Strange Vices and Bloody Blades is a two-day festival of Italian giallo films - stylish, sleazy, and shocking murder mysteries full of strange twists and turns. We'll have guest speakers to introduce several films, along with a zine full of interesting writing on the genre - and a giallo bingo card! 

On Saturday, we’ll start off with the classic giallo The Fifth Cord (Luigi Bazzoni, 1971). An alcoholic journalist (Franco Nero) investigates a series of murders in which he himself is a prime suspect. As he tries to find the real killer and clear his name, the body count begins to rise, building to a tense and truly unsettling climactic scene. Featuring a score by Ennio Morricone, incredibly stylish production design, and gorgeous camerawork from cinematographer Vittorio Storato, it’s an underrated masterpiece of the genre. 

After a short break (and a glass of J&B, perhaps), we’ll enjoy the deliciously psychedelic A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin (Lucio Fulci, 1971). Wealthy, conservative Carol has been having vivid dreams about sex-and-drug orgies with her neighbour, the glamorous and libertine Julia. In one dream, she brutally murders Julia - and wakes to discover that her neighbour actually has been mysteriously killed, in the exact manner she’d dreamed it. A complex mystery of blackmail, secret affairs, unreliable narrators, and forbidden desires, full of bizarre and hallucinatory dream sequences - or are they dreams? It’s one wild trip, man. 

Want to read what’s in store for day 2? Click here!

SATURDAY SCHEDULE

6:30pm - The Fifth Cord (Luigi Bazzoni, 1971)
8:30pm - A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (Lucio Fulci, 1971) 
(with an introduction from Damien Pollard, author of Sound and Horror in the Giallo Film)

We will be showing both films with their original English-dub soundtrack. 

NOTE: Saturday and Sunday tickets sold separately. Please buy a ticket for each day if you want to attend the full festival!

This event is rated 18. No-one under 18 will be admitted

Content notes for The Fifth Cord: CLICK HERE
Content notes for A Lizard in a Woman's Skin: CLICK HERE