Giallo

Two years ago, Argento’s conclusion of the Witch’s Trilogy felt like something from another world (and another era), and the same could be said about his new film. The atmosphere is reminiscent of the period of Deep Red, Opera and Tenebrae, but this time without any remarkable visuals. I don’t think that’s bad because the less Argento fools around with forms, the better he works with the actors, though here there’s still plenty of his typical play with colours – red and yellow in almost every scene. The film has a decent story, good actors, excellent (but not gratuitous) gore and a very good climax that, unfortunately, fails to go all the way. I will pretend I didn’t see the last scene :-) 7/10 (26.08.2009)

I really like Argento's style, and his signature is evident in many scenes. Adrien Brody shines as Detective Enzo Avolfi – a brilliantly written and even better-portrayed character. On the flip side, Brody's role as the killer, Yellow (Giallo), fell flat – underdeveloped, uninteresting, and highly unnatural. This was a huge letdown for me. I'm used to Argento's intricate villains and intriguing plot twists, which were sadly missing here. Although I wasn't bored while watching, the film ultimately left me disappointed. It had potential that just wasn’t fulfilled. A bit of script refinement could have made a big difference. (20.01.2020)