Francesca

I never understood why it seemed impossible to make a modern giallo film. Everything released in the style after the 80s seemed to be quite awful, even by greats like Argento. The 90s had a few fun ones but by the turn of the century no one seemed to want to make them anymore and if they did they did it badly. I had resigned myself to thinking that very specific style just couldn't come across in the digital format or was only fun by way of kitsch- then something wonderful happened. In the 2010s there was a resurgence of 70s throwback horror and with that came a smaller, more minor giallo revival, starting with the work of Helene Cattete and Bruno Forzani. Unfortunately, although miles ahead of previous attempts, their work was mainly style focused, being incoherent and surreal. One could argue that those are points of reference for the original scene, and they are, but most gialli, even Argento's most dreamlike works, still had a logic that made sense within the movie. This duo's films seemed to be just a barrage of images dressed up Italy in the 70s. And so I was disappointed- until today. Francesca does everything right. Starting with the basics- the score, the 70s styled grainy film, the throwback sets and, especially, the dubbing. All of this comes together to create something that truly feels authentic even if you wouldn't necessarily be able to mistake it for something made back in the day. It's hard to recapture something like that, maybe impossible, but this film has come as close as ive ever seen. One thing I didn't like about it was the lack of a final girl. It almost seemed like there was no main character for much of the film, the perspective was split several ways. The excitement of most slashers, for me, comes with watching the main character escape death over and over again while everyone else around them succumbs. But other than that I have no complaints. This is a great film and I'm extremely excited to see what this guy might do next.

"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.

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.

Is this the seventies??? nope, but this is a new Italian giallo that if you are a fan of the giallo genre, you would think so. The red gloved killer, the music, all very familiar with giallo films of old. And of course, when the killer is revealed at the end, you were never supposed to guess. The plot is simple, a serial killer is at work, and the police are trying to solve the case. The killings are brutal and very well done, with a great soundtrack to remind us again, this is giallo. I love this genre, and am a huge Dario Argento fan, to me, the grandmaster of the genre. I liked it, it brought back some fond memories of so many Italian movies from that era.