The New Mutants

Just can’t get away from the fact that everybody involved wanted to make an X-Men horror movie so the main character is a mutant whose power is to turn everything into a horror movie. That’s the level we’re at folks.

Amuck! [Alla ricerca del piacere/ Hot Bed Of Sex/ Leather And Whips]

It’s definitely Italian. The numerous extended slow motion sex scenes are certainly sleazy. The plotting is contrived and confused in a way that could be interpreted as mystery and, though it takes its time to finally turn up, there is eventually a stabbing. So it’s a Giallo, but barely.

I’m Thinking Of Ending Things

Acts as both a mouthpiece for Kaufman and a display of his superb grasp of generating an uncanny vibe.

Aenigma

Late period Fulci that bucks his usual M.O. with a mostly coherent plot and a boredom to lunacy ratio that gleefully leans into the madness. King.

Death Smiles On A Murderer [La morte ha sorriso all'assassino/ Death Smiled At Murder]

Struggles to function as its own story, but is particularly effective as a greatest hits of Italian cinema of the time featuring heavy handed gothic atmospheres, Klaus Kinski nonsensically swaggering about, spurious Poe references, a razor blade killing, special FX make-up that looks like whatever was closest to hand heaped onto faces, POV shots of a killer stalking victims that run slowly and finally all rounded off with some obligatory severe eyeball trauma.