ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK (1971)

  This is not your typical Italian giallo. It does star Edwige Fenech as is often the case but more than being a proto-slasher flick with a bunch of people getting offed by a razor it deals with a woman going through the traumatic combination of losing her child and recalling her mom being murdered when she was a child. A lot of the film is full of what might be hallucinations or not when she imagines a knife-wielding maniac and a Satanic cult. This film was clearly influenced by ROSEMARY'S BABY but is not really a rip-off of that classic at all. There is some Satanic ritual animal violence involving a dog getting sacrificed so that might not be for everyone but besides this it's a very stylish crazy trip. AKA THEY'RE COMING TO GET YOU(which sounds a lot like a zombie movie to me!) . Released on video as DAY OF THE MANIAC.

THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARDH (1971)

 Super stylish giallo starring the very sexy Edwige Fenech as a woman who's a bit nutty but she has good reason to be as she's being stalked by a maniac who wears black gloves and slices up gals with a straight razor. She's also involved in a love triangle(rectangle?) and gets into some kinky sex involving blood and broken bottles. All the standard tropes of this genre are present here(including a whole boat-load of plot-twists that show up towards the climax) but they're all laid out really well and this one has shot to near the top of my personal favorite giallos list.
 Director Sergio Martino would follow this with TORSO which is an example of a gorier giallo that plays more like a slasher flick but I don't think it tops this one in anything but blood. I really need to check out more of Martino's thrillers from this era.
 It's a bit sad that by the 80s slasher flicks would replace films like this but not have any of the flair that these movies exhibit. AKA BLADE OF THE RIPPER and THE NEXT VICTIM!

YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM AND ONLY I HAVE THE KEY (1972)

 An Italian giallo mixed with a little bit of Edgar Allen Poe's THE BLACK CAT and served up with a bunch of nudity, spousal abuse, animal abuse, a bag of sheep's eyes, a naked hippie party and a touch of lesbianism thrown in for fun. As far as giallos go I've always found this one, directed by Sergio Martino, to be a good watch. It's not as kill-crazy and slasher-movie-like as something like Martino's TORSO but it makes up for that with a very gloomy atmosphere, plot twists galore, lots of backstabbing characters and some bloody murders using a small sickle. Also the soundtrack is pretty sweet which is the case in many of these giallos. Also pretty sweet is Edwige Fenech who gets very naked which is always a plus! AKA EYES OF THE BLACK CAT, EXCITE ME, GENTLY BEFORE SHE DIES and IRENE(which might be the stupidest title ever since the characters name is actually Irina)