Francesca

If you've been exposed to 70's and 80's Italian giallo and horror movies this will feel very familiar.

I couldn't help but smile at the bad Italian dubbing, blaring soundtrack, erratic handheld camerawork with dramatic zooms, bottle of J&B and drawn-out story with a lot of filler footage etc.

I don't know if I'd recommend this to anyone else than fans of 70's and 80's Italian giallo and horror movies, but if you are at least familiar with those genres this should be a fun ride.

6,5/10.

"Francesca" was my first acquaintance with the works of the Onetti brothers; - Luciano and Nicolás. As a major fan of the Italian Giallo, I instantly fell in love with the DVD-cover, bought it, and then put it safely away in my honoree-closet for more than three years because I waited for a special occasion. During these three years, however, I saw two newer and truly disappointing films of the Onetti brothers that gradually made me wary. "What the Waters Left Behind" is a dreadfully uninspired "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" clone, while also their other giallo-homage "Abrakadabra" was a serious misfire. Maybe, just maybe, it was best to lower my expectations for "Francesca" as well.

Happy to say that "Francesca" is definitely the best, or at least my personal favorite, of the Onetti tribute thus far! Still, the giallo is such a periodically and culturally specific 70s sub-genre that it simply doesn't this current post-Millennial era. Even though I admire the Onetti brothers' goodwill and enthusiasm to pay tribute to these unique films, "Francesca" just didn't evoke any feelings of nostalgia or excitement. Exceptions aside, the true Gialli came from Italy and were released between 1969 and 1975. They are wonderfully deranged movies with convoluted plots, absurd twists, graphic violence, gratuitous sex and experimental stylistic aspects. The Onettis most certainly did their homework in terms of look & feel, as "Francesca" features chaotic color patterns, a psychedelic atmosphere, perverted characters, theatrical death sequences, and bloody bizarre imagery. For some reason, however, they also assumed that an incoherent plot and a horribly slow pacing were also mandatory trademarks. That's not the case, or at least I never felt so! I honestly don't understand why a film with such a solid basic plot (a series of grisly murders leads back to the disappearance of a young girl 15 years ago) must suffer from so many needless pacing-interruptions and premature plot revelations. There are some really great aspects, like the soundtrack and certain murder sequences, but overall "Francesca" is not as awesome as that cool film-poster suggests.

As a fan of giallo movies I was very excited about this modern one. But this one was more experimental than giallo. The plot is incoherent and I still kinda do not understand why did some murders happen... overall 5.2 rating here corresponds to what I think. I had big hopes, instead I feel like I want to say a big "no" to this movie.

This homage to 1970s era giallos is on-point. I disagree that you can't tell the movie is not 40-50 years old - there are some visual clues that expose Francesca as a 21st century film that may actually be editing or cinematographic flaws - BUT it pulls out all of the stops to closely resemble the best of 70s Italian gialli flicks otherwise.

Francesca has plot twists and fabulous color, even antique furniture and accessories are used on the set. The killer's gloves are red instead of black, but elements ranging from the creepy usage of mannequins and dolls to haunting dream sequences hearken back to very specific giallo directors. I found one scene particularly disturbing in its usage of psychedelic visuals combined with auditory cacophony.

I have no idea why this does not have a higher overall rating, I know some giallo fans are sexploitation hounds and actually give higher ratings to frankly stupider giallos as long as they pile on the nudity and suggestive misogyny, so beyond a single scene of masturbatory titillation for our killer those individuals are surely disappointed. Oh well. Too bad for the misogynists, fake frowny face.

Giallo fans can only gorge on this one. The colour contrast is worthy of Argento. There are tropes galore, the leather gloves, the scarlet blood, the mannequin doll - and a story that even evokes a canto from Dante's Inferno. It's all Italy at its best to the umpteenth power.

As with all giallo genre films, the beauty is not to be found in the plot, the dialogue or the acting, but more in the imagery. In contrast to Argento's 'Suspiria', there are numerous outdoor scenes. The eye-witness account is exploited and no venue is exempted from being a crime scene.

I spent the whole film trying to spot a non-1970s anachronism. With the possible exception of what looked like a child-proof lock on a bottle of pills, I didn't find any. My only complaint is that the acting struck me as being 'too good for a real giallo' - but that's more of an unexpected bonus really.