Abrakadabra

Usually when someone makes a film like this I find it to be a complete mess. However this is not the case here, the plot keeps you guessing with nods to such giallo classics like Tenebrae and The Bird With The Crystal Plumage.

Now, I know that it's tremendously popular nowadays to make new horror movies look like as if they were made 30-40 years ago. For certain genres this also works perfectly well, like the 80s slasher or the 70s grindhouse flick, but certain other cinematic styles and sub-genres were so periodically and culturally specific that they simply don't fit in this current post-Millennial era. The Giallo is, at least in my humble opinion, such a sub-genre, and even though I genuinely admire the Onetti brothers' goodwill and enthusiasm to pay tribute to these unique films, their "Abrakadabra" 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 twisted plots, absurd twists, graphic violence, gratuitous sex and experimental stylistic aspects. The Onettis most certainly did their homework in terms of look & feel, as "Abrakadabra" features chaotic color patterns, inept sound effects & editing and massively theatrical death sequences. For some reason, however, they also assumed that an incoherent plot with giant holes and logical errors are also a mandatory trademark. That's not the case, or at least I never felt so! The setting is excellent: a washed up, alcoholic and gambling-addicted magician, still traumatized because he witnessed the death of his father on stage following a magic trick gone wrong, suddenly becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation when the corpse of a woman is discovered amidst his magic show equipment. The cadavers continue to pile up, and everything points in the direction of our sleazy magician, but he is determined to prove that someone else wants to frame him. It's definitely a strong giallo-concept, with several praiseworthy technical aspects and two or three delightfully sadistic slayings (the guillotine!). But, believe me, I've seen more than 120 authentic gialli, yet I've rarely ever encountered one with a script so randomly structured and uneven. There are dozens of great but sadly obscure gialli out there to discover, psychedelic ones as well as straightforward ones. Please, seek them out!

I was a little bit disappointed by some of the clothing and hair and makeup choices, namely for women, that didn't look 70s at all. It seems like they didn't understand how important it is to have the correct clothing and hairstyles to keep the atmosphere of the film up, which is so sad because the camera work and everything else was very on point. i was extremely impressed by how much this seemed like a real giallo but then a piece of obvious 2000s clothing would rip me out of the dream... also the people in this film are not rich, which is usually a big part of gialli; rich characters with gorgeous, baroque houses and apartments. That's another thing that ripped me out. It almost felt more slasher than giall at times... sad because this film had so much potential and I liked Francesca. I loved the soundtrack though.

Giallos - you either like them or you don't. And the same is true for this right here. It does cut deep - no pun intended and meant as a nod - homage or whatever else you want to call it. This is fan service of sorts. The movie really checks all the boxes, from the whodunnit, to the nudity, to the violence, to the insane twists after twist towards the end ... well you will not be dissapointed if that was floating your boat.

You may be surprised to hear or see that this was made in 2018, especially because it really does its best to look old ... to look "bad". So all that in purpose - hopefully something that is good for you. If you are not a fan of Giallo I would suggest not watching this. Because this will have the same things you hate about those movies (genre if you want to call it that).

Otherwise sit back, relax and let the movie take you on a ride ... no brownie points if you guessed the big twist ...