An interesting tidbit we missed about James Wan’s upcoming horror flick posted by Deadline (via Bloody Disgusting) may have revealed that project might not involve ghosts or too much of the supernatural as it is expected to be a Giallo movie.
The sub-genre isn’t as much supernatural as it is psychological and crime focused horror. Think more like in the realm of Se7en meets Basic Instinct, as the victims of the murders tend to have gruesome/inventive deaths you’d likely attribute to a Michael Myers or Jason Vorhees.
Giallo refers specifically to a particular Italian thriller-horror genre that has mystery or detective elements and often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, less frequently, supernatural horror elements. In Italy, the term generally denotes thrillers, typically of the crime fiction, mystery, and horror subgenres, regardless of the country of origin.
The term derives from a series of cheap paperback mystery novels with yellow (giallo) covers that were popular in post-fascist Italy.
Some excellent examples of the genre include Mario Bava’s Blood and Black Lace, and pretty much the entire career of Italian director Dario Argento.
We’ve seen Wan talk-up the Hard-R aspect of this movie along with the use of practical effects, in a film like this the gore and in-camera effects are mostly the effective to shock audiences.
James isn’t a stranger to gory/inventive practical effects deaths as he co-created the Saw franchise along with directing the first installment. Saw would certainly fall under most of the Giallo guidelines and Jigsaw himself is an obvious homage to Argento’s Deep Red.
Edgar Wright’s Last Night In Soho may also take from the Giallo genre as we’ve seen plenty of set photos that suggest he’ll be using brightly colored neons attributed to Bava and Argento’s films.
The cast currently includes Maddie Hasson, Annabelle Wallis, Jake Abel, and George Young.
Filming is supposed to begin filming later this month in Los Angeles, California.
SOURCE: DEADLINE/BLOODY DISGUSTING
