Bezenby
Daria Nicoladi (Shock, Tenebrae), David Brandon (Stagefright), George Eastman (The Unholy Four, Endgame), Lino Salemme (Graveyard Disturbance, Demonia) and some guy from Demons whose name I'll never remember all star in Lamberto Bava's very late entry into the Giallo genre, with some trippiness thrown in and an absolute avalanche of female nudity, all done late eighties style. Oh yeah.After an eye popping collage of jazz mag photographs involving a model, we cut to said model now overseeing a similar photo shoot outside of her house. Her name is Gloria, and she's got huge…tracts of land, if you know what I mean. Her assistant is Daria Nicoladi, and also in attendance are photographer Robert (Brandon), brother Tom, and a new model, Kelly. Also present, via a telescope, is crippled youngster Mark, who constantly spies on Gloria and calls her over to touch his tooter, which I've got to say she declines with a patience that would be unheard of these days.You see, Gloria used to be a model and worked for a magazine owned by ex-friend Sasha, but these days she's branched out on her own, with a magazine called Pussycat. The thing is, someone has it in for her, as we see the screen start to flash red and blue, and a killer appears, hallucinating that Kelly has a face composed entirely of an eyeball. Kelly shortly gets a pitchfork through her midriff and Gloria receives some pictures in the post of a dead Kelly, with a Gloria photo backdrop.So, it's Giallo time, rather than slasher time. Loads of suspects, loads of red herrings, and let's be honest, loads and loads and loads of boobs. Another model, Sabrina, gets stung to death by bees (and the killer sees her with the head of a bee) and Gloria receives more pictures in the post. At this time there's a great scene at the Cinecitta where Gloria bumps into ex-boyfriend George Eastman (she walks past some extras from a zombie film on the way there!) and the two of them hit it off, leading Eastman to have sex with her in a Jacuzzi, the jammy get. In slow motion. The thing is, George isn't exactly telling the truth of what he's doing, seemingly called her from Greece even though we can see the Coliseum in the background.There's a lot of this going on in Delerium. Just about every character has something ambiguous going on from Sasha to George to Roberto etc, and although Bava keeps the body count light, it leaves still a lot of suspects as the film draws to a close, while Gloria and cop Lino Salemme try and figure out what's going on. The Roman locations are great (including a scene in the Cimitri Verano) and Bava's made everything extremely stylish. It's kind of lacking the cheese department, but more than makes up for it with the crazy visuals. I thought I had the killer pegged at one point, but then changed my mind, then changed my mind again even though it turned out I was right. That's the sign of a good giallo there.I think Bava does a lot better with the giallo here than he did in Blade in the Dark (although that's worth a watch too), and although this is probably not a film you'd watch with your missus, it's definitely one to seek out.
Lechuguilla
Gloria (gorgeous Serena Grandi) is a publisher of a girlie magazine called "Pussycat" that features nude photos of female models. But someone starts killing people around Gloria. And she becomes frightened for her own life. Whoever it is likes to deceive and trick others by playing mind games.Characters in this Italian giallo are upscale, high-class people and the costumes and sets reflect that elegance. There's not as much suspense here as in other giallos. But one sequence that is suspenseful takes place inside a large clothing store full of mannequins. Having discovered a just-murdered person, the trapped Gloria searches for a way out, only to hear a weird voice from somewhere in the building: "Now it's your turn Gloria; you can't escape." About midway through the plot, there's a scene wherein the killer's motive is described through dialogue and visuals. But the clue is wonderfully subtle.Cinematography gives us sharp, vibrant colors. But when someone is about to be murdered, we see that person from the killer's POV, at which time the sharp colors morph into color-saturated hues of blue or orange. And the intended victim wears an ugly mask, presumably to represent the ugliness of the killer's thought processes.Near the end, at the reveal, the killer looks very different from the killer's previous persona of normality. A look of insanity, or madness, appears on that person's face, possibly the result of overacting. I was quite surprised as to who the killer was. Reviewing the plot, I determined that it was highly improbable, but I could not find any overt plot holes.I could have wished for more suspense. And the acting leaves a lot to be desired. But "Delirium" is worth watching for the nudity, as well as for that clothing store sequence and surprise ending.
haildevilman
And I do mean EVERYTHING else.A great looking film in all aspects. Brilliant camera work. Excellent use of color. The cinematography and art direction were Oscar worthy and everybody in it looked great. The majority of them proving it by getting naked.Beautiful models get bumped off by a killer whose face becomes a giant eye before the kill. The sudden rush of colors signifies that a murder is coming. Said models work for a magazine that our heroine (A former model herself) runs.Of course now she thinks she's the final target. Is she? If you can find this gem, see it.I found this in a used video box in Tokyo and was sucked in but the cover art. Seeing Bava's name helped too.It's a bit dated now, it reminds one of an 80's music video at times. But the mystery element is great and never lets up.
