Bloodstained Narratives

This is the first edited collection engaging with close readings of the popular film cycle known as “giallo,” including both, classic films and directors and contemporary reimagining. The *giallo* (“yellow”) film cycle, characterized by its bloody murders and blending of high art and cinematic sleaze, rose to prominence in Italy in the 1960s and 1970s. Beginning with Mario Bava’s *The Girl Who Knew Too Much* (1963) and Dario Argento’s *The Bird with the Crystal Plumage* (1970), *giallo* films influenced the American slasher films of the 1980s and attracted an increasingly large fandom. Despite *gialli*’s worldwide popularity, serious examination of the cycle has only recently begun. In *Bloodstained Narratives: The Giallo Film in National Context and Abroad*, contributors explore understudied aspects of *gialli*. The chapters introduce readers to a wide range of films, including masterpieces from Argento and overlooked gems, all of them examined in close detail. Rather than understanding *giallo* as focalized exclusively in Italy in the 1970s, this collection explores the extension of *gialli* narratives abroad through different geographies and times. This book examines Italian *gi