Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

This movie is from the excellent Lamberto Bava and it's a good giallo
and that means it's entertaining. Most giallos are good and some are excellent and everyone that another reviewer listed are in the great category. but if you like thrillers and giallo horror thrillers then you will totally enjoy this movie. It's similiar to a hundred other good giallos but unlike some of them it has a solid plot and good acting from everyone involved with this movie. Tragically Capucine the fine french actress died soon after making this movie so this may be her last movie. She was a true star and a huge talent. She was around fifty but still shines
through. THe lead actress Serena Grandi is a major star in Italy and she
can really act inspite of being extremely beautiful, which adds to the movies charm. This movie harkens back to the seventies with lots of great
psychedelic colors flashing when the killer stalks (it's) prey. In fact
you see what the killers diseased mind sees when he kills two of his victims. He sees one woman as a giant eye head thing and one as a bee woman. It adds alot to the way the story is told and makes it different than some other giallos. The violence isn't that bad at all and is mild compared to many other giallos like "strip nude for your killer" or "new york ripper" which proves that a good giallo can have it both ways. In other words you don't have to be overly violent and sadistic but those kind of scenes can work in a giallo too.
There is plenty of nudity in this flick which is a giallo standard as well. I love giallos and like them with the gore and like this one with
little gore because they are always murder mysteries. The music is also really cool in this movie that great 1980's rock sound drives the movie straight along. Rock and the standard orchestra driven music have always driven a movie along well. You can't say that for the boring sounds of sampled music styles like rap or hip hop zzzzzzzzzzz. the print of the film looks pretty good and that's another reason to check this good giallo out.

Voluptuous Serena Grandi stars as Gioia who owns a porn magazine, Pussycat. Its employees are being murdered one by one. Photos of the victims, posed like mannequins in front of her posters, are being mailed to Gioia. Possible suspects are numerous, including a wheelchair bound neighbor who constantly spies on Gioia, a sexually frustrated younger brother, and a wealthy former employer who wishes to purchase her magazine. Some of the murders are graphic and unique, including the pitchfork stabbing in the stomach and the attack by killer bees, though the latter was a little unrealistic and the film never quite explained how it was accomplished.

There are a few surprises in "Delirium." It also has a top notch cast and a great soundtrack. My biggest complaint is that too much emphasis is placed on sexual perversion; it overwhelms the plot. The director, Lamberto Bava, is the son of Italian maestro, Mario Bava. The senior Bava directed the landmark giallo, "Blood and Black Lace," which has a similar plot as "Delirium;" however, it is far more superior and doesn't waddle in sexual perversion.

"Delirium" showed promise but never arises above mediocrity. Nevertheless, it is more enjoyable than Lamberto Bava's directorial debut, the bizarre, slow moving "Macabre" with its unrealistic, contrived ending.

Daria Nicolodi, long-time companion of director Dario Argento, co-stars in "Delirium." She is always enjoyable to watch. She also starred in "Shock," which was directed by Mario Bava and co-directed by his son. Famous bad guy, George Eastman, of Mario Bava's "Rabid," also stars in this movie. Both have great talent but it was underused in this film.

"Delirium" is recommended for die hard fans of Italian gialli. It is a mediocre giallo that will never be a classic like "Deep Red, "What Have You Done To Solange?," "Blood and Black Lace" and "The Red Queen Kills Seven Times."