Rent All the Colours of the Dark (1972)

Top giallo - spoilers. - All the Colours of the Dark review by NP

One of the many things I enjoy about the giallo genre is that whilst the structure is similar with each film, the overall style can be infused with various other flavours. Here, the horror/thriller style is given a kind of ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ treatment, with the incredible Edwige Fenech playing Jane, who appears to becoming immersed into the world of the occult (this is a far more successful melding of genres than ‘A Black Ribbon for Deborah’ two years later).

Traumatised by the loss of her unborn child, Jane begins seeing the image of an impossibly blue-eyed man. As time goes on, this figure tries to kill her, and desperately lonely with her husband away for his work, she befriends nearby mysterious and condescending Mary (Marina Malfatti), who promises that if Jane attends a Black Mass ceremony, all her problems will vanish. As solutions go, it was never going to work. The blue eyed figure, now wielding a knife, warns her not to renounce the group.

Looking fabulous, poor Jane is catapulted from one nightmare to another, with partner Richard (George Hilton) turning up to save her. However, could he become ensnared in the cult too? You would hope not. Incidentally, in a sadly brief role as Jane’s sister Barbara is Nieves Navarro (here billed as Susan Scott), a million miles away from the carefree characters she played in ‘Death Walks… ‘ giallos from the early 1970s.

Beautifully directed in an occasionally hallucinogenic fashion by Sergio Martino, and mesmerizingly scored by Bruno Nicolai, ‘All the Colours of the Dark’ features a typically exciting climax. If you like giallo films, you’ll like this. If you’re uninitiated in the genre, I’d recommend it without question.