Named for the yellow paperbacks they originated from (giallo translates to “yellow” in Italian), the giallo subgenre was a offshoot of Italian horror cinema that heavily populated the 1970s with its lurid style, intense violence, and fairly convoluted stories filled with red herrings. The American slashers of the 1980s — particularly classic films like Halloween and Friday the 13th — took inspiration from these Italian thrillers, modeling their murder set pieces and mysterious (human) killers after their predecessors. Today, neo-gialli films like Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s Amer continue to be influenced by the subgenre. The visually arresting fare of the gialli made for some of the best posters in Italian cinema history. Click through for graphic and gorgeous gialli posters that thrill and chill like no other.
Black Belly of the Tarantula (La tarantola dal ventre nero) 1971
Torso (I corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale) 1973
The New York Ripper (Lo Squartatore di New York) 1982
Blood and Black Lace (Sei donne per l’assassino) 1964
Deep Red (Profondo Rosso) 1975
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (L’uccello dalle piume di cristallo) 1970
The Psychic (Sette note in nero) 1977
The Cat o’ Nine Tails (Il gatto a nove code) 1971
Paranoia (Orgasmo) 1969
One on Top of the Other/Perversion Story (Una sull’altra) 1969