Top 10 Italian Horror Movies

[RCMerchant]

7. RABID DOGS (1974) Mario Bava's last film. This movie is almost torture porn s**t- but with such style and great story telling- I can't describe. WATCH it! You won't regret it.

I don't think I've seen that one, and I definitely haven't seen SHOCK (1977) (which I guess must actually be Mario Bava's last film, although it seems RABID DOGS wasn't released properly until the 2000s despite being made earlier)

I'm also a fan of the horror-giallo films starring Edwige Fenech. she is really beautiful. looks kind of innocent and dirty at the same time

THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARDH
ALL THE COLOURS OF THE DARK
YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM AND ONLY I HAVE THE KEY

(gotta dig those titles at least?).

Edwige is a fox. I ain't seen those yet- but I plan on it!

[M.10rda]

1. Toby Dammit (1968)
2. Suspiria (1977)
3. Black Sunday (1960)
4. Cemetery Man [Dellamorte Dellamore] (1994)
5. Deep Red (1975)
6. Opera (1987)
7. Kill Baby Kill (1966)
8. The Stendahl Syndrome (1996)
9. The Perfume of the Lady in Black (1974)
10. Lisa and the Devil (1973)

A phenomenal list as expected from Rev. Powell. TPOTLIB is really tremendous. Likewise KILL BABY KILL.

I've mostly refrained from playing along w/ these recent list-games 'cause my brain doesn't work well in such sub-categorical ways. I tend to rank movies of all genres and sub-genres against each other, Italian horror alongside vampire movies alongside Frankenstein movies alongside Jennifer Aniston rom-coms (w/ the latter always ending up at the bottom of any mental list, of course).

But, here's a movie that's Italian and horrific that I don't think anyone's mentioned yet - that I hold in great regard: Brunello Rondi's IL DEMONIO aka THE DEMON (1963). Perhaps slow if you're looking for cheap thrills, but it escalates nicely. Both POSSESSION and THE EXORCIST owe significant debts to this film.

[zombie no.one]

I liked "Rabid Dogs" a lot but not sure I'd classify it as horror, more of a thriller.

yeah the line between giallo, thriller, politzietti (sp?) and horror in those 70s italian movies is not always clear... I was thinking that about including WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOUR DAUGHTERS? in my list, but it does have a masked hatchet-weilding madman throughout, so...

never heard of your #1 btw!

[Rev. Powell]

I liked "Rabid Dogs" a lot but not sure I'd classify it as horror, more of a thriller.

yeah the line between giallo, thriller, politzietti (sp?) and horror in those 70s italian movies is not always clear... I was thinking that about including WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOUR DAUGHTERS? in my list, but it does have a masked hatchet-weilding madman throughout, so...

never heard of your #1 btw!

It's the Fellini segment from the anthology "Spirits of the Dead." It's 43 minutes and often screened by itself (the other two stories aren't considered as good.)

[RCMerchant]

1. Toby Dammit (1968)
2. Suspiria (1977)
3. Black Sunday (1960)
4. Cemetery Man [Dellamorte Dellamore] (1994)
5. Deep Red (1975)
6. Opera (1987)
7. Kill Baby Kill (1966)
8. The Stendahl Syndrome (1996)
9. The Perfume of the Lady in Black (1974)
10. Lisa and the Devil (1973)

A phenomenal list as expected from Rev. Powell. TPOTLIB is really tremendous. Likewise KILL BABY KILL.

I've mostly refrained from playing along w/ these recent list-games 'cause my brain doesn't work well in such sub-categorical ways. I tend to rank movies of all genres and sub-genres against each other, Italian horror alongside vampire movies alongside Frankenstein movies alongside Jennifer Aniston rom-coms (w/ the latter always ending up at the bottom of any mental list, of course).

But, here's a movie that's Italian and horrific that I don't think anyone's mentioned yet - that I hold in great regard: Brunello Rondi's IL DEMONIO aka THE DEMON (1963). Perhaps slow if you're looking for cheap thrills, but it escalates nicely. Both POSSESSION and THE EXORCIST owe significant debts to this film.

The DEMON is great- it even has the upside- down spider walk!

[M.10rda]

The DEMON is great- it even has the upside- down spider walk!

TRUTH

[zombie no.one]

Some rather wayward but still enjoyable (imo) entries:

MANHATTAN BABY
THE HOUSE OF LOST SOULS
ZOMBIE 5: KILLING BIRDS
EATEN ALIVE
BLACK DEMONS

[Ticonderoga 64]

In no particular order:

BLOOD AND BLACK LACE(1964)
AN ANGEL FOR SATAN(1966)
BLACK SABBATH(1963)
LADY FRANKENSTEIN(1971)
BLOODY PIT OF OF HORROR(1965)
BLACK SUNDAY(1960)
PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES(1965)
BARON BLOOD(1972)
WEREWOLF IN A GIRLS' DORMITORY(1963)
KILL, BABY. KILL(1966)

[zombie no.one]

BLOODY PIT OF OF HORROR(1965)

fan of this one... didn't really know it was Italian

THE HOUSE OF LOST SOULS

just did a re-watch of this... part of a quadrilogy of films done in 1989, 2 directed by Lenzi, 2 by Fulci, all with the word 'House' in the title. this one's my fav of the 4. equal parts silly and spooky

contains some funny dialogue:

"This stone is from the Paleolithic era, that's way before Kojak licked his first lollipop"

^said by a kid who looks no older than ten

[claws]

Might as well list all Italian horror I own. Ranked from best (favorites) to worst:

1. Troll 2 (1990)
2. Suspiria (1977)
3. Deep Red (1975)
4. Zombie (1979)
5. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
6. Cemetery Man (1994)
7. Opera (1987)
8. The Psychic (1977)
9. The House with Laughing Windows (1976)
10. Phenomena (1985)
11. Demons (1985)
12. The Beyond (1981)
13. Inferno (1980)
14. StageFright (1987)
15. Torso (1973)
16. City of the Living Dead (1980)
17. The Church (1989)
18. Sleepless (2001)
19. Buio Omega (1979)
20. Shock (1977)
21. The House by the Cemetery (1981)
22. Demons 2 (1986)
23. The Stendhal Syndrome (1996)
24. Jungle Holocaust (1977)
25. A Blade in the Dark (1983)
26. Night Train Murders (1975)
27. The Sect (1991)
28. The Night Child (1975)
29. Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
30. Trauma (1993)
31. Nightmare City (1980)
32. Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror (1981)
33. House on the Edge of the Park (1980)
34. The Black Cat (1981)
35. Macabre (1980)
36. Strip Nude for Your Killer (1975)
37. Cut and Run (1984)
38. The Antichrist (1974)
39. Patrick Still Lives (1980)
40. Anthropophagus (1980)
41. Invasion of the Fleshhunters (1980)
42. Welcome to Spring Break (1989)
43. There Was a Little Girl (1981)
44. Murder-Rock: Dancing Death (1984)
45. Primal Rage (1988)
46. Murder Syndrome (1981)
47. Mother of Tears (2007)
48. Cannibal Ferox (1981)
49. Zombie Holocaust (1980)
50. Contamination (1980)
51. Slave of the Cannibal God (1978)
52. Massacre in Dinosaur Valley (1985)
53. Werewolf Woman (1976)
54. Hitcher in the Dark (1989)
55. Hell of the Living Dead (1980)
56. Zombie 3 (1988)
57. Beyond the Door (1974)
58. Body Count (1986)
59. The Other Hell (1981)
60. Evil Eye (1975)
61. Rats: Night of Terror (1984)
62. The Great Alligator River (1979)
63. The Ogre (1988)
64. Zombie 4: After Death (1989)
65. Witchery (1988)
66. Black Demons (1991)
67. Zombie 5: Killing Birds (1988)
68. Alien 2: On Earth (1980)
69. White Cannibal Queen (1980)
70. Evil Clutch (1988)

[zombie no.one]

9. The House with Laughing Windows (1976)

this one's good.  unusual atmosphere.... recently bought a later early 80s horror by the same director called ZEDER which unfortunately was dull.


15. Torso (1973) 

yeah that's another one which is just a very solid example of the genre


  45. Primal Rage (1988) 

really enjoy this one. same writers as NIGHTMARE BEACH (same main girl actress as well) which I enjoy a bit more so that one made my top 10, but this is close

[RCMerchant]

8. DEEP RED (1976) First Argento film I ever saw- and his best, IMHO. The score by Goblin is great.
Plus a real creepy mechanical doll. And, of course, all that blood.

[Trevor]

8. DEEP RED (1976) First Argento film I ever saw- and his best, IMHO. The score by Goblin is great.
Plus a real creepy mechanical doll. And, of course, all that blood.

That was my first Dario Argento film too. 😊

[zombie no.one]

Ditto... in fact first Italian horror I ever saw... set the bar kinda high

Only recently saw Argento's DRACULA 3D, which while a bit crack was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting.


Edit, that was meant to say 'cack' not crack... although maybe crack was involved somewhere in the creation of that film

[M.10rda]

Might as well list all Italian horror I own. Ranked from best (favorites) to worst:

1. Troll 2 (1990)
70. Evil Clutch (1988)

I won't knock on TROLL 2, which is of course hilarious, but I admit sincere fondness for EVIL CLUTCH. Saw it first on VHS in '91 or '92 and (still high off my first exposure 3 or 4 years prior to Barry Sonnenfeld's dizzying dolly & steadicam pyrotechnics in RAISING ARIZONA) I thought EVIL CLUTCH had the second greatest collection of tracking shots in cinema history. Of course, I'd yet to have seen POSSESSION (2nd mention in one thread, woot!) or dozens of other far more expertly lensed films. But I had seen EVIL DEAD 2, and purely on the basis of cinematography, I preferred EVIL CLUTCH.  

As a reasonable adult, I find it hard to argue that EVIL CLUTCH has better mobile camerawork than EVIL DEAD 2....... but it's still easy to maintain it's got MORE mobile camerawork than EVIL DEAD 2.   These poor hapless Italian kids spent ALL their allowances on a weekend rental of that steadicam, and by God, they are going to shoot THE WHOLE damn movie on that steadicam! As a young teen filmmaker, that really lit my fire. Say whatever else you want about EVIL CLUTCH's plot, acting, or SFX... those kids got their money's worth on that rental!

.......I HAD seen GOODFELLAS by the time I first saw EVIL CLUTCH, and EVIL CLUTCH also definitely had much, much more steadicam than GOODFELLAS!