The Perfume of the Lady in Black

An unusually conceived giallo, mixed with another popular Italian subgenre of the time (I won't reveal which one, as it is related to the final twist). There may be no leather-gloved killer, but stylistically and thematically it's still a giallo. The use of colour, expressionistic camera angles and fetishistic details is not self-indulgent like in many other giallo films. Even the tiniest details in a painting have meaning here, forming gradually fitting pieces of a mosaic. At the same time, they impressively reflect the inner state of the protagonist, who gradually loses her mind as memories of traumatic events from the past begin to come back to her. The boundaries between reality and fantasy or past and present are blurred in a very imaginative way. In addition to this, there is a subtle side-line that is only fully revealed at the end. The ending doesn't make much sense, it's rather metaphorical, but this is a pure horror dive into madness that doesn't make sense. It's almost as good as Polanski's Repulsion or Rosemary's Baby. Francesco Barilli is a very capable horror director, and it's a shame he's only made two features. (29/03/2018)