Forgotten Gialli: Volume Five

The Golden Age of the Giallo saw filmmakers who had not previously worked in the horror or thriller genres taking interest in trying their hands at murder mysteries, often with highly unusual outcomes which feel tonally and structurally distinct from the works of trendsetters like Bava and Argento. Presented here are a trio of one-and-done-gialli by filmmakers who had never previously, nor would subsequently, produce a film in the genre.

A WHITE DRESS FOR MARIALÉ

When Marialé was a little girl, she witnessed her father murder her mother, along with an adulterous lover, before killing himself. Years later, Marialé has invited a group of friends over for a party at an isolated villa. As the festivities progress, an increased sense of debauchery and hedonism befalls the group, only for their perverse fun and games to be disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious killer, who begins dispatching the revelers in nasty fashion, all to cover up a secret buried deep in the past…

From the depraved mind of Romano Scavolini (Nightmares in a Damaged Brain) comes A WHITE DRESS FOR MARIALÉ, starring Euro-horror icons Evelyn Stewart (Murder Mansion), Luigi Pistilli (A Bay of Blood), and Ivan Rassimov (Jungle Holocaust). Made during the height of early 70s giallo fever, and taking cues from the psychedelic craze of the late 60s (complete with colorful scope photography by Scavolini himself) along with Italy’s burgeoning sexploitation market, Vinegar Syndrome is pleased to present A WHITE DRESS FOR MARIALÉ on Blu-ray, newly restored in 4K from its original Techniscope camera negative, and featuring an assortment of new and archival interviews with its cast and crew!

TROPIC OF CANCER

Fred and Grace Wright are vacationing in Haiti in the hope of repairing their failing marriage when they run into an old friend, Dr Williams. Excited to share the news of his latest work, Williams explains that he has developed a powerful aphrodisiac which doubles as a hallucinogen. Intrigued by their friend's discovery, the couple quickly find themselves embroiled in a high stakes plot to steal the drug, all the while a mysterious killer (or killers) begins viciously doing away with anyone who gets too close to uncovering the truth about the formula.

One of the strangest gialli, both in terms of setting and storyline, to emerge from the genre’s golden age, co-directors Edoardo Mulargia (Escape From Hell) and Giampaolo Lomi’s (The Barons) TROPIC OF CANCER takes an unconventional approach to the black-gloved-killer structure, adding in elements of high concept crime film and Fellini-esque surrealism. Gorgeously photographed in Techniscope by Marcello Masciocchi (The Murder Clinic), lushly scored by Piero Umiliani (Five Dolls For An August Moon), and starring Euro-sleaze stalwarts Anthony Steffen (The Night Evelyn Came out of the Grave), Anita Strindberg (Who Saw Her Die), and Gabriele Tinti (Endgame), Vinegar Syndrome is delighted to bring TROPIC OF CANCER to Blu-ray, featuring a fresh 4K restoration of its Techniscope camera negative!

NINE GUESTS FOR A CRIME

Nine members of an extremely rich and hateful family have decided to have a month-long reunion on a remote island in the Mediterranean. No sooner than their arrival, old grudges, resentments, and feuds make themselves known, along with allusions to some more macabre events in their past. But when their boats are torched, thus stranding them without any connection to the mainland, it becomes clear that someone is not willing to let old wounds heal, a fact made all the more clear as bodies start to pile up…

One of the many gialli which loosely adapted Agatha Christie’s landmark novel, Ten Little Indians, prolific spaghetti western director Ferdinando Baldi’s (Texas, Adios) sole foray into the genre, NINE GUESTS FOR A CRIME, sets the action in a picturesque villa in Sardinia, while loading on sinister twists and nasty deaths. Starring John Richardson (Black Sunday), five time Oscar nominee Arthur Kennedy (Lawrence of Arabia), and Italian character actor Massimo Foschi (Jungle Holocaust), and featuring a score by Carlo Savina (The House of Exorcism), Vinegar Syndrome is excited to bring this suspense filled sleeper to Blu-ray, sporting a new 4K restoration of its original 35mm camera negative along with a fresh interview with one of the film’s few surviving participants.