EP#212 Giallo and Euro Horror with Troy Howarth

Kevin Lane's Spill Your Guts

Many of our listeners are likely to be familiar with the Italian masters of horror Mario Bava, Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci. These three filmmakers reign supreme on not just their home turf but around the world with iconic films such as Bava’s “Black Sunday”, “Black Sabbath” and “A Bay of Blood”. Argento’s “Deep Red”, “Suspiria” and “Inferno”. And Fulci’s “Zombie”, “City of the Living Dead” and “The Beyond”. All classic genre films that have endured and remain as taught, shocking and inspired as well as inspiring for generations of audiences and filmmakers.

But what exactly is a “giallo” film? What are the sensibilities of these filmmakers and their fellow European genre maestros that gives them such a different energy than American horror? Why can’t contemporary filmmakers recapture that “giallo” style?

On this episode, our guest is author and film historian Troy Howarth.

To call Troy an expert on giallo films and European horror is putting it mildly. Troy has written multiple extensive and revealing books on these films and the auteurs behind them and you have likely seen or heard him in the special features section either in a documentary or commentary on some of the lavish rereleases of some of these classic movies as well as the less obvious ones that are finally getting their time in the sun.

We love Troy’s writing. Always illuminating and thoughtful. This is a man who has not only done his homework but whose love and appreciation for the artists and their work is front and centre.

So, pull some black gloves on and don’t worry about the dubbing… it’s time to delve into the world of European horror and giallo films with Troy Howarth.

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