Giallo is Italian for yellow. It’s also an Italian sub-genre of horror film and literature that is a very specific taste. Just hearing the title Strip Nude for your Killer probably gives you some insight into its aesthetic. And your insight would be right.
| I know everyone has an internal picture dictionary that kicks in when you hear certain words…like when I say, “Zebra” you can picture a stripped horse. Or even abstractions like “Happiness” people will picture different things that conjure up what “Happiness” looks like. For me, when I hear the word SLEEZE…I picture any giallo movie. Let’s look at a sampling of gialli film titles, shall we: Blood and Black Lace, Libido, The Sweet Body of Deborah, Naked…You Die!, Orgasmo, So Sweet…So Perverse, Satan’s Baby Doll, Hatchet for the Honeymoon, A Suitcase for a Corpse, Death Walks on High Heels, Naked Girl Killed in the Park, Spasmo, What have they Done to your Daughters?, Carnal Crime…the list goes on! | 
Suitcase for a Corpse
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Not that you need to hear what characteristics these films share after seeing those titles, but here we go anyway. These films combine horror and eroticism. The murders are gruesome, yet the camerawork is usually very stylish. The music is a big element and is usually both beautiful and jarring when need be. It’s usually about a psycho, crazy man killer who stalks and kills beautiful women when they are most vulnerable…like naked on a beach…or naked in a subway…or naked in a shower…or…well, you get the idea.
These films deal with themes of madness, alienation, and paranoia and almost all have something to do with the bruising of the ever fragile male ego. Strip Nude for your Killer is set in a modeling agency…what better place to find loads of beautiful half and fully naked women, right? A trademark of some of the original gialli is the black gloved killer and sure enough in this film the killer not only wears black gloves...but a black leather suit and a black motorcycle helmet to mask identity.
These films go from shocking to sometimes extreme hilarity and complete ridiculousness…especially if you’re lucky enough to see one dubbed in English. A hoot!
These films go from shocking to sometimes extreme hilarity and complete ridiculousness…especially if you’re lucky enough to see one dubbed in English. A hoot!
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