In order to appreciate Dario Argento, one must first fully appreciate the giallo genre. So, Jim sets out to do just that in this episode, analyzing what constitutes good giallo in order to understand what makes The Cat o’ Nine Tails exemplary.
I was wondering when this post would show up on BP. I also prefer Cat O’ Nine Tails to the other films in Argento’s “animals” trilogy, and I think the fact that there ISN’T a reveal that the killer is a woman is part of it. In other films that seems to be a big deal, but it’s not much of a surprise if it fits a majority of the cases. It’s not just Argento, as Bava & Fulci have also had female killers. And I’m not saying that can never work (one of Argento’s best films does that, and isn’t part of the trilogy). But the films seem to put more dramatic weight on that pillar than it can actually support. I also thought the actual “animal” elements of the other films typically weren’t very good, but here where it’s just a metaphor for the complicated nature of the case that doesn’t pose a problem.
I was wondering when this post would show up on BP. I also prefer Cat O’ Nine Tails to the other films in Argento’s “animals” trilogy, and I think the fact that there ISN’T a reveal that the killer is a woman is part of it. In other films that seems to be a big deal, but it’s not much of a surprise if it fits a majority of the cases. It’s not just Argento, as Bava & Fulci have also had female killers. And I’m not saying that can never work (one of Argento’s best films does that, and isn’t part of the trilogy). But the films seem to put more dramatic weight on that pillar than it can actually support. I also thought the actual “animal” elements of the other films typically weren’t very good, but here where it’s just a metaphor for the complicated nature of the case that doesn’t pose a problem.