A Short History of Italian Horror

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Italian horror stands as something of a contradiction, ignored by the masses, yet adored by horror fanatics.
It's loved by horror fans for the same perceived flaws that causes mainstream audience to reject them. Their reliance on striking colorful images, disjointed (sometimes intentionally) illogical plots, and most of all shocking sex and violence.
Like all countries, Italy’s horror cinema evolved along with the society that created it, and between Riccardo Freda's Black Sunday, Dario Argento's Suspiria and Lucio Fulci's The Beyond, Italy has produced some of the wildest, most shocking, most original films horror had to offer.
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[@williamsnyder5638]

It’s weird because Italian horror isn’t widely recognized in Italy like it is abroad...

[@salvolondon]

William Snyder I think you are right , I’m Italian and I’ve never heard of any of these movies . True that I was born in 1980 so most of these films were made before my birth .

[@markalexander3659]

That IS weird. I had assumed that at least the likes of Argento, Fulci and Bava would be appreciated over there.

[@ACruelPicture]

@@markalexander3659 Many internationally famous filmmakers are not very well known (or liked) in their own country.

[@PaulCodio8]

I'm Italian and yea that's more or less the truth. Horror genre is always been overlooked. But I swear Fulci is one of the best.

[@Cosmopavone]

@@markalexander3659 the only one that was really popular in Italy was Dario Argento

[@LOOKLOOKLOOKAGAIN]

Italian horror cinema is possibly the best - a well researched piece. I adore giallo - there's nothing quite like it or equalled.

[@salvolondon]

Crab Apple anything that is Italian is totally unique .

[@manuelperu-espino2320]

Thank you so dude, I've been waiting for this, Italian horror is one of my favorites, from the giallos, cannibal horror, zombie horror, and gothic horror, to the colorfully beautiful but terrifying nightmare of Suspiria, you rock dude, can you plz do one on Korean horror, it is just as amazing as Japanese horror.

[@DainDenham]

This is an amazing analysis on the giallo and Italian horror genre. I am a huge fan of the genre. Great video!

[@markalexander3659]

Love this video! I'm low-key obsessed with Italian horror (particularly Giallo) right now.

[@gamecubeclock]

Horror is my favorite genre, and these episodes detailing the history of horror in foreign countries are perfect! Please make more!

[@zosothebelly]

A very good overview! If you want to explore the roots of Italian horror and gothic films, I strongly recommend "Malombra" (1942 - by Mario Soldati. Beware: there's another film with the same title, but it's an idiotic soft-core). This cinematic version of a stunning 19th century novel by A. Fogazzaro was filmed among every kind of difficulties during the years of WW2, and stands on its own if compared to the Italian film output of that era.

[@necceccess]

I have literally never clicked on a video so fast in my life. It was just earlier that I was thinking of how long it had seemed since a OHYOC video was posted.

[@thatspasticgamer]

The history of film has always fascinated me, especially in subgenres like this. Very entertaining and informative video. You do good work.

[@vicenteortegarubilar9418]

This is great as usual. It's always cool to remember how important the italian films were for the horror genre.

[@nathanbellic767]

Italian and proud of my national movie industry, too bad italian audiences never understood it..

[@EFDUP-o7s]

can you explain SALO to me in your own words?

[@Ray_TheRebel]

@@EFDUP-o7s Α bunch of people eating shit

[@dkres82]

Eric B Fascism run amuck, and a bunch of people eating shit.

[@PSJukkis]

Excellent video. Glad to see other people be passionate about italian horror!

[@sirasdf3843]

I'm so glad you made this wonderful and very informative video about what I think has been the most interesting period in the history of film of my country, hopefully someone will check out some of the films you mentioned and spread the word about how wonderful Italian Horror was! Thank you so much! P.S. In the description you wrote "Riccardo Freda's Black Sunday" while it was in fact directed by Mario Bava as you said in the video!

[@josecueto9348]

Excellent mini-documentary, thank you!

[@austinmiller9059]

Great video. Added a ton of movies to my watchlist. Cheers.

[@Bizarro69]

That was a fun ride! Thanks for the great video, it was very inspiring.

[@Alyson_Turner]

You know what I really loved and appreciated Stigmata!

[@manuelperu-espino2320]

I don't think Suspiria is considered a giallo, just a supernatural horror film.

[@tjmckinley8208]

A short history of kaiju films would be cool

[@jlovebirch]

A good research job but wish it hadn't skipped over the rich mid-60s gothic period (Barbara Steele, etc.) so quickly.

[@thewerepyreking]

What an absolutely brilliant video

[@11thAmeno]

One of my favorites is without a doubt "Phenomena" directed by Dario Argento... Donald Pleasence's performance was as good as they get, and as a bonus, you get "Flash Of The Blade" from Iron Maiden... Up The Irons! \m/...(>.

[@francescomanzo3939]

Thank you so much for making this beautiful and informative video.

[@theSupercasa]

The way he pronounced I vampiri 😂 😂 😂 😂 I'm dead. "Ay vampiri" 😂

[@gabrielegagliardi3956]

I laughed and cried at the same time. Ay vampiri is the worst pronunciation ever heard. At least contact an italian speakear to pronunce those 40 names (FRIDA, AI VAMPIRI, FELLONI etc) a vocal message and some memorization is all he needed.

[@theSupercasa]

@@gabrielegagliardi3956yeah. Like no offense, the video is very informative and nicely edited, compiling all the iconic spots from giallos, but like... come on! Ay vampiri! 😂 😂 ay caramba!

[@gabrielegagliardi3956]

@@theSupercasa I Legend, I Vampiri eheh.

[@PietroStangalini]

It's the new Apple undertaker service

[@hurdygurdy8754]

my grandpa is italian and black sunday by mario brava was my homosexual awakening i remember watching it as a kid and seeing the character nora chained up with her shirt off and i remembered being floored by it as a kid

[@ivorydungeon909]

My favourite is probably Fulci's City of the Living Dead. It's got such wonderful images and sounds. He made lots of great films and another one that I really like is The New York Ripper. Argento made lots of great films too, my favourites probably Suspiria, Tenebrae, and Inferno. Michele Soavi made great stuff too like Deliria and Cemetery Man. Other Italian films that I find to be endlessly watchable are Cannibal Apocalypse and Troll 2. I guess I could continue to list films but I think these are the ones that I'd take to a desert island...before having my eyes gouged out by zombies

[@louiespade2297]

Great video! I love "the Beyond" (1981)

[@Thisisthebackupchannel]

This is great!!! Will you be doing a short story of horror from Mexico or Korea anytime soon?

[@onehundredyearsofcinema]

There is another horror video coming out really soon, and it's not Mexico or Korea. Mexico is an amazing idea though!

[@davidefassola5170]

Ottimo lavoro!

[@nannyoggsally]

Very good essay that explores and explains all the subgenres (filoni). I know you warned about your mispronounciations but... don't you have an Italian friend you can ask? You can ask me if you want. Anyway, the video is great and I now want to watch some Mario Bava!

[@ffoco5453]

bisogna aiutarlo!

[@rivereuphrates8103]

Thought you could sneak in that cover at 7:46 and we wouldn't notice huh 😂

[@Marco_Venieri]

very extreme movies, in fact fulci has been called the Godfather of gore

[@ivans.191]

But the actual Godfather of gore is Herschell Gordon Lewis

[@retrogore420]

Fantastic job with this.

[@zombiefulci3301]

I asked some Italian tourists what they think of Fulci? They said they never heard of him

[@louiespade2297]

unfortunately he was underestimated by critics of the time who considered horror a second-class genre

[@drunklaic5989]

Tha last giallo you choosed is not a real giallo, it's a random meme from italian shitposter, I saw it like a year ago on an Italian meme page. It literally translate in "The problem of the 40 years old virgin cosplayer" HAHAHAHAHA. p.s. Sorry if I wrote something bad, but I'm Italian and I don't speak English very well

[@polishherowitoldpilecki5521]

Cans you do American horror???

[@JuanGomez-ri9ok]

It took me some time to hear the suspiria theme on the background

[@cin3madelight]

Love the channel But, kind of worried about the animal abuse. Can anyone make a time stamp of them? Or at least tell me what the extent of the animal abuse is.

[@ilpuntouk]

loved this but...no dario argento? Really?

[@gh0tc0rmediagroup65]

Dude, the second you said "Crappy Special Effects", A "Crappy Special effect" Shows up... Zombie 4: After Death? More like Zombie 4: The zombie movie with More crappy special effects than The Popular Sharknado

[@crackle6875]

Did you used to have some *insert country* horror videos other then Italy & Japan? Am I imaging it or did KZbin do something again?

[@Milo-fn1bj]

For 1941 do the maltese falcon and citizen kane please

[@onehundredyearsofcinema]

I don't like to give away what movies are coming up.... but stay tuned for the video that's coming out in the next few days.

[@Milo-fn1bj]

@@onehundredyearsofcinema thanks for responding

[@salvolondon]

Lol , it’s so funny when you say giallo .

[@onehundredyearsofcinema]

Mate, I can hardly speak English, let alone Spanish.

[@salvolondon]

One Hundred Years of Cinema Italian ... lol

[@onehundredyearsofcinema]

@@salvolondon that too.

[@dilfhunter878]

People are probably gonna attack me but I searched up Italian horror because I was curious on what Germany from hetalia was meaning by saying that Italy’s movies are normal

[@bradfarenight64]

And Cannibal Holocaust 1980?

[@jiriduda4070]

I love movie: Rats: Night of Terror :-)

[@sandraweilbrenner67]

Oh yes Bava's mise Barbera Steele

[@kyleshiflet7932]

Italian horror films depending on the director especially Dario argento are like operas sung by murderers and bathed in blood

[@jovannithomaswikel538]

I just saw a boar suck milk from a human.

[@Highlifebhai420]

2023 got to know u💯💯

[@seanslawson98]

I’m just curious why it takes so long to make a video

[@onehundredyearsofcinema]

Normally they take a while because they are quite research intensive and I'm a slow reader, this video in particular was late because of reasons that would be an absolute downer to read in a KZbin comment. But everything is resolved now and I'm back on track with my slow and steady release schedule.

[@seanslawson98]

One Hundred Years of Cinema cool

[@michaelcullen5308]

Sean Slawson They’re worth waiting for :)

[@seanslawson98]

Michael Cullen they are but I guess once a month is a bit of a wait

[@francescomanzo3939]

We'll wait patiently for each new video.

[@sandraweilbrenner67]

Muse

[@TheNecessaryEvil]

I'd like to make a giallo western

[@ManubibiWalsh]

Yeah honestly I don't really care for Italian horror, and I'm Italian and I've seen horror from a bunch of countries but Italian horror just seems so boring to me. Like, I watched Suspiria and it just seemed to be made for the aesthetic, not even as a fun attempt at exploring something. Plus, as you said, there's a lot of violence against women and sexism in general and I don't fuck with that. However, do I think there's potential for a new branch of Italian horror? Sure. It could start with the very real phenomenon of "femminicidio" (women being murdered by their partners or ex-partners out of possessiveness and misogyny). It could also start from old folklore tales adapted to modern times. It could be political. Sky's the limit.

[@dbag3345]

shut up

[@pulx1481]

Ahahahah ma che cazzo dici fratello

[@goldendreams3437]

Can we see some Russ Meyer! 😁