Giallo - dir. by Dario Argento (2009)

Any time I hear that Dario Argento is working on a new film, I feel somewhat anxious. One of the most visually energetic, original horror filmmakers of all time, Argento's work of the last two decades has been somewhat lacking, to say the absolute least.

So, there's good news: his new film Giallo, I'm happy to write, isn't nearly as bad as the master's other films of late, and is overall a passable thriller.

It contains almost none of Argento's signature visual flare, and isn't particularly exciting artistically, but if you're looking for an above-average horror-story-slash-police-thriller, you could do worse than Giallo.

The plot is essentially the usual Argento bit about a serial killer offing beautiful women, only this time around, he shows us the killer towards the beginning. Rest assured, this is one ugly son of a bitch, who wears his true feelings on the outside. In fact, his childhood tormentors, along with one of his recent victims, refer to him as "Yellow" due to his jaundice-affected skin (providing the inspiration for the title, I'm guessing, since the film itself isn't what one would normally consider a "giallo"). The man speaks in a gross mumble that raises in pitch the angrier he gets, but his disturbing voice is no match for his grotesque physical appearance. (Argento fans will notice the unusual bare hands, quite different than the normal black-gloved look.)

The major problem with Giallo is the same as with his last film, Mother of Tears (2007): there isn't enough Argento contained in its ninety minutes. I don't mean that the movie's too short--just that his style is sadly missing. Both of these films don't show much in the way that grabs the viewer and immediately points to the evidence of their creator. They aren't complete dogshit like Phantom of the Opera (1998) or The Card Player (2004), and are worth watching for any fan of the director, but at the same time, there's nothing to get particularly excited about.

Adrien Brody (currently suing the film company, claiming they haven't paid him any of his reported--and very reasonable--fee) gets the job done as the police investigator taking on the case. Vincent Gallo was originally signed to play the role of the serial killer, but dropped out due to the involvement of his ex-fiancee, Asia Argento (who was subsequently replaced Emannuelle Seigner). I'd love to see Gallo and Argento team up at some point, preferrably with a better script. I'm sure they've probably both pissed each other off by now, though, and such a collaboration will never happen.

Oh well . . . Dario's got something called Dracula 3D coming out next year . . . so . . . there's that to look forward to . . .