Opera Film (II) (Italy): 4

Mother of Tears (2007) is a supernatural horror film written and directed by Dario Argento. The Catholic Church uncovers the remains of a 19th-century official, whose casket is bound to a box-shaped urn. Within the urn lie artifacts belonging to Mater Lachrymarum, the last remaining member of an ancient and powerful trio of witches. One item in particular stands out – a magical tunic that greatly enhances Mater Lachrymarum’s abilities. The urn is transported to the Museum of Ancient Art in Rome, where Sarah Mandy, a young American studying art restoration, happens to work. Sarah is romantically involved with Michael Pierce, the museum’s curator and ...

Do you enjoy the made-for-TV giallo movie, Do You Like Hitchcock? (2005) directed by Dario Argento? This film pays tribute to the renowned thriller director Alfred Hitchcock. Giulio, a film student, observes his attractive neighbor, Sasha, and studies Fritz Lang’s movies for his thesis. While at the video store, he crosses paths with Sasha and another woman named Federica as they both try to rent Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train. A friendship blossoms between the two women. The next day, while riding ...

Directed by Dario Argento, The Card Player (2003) is a giallo film featuring Stefania Rocca and Liam Cunningham. It is Argento’s second giallo movie of the decade. The plot revolves around a serial killer called ‘The Card Player’, who has been abducting young women in Rome. To taunt the authorities, the killer challenges them to a game of online poker through a webcam. If they lose, the victim is brutally killed on camera. When one of the murder victims ...

Sleepless (2001) is an Italian giallo film directed by Dario Argento. It begins with Angela, who has just had sex with a man and is being verbally attacked by him for not satisfying him. As she collects her belongings, she accidentally knocks over a chest filled with bladed weapons, causing her to flee in fear. In her haste, she takes a blue scrapbook that belongs to an unknown serial killer in Turin, known as ‘The Dwarf Killer’. The killer then contacts Angela and threatens her life. Unable to find help from the train conductor, she turns to her friend Marta at the station to retrieve the scrapbook. ...