Blackaria

The content of French indie gem Blackaria is the style--- its lush and oblique presentation of its giallo content.

Giallo can mean a lot of things, but here I use the term to mean stylishly-photographed horror-mystery with lingering shots of gore and unclothed females and a puzzling sensibility throughout akin to dreaming. No more or less logical than things like House by the Cemetery or Inferno, and similarly entertaining, Blackaria is a collection of dreamy and lush visual sequences. Lighted with the strong reds and blues of vintage Argento and misty like Fulci, Blackaria is an atmospheric and convoluted concoction of blades, blood and breasts.

I saw an Argento interview where he said that Sergio Leone told him that the center of Once Upon a Time in the West was not the plot or actors, but the camera and Blackaria follows in that tradition, offering an experience that is violent, erotic, puzzling and atmospheric.

Blackaria is the follow-up of Glam Gore or better known as Last Caress (2010). It follows the same style and is an ode to the Italian giallo style in particular Lucio Fulci.

If you watch this flick then you will see that it isn't a straight horror flick but that they used the camera and lighting to make it an arty flick. I would compare it with the Belgian ode to giallo, Amer (2009). Extreme close-ups and the slow way of killing all in front of the camera. We do have the disguised killer like in the gialli and we do have a murder weapon being very important to the killer in way of use.

I wasn't very fond of Last Caress but I must say that seen a few gialli made nowadays I liked it a bit more. Still, the story is a bit weird with the use of a copy of Goblin music and the use of techno tracks ( a bit like Daft Punk) but this time somehow it worked. But what is excellent again here is the effects used. It's is indeed gory. Having seen a few shorts and flicks from directors François Gaillard and Christophe Robin it's their typical way to make a flick.

Also a trade mark is the use of beautiful women who aren't afraid to show some titties. Story wise it's full of holes again and not all is explained but you watch it for the glam of gore.

Gore 2,5/5 Nudity 2/5 Effects 4/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5