Delirium (1987) from Tuna

Delirium, AKA Le Foto di Gioia (1987) is a Giollo from Lamberto Bava.

In case some of you don't know the origin of the term, Giallo, or "yellow" was the jacket color of a popular series of pulp mysteries in Italy. Films made from them, or stories like them, became known as Giallo. Wealthily young widow Gioia, former model, and owner of a girlie magazine, returns to work after a lengthy period of grieving. She no longer poses, but has decided to become active in the magazine again. Someone starts killing her models in bizarre and interesting ways, and then sending her photographs of the bodies posed in front of a large picture of her. There are numerous suspects, including a very strange neighbor boy, and a shrew who is trying to buy her magazine.

NUDITY REPORT

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Before each murder, we see the victim through the eyes of the killer, with their faces transformed into a hideous monster. My favorite murder method was spraying a naked woman with a bee attractant, then closing her in a room with an angry swarm. Gioia is played by Serena Grandi, who is nicknamed the Dolly Parton of Italy. She shows her breasts and buns in several scenes, including a steam bath, and a hot tub sex scene. Trine Michelsen as the first murdered model shows breasts while modeling, and Sabrina Salerno as another murdered model shows breasts and buns. The photography was innovative, which resulted in some good moments, and some very oddly lit scenes. All in all, this thriller is watchable, and Grandi's grand ones are memorable.

The Critics Vote

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The People Vote ...

  • With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDB readers say 5.5 of 10

 

IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, this film is a C.

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