While surfing Amazon Prime the other night I came on an Italian thriller I have been hunting for that never surfaced on home video in America. It was The Killer Reserved Nine Seats, a 1974 film directed by Giuseppe Bennati about a well-heeled group who are invited to tour a closed theater, only to find themselves locked in and getting picked off one after another by a masked killer. It was in Italian (I had to figure out how to click on the subtitles) but it looked terrific, and while the plot was familiar I was overjoyed to be finally watching it. And some of the murders were theatrical and surprisingly brutal. But that’s the thing with Amazon Prime– you really keep getting surprised at how much they have in their library.
Now I have a great fondness for the Italian “Giallo” thriller, and have written about it already. But what surprised me was how many titles that I wrote about were available to stream on Prime. So, I just thought I’d offer up a list of fun Italian mysteries for you to dive into.
Blood And Black Lace. A stylish, brilliant Mario Bava film about a masked psycho stalking a haute couture fashion salon.
The Bird With The Crystal Plumage. Dario Argento sprang to fame with this twisty thriller about an American in Rome (Tony Musante) who stumbles on the scene of an attempted murder at an art gallery. This film set the stage for countless cinematic imitations.
Black Belly Of The Tarantula. Excellent mystery starring Giancarlo Giannini as a policeman investigating a psychopath who incapacitates his victims with drugs before killing them.
What Have You Done To Solange? Grisly murders surrounding a Catholic girl’s school in London. Loosely based on an Edgar Wallace novel, the actual killings are surprisingly savage.
Your Vice Is A Locked Room And Only I Have The Key. First-rate take-off of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Black Cat about a decadent writer living in a villa with his abused wife.
Don’t Torture A Duckling. A fantastic Lucio Fulci film about a series of child killings in a Southern Italian village. With Florinda Bolkan as the “witch” the superstitious townspeople are convinced is the culprit.
The Red Queen Kills Seven Times. A wonderful gothic chiller set in a gloomy castle about a legend handed down through families about a vengeful female assassin in a red cloak who returns to kill seven times every 100 years.
A Blade In the Dark. A musician rents an isolated house so he can compose a score for a horror movie only to have a lunatic spy on him who delights in bumping off strangers with a handy box cutter.
Death Walks At Midnight. A fashion model under the influence of hallucinogens isn’t sure if she actually witnessed a murder.
Deep Red. An early masterpiece by Dario Argento starring David Hemmings as a jazz musician in Rome who is a witness to a murder and becomes a target for the killer. With the glorious Daria Nicolodi as a journalist.
The Fifth Cord. Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro adds visual luster to this thriller about a reporter (Franco Nero) trying to uncover a killer who stalks victims born under the sign of Aries.
The New York Ripper. A psychopath is hacking his way through the Big Apple in this particularly nasty Lucio Fulci thriller.
There are plenty more “Giallos” to weed through on Amazon Prime. But I have to admit, nothing takes my mind off the news than a twisty Italian mystery from the 1970s showcasing a black-gloved killer.