Delirium — Delirium (Blu Ray/ UHD)
Delirium was the 10th film from Lamberto Bava (Demons 1 & 2, A Blade In the Dark, Body Puzzle). It’s a late-80s Giallo based around a men's magazine, where the models are getting killed off one by one- getting closer & closer to the terrified owner. It features a great use of colour, surreal head-based imagery, and soapy drama as well as a fair bit of nudity ‘n’ gore. Here from 88 Films as part of their Italian Collection is either a new Blu-ray or UHD, featuring a lovely new HD scan, a commentary track, and a good selection of extras.
Delirium (Le Foto Di Gioia ) is from 1987, filmed in Rome & Incir De Paolis Studios, Rome. With a run-time of one hour and thirty-four minutes, the film mixes impressive/ tense stalking & a few creative murders- with prolonged moments of rather European soapy drama.
The film's lead is Gioia (Serena Grandi), a large-breasted brunette/ ex hooker who runs a popular man's magazine- Pussy Cat. It opens with a nude pool shot, where we see one of the white models being fondled by two African women, as bossy, dark, curly-headed photographer Roberto (David Brandon) barks orders. We learn the shot is taking place at Gioia's house, overlooking the pool; the model & Gioia are the house of rich, wheelchair-bound teen Mark (Karl Zinny), who phones the magazine owner poolside to make several lurid suggestions.
Soon after the shoot wraps up, Roberto & Gioia’s smug/ off hand brother Tony (Vanni Corbellini) heads out for a night in the city. Leaving Gioia, her assistant Evelyn (Daria Nicolodi), with the model from in the house…they chat for a time before the model heads off.
As she walks past the pool, we get a blue-to-red light tint POV of the model- but most bizarre is that the front of her head has been turned into a giant, veiny eyeball. A long grey-haired killer lunges at the model with a large fork, with blood spray on impact & as she falls into the pool.
As the film unfolds, more victims are selected/ killed, with initially more strange head-based imagery, with the killer then posing the dead bodies before sending the pictures into the Pussy Cat team.
We have a fair few candidates for our killer: her sleazy neighbour Mark, the magazine's head photographer Roberto, Gioia’s brother, Gioia’s ex-lover/ actor friend Alex (George Eastmen), and a few others.
We get a few nicely taut & tense chases from killer set-ups, like in a huge apartment store. But equally, we do get overlong dialogue scenes that are so 1980s Euro soap- which at points do wander into boredom.
Serena Grandi is a decent enough lead, and later on she manages to sell her fear very well. The rest of the cast is fine, with both euro-cult regulars Nicolodi & Eastmen giving ok/ if somewhat predictable performances.
Delirium is a passable enough late-80s Giallo; the wacky/ surreal head element does make it stand out, though the rest of the film is rather a textbook example of the genre.
This Region B Blu-ray features a 4k scan taken from the original negatives- this is wonderfully crisp and clean, with lovely colour definition & clarity throughout. There’s an even mix between the dialogue and music, with a choice of either English or Italian language settings.
On the extras side, we get a very good selection of all-new things. First is a commentary track from Critics/ genre experts Eugenio Ercolani and Nanni Cobretti. They open by declaring the film has a fantastic pedigree/ great cast, with a lot of familiar names/ faces in both the cast and crew. We find out the script had been floating around for some time, with Dario Argento tied to it at one point, but nothing ever firmed up. We get a bio of the lead actress and find out this film was quite different from what she had done before. They talk about how the film very much joined the world of Italian TV and cinema, making for a new type of Giallo. They discuss the state of genre filmmaking in the late 80s. Later, they discuss how, at this point in Italian cinema, they were all about getting actors who looked famous, and much more. It’s a good track, though it seemed to be more focused on the state of the genre/ film industrial at this time, than the film to hand.
Next, we get a huge selection of new interviews for this release. Mixed Feelings For Gioia (14.16) Interview with Director Lamberto Bava. The Belittling Giant (15.03) Interview with Actor Luigi Montefiori (a.k.a. George Eastman). Surprised Cheekbones (14.22) Interview with Actor David Brandon. Latex Magritte Visions (25.26) Interview with Production Designer Massimo Antonello Geleng. Gioias Emotional Curves (17.32) Interview with 1st A.D. Roberto Palmerini. Crime And Fashion Back In Fashion (18.35) Interview with Costume Designer Nicoletta Ercole. Bees and Walruses (14.29) Interview with Cinematographer Gianlorenzo Battaglia. English Opening and Closing Titles
If you like your Giallo with female flesh, gore, and an 80s cheesy dress sense- topped off with moments WTH surreal moments- then Delirium will be for you. This new 88 Films release comes with a lovely print, with a great/ bulging selection of all-new extras