Behind the Couch

Anyone familiar with the irresistibly beautiful, yet devastatingly violent Italian giallo films of the Seventies – made popular by Mario Bava, Dario Argento and Sergio Martino – will no doubt have wept tears of joy while watching Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s breathlessly sensual Amer . Many of the now iconic motifs, visual codes and stylistic traits from the vivid archives of the giallo were present and correct throughout Amer ; a virtually dialogue free film revolving around concepts of obsession, sexual desire, psychological trauma and murder… Following on from their contribution to The ABCs of Death - O is for Orgasm – the duo are currently making their sophomore feature, tantalisingly titled The Strange Colour Of Your Body's Tears ( L'Etrange Couleur Des Larmes De Ton Corps ). They have released a teasing synopsis, describing the film thus: The Strange Colour is the story of a man who investigates the weird conditions of his wife's disappearance. It's ...

A few months back I interviewed director Ryan Haysom about his short neo-giallo Yellow , the influence of by-gone Italian horror and the morbid allure of black leather gloved killers, glinting switchblades and bloody ultra-violence. With the film now screening at various festivals around the world, and going down a storm with critics and audiences alike, I thought it was as good a time as any to catch up with Mr Haysom and the makers of Yellow . Joining us in donning black leather gloves and talking about the film are cinematographer/writer Jon Britt and producer Catherine Morawitz. How did you come up with the story for Yellow ? HAYSOM : I am a big Italian horror fan and I’ve always wanted to make a giallo-styled film, so it’s always been in the back of my mind. Jon and I share a very similar experimental aesthetic when it comes to our ideas on cinema. When we decided to actually try and create a film, we were going in the same direction from the very start and it felt very or...

2012 Dir. Ryan Haysom Italian giallo films, made popular by the likes of Dario Argento, Mario Bava and Sergio Martino, are renowned for their brutal violence, dazzling style and convoluted ‘whodunit’ narratives. Immensely popular in Italy throughout the late Sixties and early Seventies, they eventually fizzled out of fashion. Throughout the past couple of years however they have appeared to make something of a comeback; specifically in terms of their influence on a new generation of filmmakers. Recent films such as Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s Amer , Peter Strickland's Berberian Sound Studio , Guillem Morales’ Julia’s Eyes and Federico Zampaglione’s Tulpa , highlight the impact the giallo has had on contemporary horror cinema, with its combination of exploitative violence and art house aesthetics. Another notable title to proudly wear its giallo influences on its blood-spattered sleeve is the short film, Yellow (directed by Ryan Haysom and produced by Catherine Morawit...

Italian giallo films are renowned for their brutal violence, dazzling style and convoluted ‘whodunit’ narratives. The combination of grind-house exploitation, art house aesthetics and bizarre fetishisation of violence, render the giallo a highly distinctive and unnerving cycle of films. The giallo is exclusively Italian and was initially popularized by Dario Argento’s The Bird with the Crystal Plumage . The films began to lose their commercial appeal in the late Seventies, but recent films such as Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s Amer , Guillem Morales’ Julia’s Eyes and Federico Zampaglione’s forthcoming Tulpa , to name but a few, highlight the overwhelming influence of the giallo on a new slew of international filmmakers. These ‘neo-gialli’ have sparked a resurgence of interest in the film cycle that looks set to continue with a new short film by Berlin-based filmmaker Ryan Haysom. Yellow is currently in production and looks set to draw heavily from the gialli of yesteryear, wit...

Amer ('Bitter') has been causing quite a stir on the festival circuit of late. Filmmakers Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani have concocted a heady and mesmerizing brew that harks back to the dazzling and uber-stylised Italian gialli of the Seventies. Forzani and Cattet have set about recreating all the familiar motifs, visual codes, stylistic traits and clichés from the blood drenched and lurid archives of the giallo film. Classic gialli such as Deep Red, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Lizard in a Woman’s Skin , Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key and All the Colours of the Dark are paid tribute to in a virtually dialogue free story revolving around the concepts of obsession, sexuality, trauma and death. All this unfolds in a visual feast backed by pieces from classic giallo scores to create a stunning and haunting mood-piece that will sear itself onto your retina and into your nightmares long after its provocative array of images have finished strutting ac...