Giallo: The problem with serial killer thrillers at this point in the game is that they’ve been done to death (pardon the pun). So if you’re going to add to the genre, you need a hook that separates you from the ever-expanding herd, whether it be plot-related, visually, anything. Otherwise, your film ends up seeming like a retread of “Silence of the Lambs” (arguably the greatest example of the genre). Emanuelle Seigner’s supermodel sister is kidnapped by a taxi cab-driving serial torturer/rapist, and the only person in the whole country of Italy willing to help her is Enzo Avolfi (Adrien Brody), a police inspector who is himself a victim of serial killer violence (and seems like a New York cop transported to Italy). The killer is called “Yellow” (hence the title). Dario Argento (of horror movie fame), directs. Detached and aloof, the film makes it hard to carry about anyone involved, from the victims to Avolfi to the killer. The killer is more comical and odd than scary. Hannibal Lector he is not. There is some gore (a particularly graphic finger severing). The sum of the parts here is ho-hum. Adrian Brody sued to have the movie blocked from release because he says the filmmakers hadn’t paid him. I think he should have sued because it just wasn’t very good. Woodchuck sez, “Skip it.”
No comments:
Post a Comment