31 Nights of Halloween Horror part 9 - Francesca

Francesca
80mins
Dir. Luciano Onetti
2015/Argentina

Tonight we are going to take a time machine to watch a movie made two years ago that looks like it came straight from Italy in the 70s.  This one is a complete homage to the Italian giallo film and a must see for any fan of the genre.   Those not familiar with that genre will not understand the brilliance of this film.  But for those of us that love Sunday dinner at 2pm at grandma's house, this movie is for after the cannoli.

For you incolto not knowing what the hell I am talking about when I say Giallo, a giallo is certain kind of film most notably from Italy that is a murder mystery more so then a straight horror film.  They are super stylish, most known for their use of colors, music and violence.  The killer generally is known to where black gloves and we mostly sees their action from their point of view.  Filled with red herrings and poetic titles like The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Short Night of Glass Dolls and Seven Blood Stained Orchids, the giallo was a huge influence on horror films and helped spawn it's step sister the slasher genre in the 80s.  The term giallo comes from the Italian word yellow and is so named for a series of cheap paperback mystery novels that were printed with a yellow cover. The genre had its heyday from the late 60s into the 70s, and died off mostly in the 80s when the slasher craze took over and now is mostly a lost art in filmmaking.

Now that the history lesson is over, let's take a look at Francesca.  As soon as the lengthy credits start and we seen the flight of a pigeon in slow motion against a black back drop we know we are in for a very stylish ride, this is a film that right off the bat knows is subject matter well and harkens back to those times seamlessly.   We cut to a little girl, Francesca, stabbing a pigeon carcass on the ground with a skewer.  When she bores of that she turns to the baby carriage next her with her crying sibling inside and stabs her sibling, mom comes out and see the results and screams hysterically.  Let the ride commence.

15 years later there is a series of murders with clues left behind for the police that reference Dante's Divine Comedy.  As always the police can't figure out what is going on so they request the help of literature expert Vittorio Visconti, who happens to be dun dun dun Francesca's father.  Turns out Francesca's was kidnapped 15 years ago and during the abduction Francesca's kidnapper stabbed Vittorio in the back paralyzing him and leaving him wheel chair bound.  Are the murders linked to a 15 year old unsolved kidnapping?  Has Francesca returned to pick up her old habits?  With typical giallo films, this movie is littered with red herrings and we are lead on a wild goose chase along with the police to the shocking end to try and figure out who the killer is.

Francesca like a lot of it's predecessors, favors style over substance.  There are cut away dream like sequences that really seem to have nothing to do with the plot of the movie and do not move the story forward, but that is to be expected in this type of film and we enjoy it.  This is more like visual art then a linear story.  All the necessary trademarks are in this film.  The gloved hands, the doll, the mannequin, the J&B liquor bottle, even Vittorio is reading a giallo novel at one point in the movie.  And of course there is the stylish murders.  Which ironically was one of the things I felt was lacking in this film.  Where most giallos are known for their stylish creative kills and use of violence, Francesca while having that, seemed to show less of what we may be used to seeing in this kind of movie.  I feel when a skewer is stabbed into an ear or a razor is dragged across the throat in a typical giallo of yesteryear, we would of seen the act carnage up close.  Where in Francesca it is mostly implied.  Still this does not really take anything away from the movie, it is just a personal preference of mine, I like my Nana's sauce thick.

If you are fan of the giallo, Francesca is a real treat to watch and a love letter to the Italian genre from the film makers.  At only 80s minutes it is pretty quickly paced and does not drag on into unnecessary territory like these films can do at times.  If you don't know what the hell I am talking about, Francesca is not the movie to break you into this style of filmmaking.  If you want to explore this stylized genre check out Blood & Black Lace, Bird with the Crystal Plumage or The House with Laughing Windows.  Now pass the bread I need something to soak up all this gravy.