Movies
The 10 Best Giallo Movies Ranked According to Their Titles
Many things come to mind when thinking about the giallo subgenre: bold colors, black-gloved killers, style-over-substance whodunits, and the like. But for yours truly, I can almost never get past thinking about the Italian genre movies’ lurid, unforgettable titles. You’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but can you judge a giallo by its title? Let’s find out by ranking the Top 10 giallo movies based on their titles alone.
It’s giallo month here at Horror Press. Many things come to mind when thinking about the giallo subgenre: bold colors, black-gloved killers, style-over-substance whodunits, and the like. But for yours truly, I can almost never get past thinking about the Italian genre movies’ lurid, unforgettable titles. You’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but can you judge a giallo by its title? Let’s find out by ranking the Top 10 giallo movies based on their titles alone.
Ranking Giallo Movies According to Their Titles
#10 Death Laid an Egg (1968)
Original Title: La morte ha fatto l’uovo
Alternate Titles: A Curious Way to Love, Death Trap, Plucked, The Sadist in Room 24
Death Laid an Egg is a perfect title, except for one pesky little problem. There’s no way the actual movie can cash the check that the title is writing. It is based around a poultry factory, which is a unique enough angle for a horror movie, but even the least-seasoned horror movie viewer around would be able to sniff out the inevitable disappointment of the title a mile away, as much fun as it is to conjure images of the madcap Salvador Dalí/Ingmar Bergman mashup it promises.
#9 A.A.A. Masseuse, Good-Looking, Offers Her Services (1972)
Original Title: A.A.A. Massaggiatrice bella presenza offresi…
Alternate Titles: N/A
Now this movie has the opposite problem from good ol’ #10. It is a poetic title that draws the reader in, but what it promises is exactly what you expect to get: a seedy little movie that’s more softcore than giallo. But it’s a concise, evocative title nonetheless. The Italian horror genre’s answer to “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
#8 The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971)
Original Title: Lo strano vizio della Signora Wardh
Alternate Titles: The Next Victim, Blade of the Ripper
Now here’s where things get truly giallo-y. Who is Mrs. Wardh? Why is her name spelled like that? What is her vice? Sex? Murder? Both at the same time? What’s particularly strange about it, if so? This title is such a perfect blend of eroticism and intrigue, it essentially doesn’t matter if the movie is good or not.
#7 Seven Blood-Stained Orchids (1972)
Original Title: Sette orchidee macchiate di rosso (Seven Red-Spotted Orchids)
Alternate Titles: N/A
Another nothing-but-net giallo title. The image of delicate beauty literally being stained by violent bloodshed is a perfect evocation of one of the genre’s favorite predilections: allowing the viewer to watch some of the most stunning women in the world in decadent, deadly peril.
#6 A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin (1971)
Original Title: Una lucertola con la pelle di donna
Alternate Title: Schizoid
This is another title that promises something the movie couldn’t possibly deliver, but it’s so forward about its delirious poetic metaphor that you wouldn’t expect it to anyway. It’s straightforward and a little tawdry, but with a dollop of beauty to it, which is exactly what you want from a Lucio Fulci picture anyway.
#5 Kill the Fatted Calf and Roast It (1970)
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Original Title: Uccidete il vitello grasso e arrostitelo
Alternate Titles: N/A
This is another metaphor-forward title that can’t help but conjure up a tangled web of glorious giallo plotting. We follow a rich layabout, perhaps, with a target on their back. Potential killers around every corner. Pure deadly melodrama of the highest order.
#4 Strip Nude For Your Killer (1975)
(image 7)
Original Title: Nude per l’assassino (Nude for the Killer)
Alternate Title: Tenebre braccia della morte (Dark Arms of Death)
No need for metaphors here! Strip Nude for Your Killer gets straight to the point. This is going to be a lurid, nasty movie of ill repute. But there’s nevertheless something poetic about the inclusion of the word “your” in the title, drawing the reader uncomfortably close to the action against their will like a tractor beam. It’s not just naked women and killers in this movie, you the viewer are also on the chopping block. It’s common for horror movies to feature second-person taglines to draw the viewer into the experience (“In space, nobody can hear you scream,” anyone?), but for the title to do it? And in such a delectable prurient way? Now that’s bold.
#3 Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion (1970)
Original Title: Le foto proibite di una signora per bene
Alternate Titles: N/A
This title provokes the same kind of reaction as The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh, but with the added benefit of tripping tantalizingly off the tongue. It’s a work of blunt-force poetry.
#2 Twitch of the Death Nerve (1971)
Original Title: Ecologia del delitto (Ecology of Crime)
Alternate Titles: A Bay of Blood, Last House Part II, Massacre at Blood Lake, Carnage, Reazione a catena (Chain Reaction)
This one just sends a tingle down your spine, doesn’t it? It’s pure Edgar Allan Poe gothica that grabs you by the throat and proudly announces itself as a movie you won’t soon forget. As one of the bloodiest gialli on the market, which set the blueprint for many an American slasher to come, Mario Bava’s many-titled movie deserved however many rereleases it had to go through in order to reach this sublime, scintillating title.
#1 Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972)
Original Title: Il tuo vizio è una stanza chiusa e solo io ne ho la chiave
Alternate Titles: Excite Me, Eye of the Black Cat, Gently Before She Dies
Chef’s kiss. This title has everything. Passion! Eroticism! Drama! This title takes you on a journey. Do I have any idea what it means? Hell no! But it’s a vainglorious descent into indulgent poetic grandiosity that wouldn’t be matched for sheer unalloyed linguistic exuberance until 27 years later when Fiona Apple cracked her knuckles and got to work.
Movies
The Best Horror You Can Stream on Shudder in November 2025
Halloween season is over, and many streamers have forgotten about us horror kids. While they take their 11-month hiatus from the genre, we can be grateful that we still have an app that cares. We are so lucky that Shudder remains that girl year-round. Whether you’re finishing their new original show Guts & Glory, catching up on The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Titans, or running at some of their deep cuts like I am, Shudder has your best interests at heart. As usual, she has quite a few titles fighting for our attention. Which is why I am here with five titles I think should be at the top of all of our watch lists this November. So, cancel your holiday plans and pick up your remote because we have got horrifying things to watch.
The Best Movies to Stream on Shudder This Month
Habit (1995)
An alcoholic unwittingly enters into a relationship with a succubus in New York City. If you ever wondered what Larry Fessenden was getting up to in his youth, you need to see this ’90s gem. I lucked out and caught it at Brooklyn Horror Film Festival last year, and I lived my best life. While watching it on the small screen will not be the same, I plan to hit play anyway. Mostly because I love to see 1990s succubi leaving their mark on men…and also the horror genre. Shudder is also adding The Last Winter and Depraved, so we can spend a whole day with Uncle Larry’s work.
Sew Torn (2024)
A seamstress happens upon a failed drug deal and steals a briefcase. She soon finds herself caught in a deadly situation where all roads lead to death. I caught Sew Torn at SXSW last year and have been wondering what happened to it. So, I am very happy this odd little bird has found her way to Shudder. I cannot wait to make my friends who are looking for something cute and deadly watch. I knew nothing when I hit play on this, and I encourage you to know as little as possible, too. I fear I have already written too much in this blurb to be completely honest.
You can watch Sew Torn on November 1st.
The Retreat (2021)
A couple goes on a pre-wedding retreat and unwittingly becomes targets of a group of serial killers. We have seen too many movies about retreats, and I thought this one would be more of the same. This title does not completely reinvent the wheel, but it does set itself apart within this oversaturated subgenre. The Retreat is a surprisingly fun and tense little thriller that feels made for the winter watches. Come for the lesbian characters leading the film, and stay for the violence. I also encourage you to check it out while it is on Shudder, because it is usually on apps with ads.
You can watch The Retreat on November 1st.
The Creep Tapes (Season 2)
Peachfuzz returns with more tapes, chaos, kills, and WTF moments. Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice have reentered the TV arena and are making things weird again. If award shows were real, this duo would be leading the Emmys charge. I saw the first three episodes, and Josef/Peachfuzz is still the serial killer after our own hearts. Our Wolfie is still cutting up (literally and figuratively) in the most amazing ways. Guest stars in danger this season include David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil), Katie Aselton (The League), and Robert Longstreet (The Haunting of Hill House).
You can watch The Creep Tapes (Season 2) on November 14th.
Krampus (2015)
A kid accidentally summons demons during the holidays in this horror comedy. Krampus remains one of the top-tier Christmas horror titles for me. It is also my favorite Michael Dougherty film. Not only because it has the star power of Adam Scott and Toni Collette, either. This movie is wicked, and even the kids are in danger. I do not have many holiday horror movies I revisit every year, but Krampus is one of the very few. It still holds up, and I cannot wait to rewatch it with a festively boozy beverage.
You can watch Krampus on November 15th.
Those are a few reasons I am grateful for Shudder this holiday season. While the rest of you are fighting with your family and friends, I will be parked in front of my TV. You can have your turkey because I would rather gorge myself on episodes of The Creep Tapes anyway.
Let me know what Shudder shenanigans you have got your little eye on. I am nosy and want to make sure I am not missing anything on my favorite streamer.
Movies
The Best Horror You Can Stream on Netflix in November 2025
The year is winding down, and I don’t know about you, but I am trying to pack in as many 2025 horror movies as I can. Is this because I love making end-of-the-year lists? Yes. Is it because I am an unhealed overachiever? Also, yes. So, I am assuming some of you are also cruising the streamers to see what you may have missed. While Netflix has had my favorite new slasher Heart Eyes for a bit, and I have mentioned that in previous streaming guides, they also have other new horror titles to show you.
I do not talk about them as much because I did not have a good time with them. However, that does not mean you won’t enjoy some of these titles. That’s why I am taking the high road and finding something to be grateful for about each of them. That way, you will know there is a silver lining if you do watch them. Allow me to help you figure out what to prioritize this month and what to skip. Check out this chaotic Netflix hitlist below!
The Best Movies to Stream on Netflix This Month
28 Years Later (2025)
A group of survivors on a small island has built a fortress to protect them from the rage virus. However, a young boy discovers what is really outside the walls of their community and sets off to find a cure for his sick mother. We all loved 28 Days Later, and some of us liked 28 Weeks Later. So, 28 Years Later was never going to live up to the hype with almost thirty years of anticipation. While I didn’t love it, I did enjoy seeing Danny Boyle helm another zombie installment. What he does in the subgenre is top-tier, and we are welcome (even if the script left me wanting more). That might have gotten buried in all the talk about the dicks seen in the movie, though.
Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025)
A group of girls competing for prom queen starts disappearing, leaving the underdog to figure out what is happening to her competition. I had a lot of thoughts about this lackluster installment in Netflix’s Fear Street adaptations. As someone who grew up reading Fear Street books and wanting to adapt them myself, I do not understand how this movie came out so badly. Which made it hard to find something nice to say about this title. However, the soundtrack slaps, and it is not the soundtrack’s fault that it was wasted on a low-energy bottom-tier slasher. So, if you hit play on this, you can at least look forward to hearing some retro bangers selected by music supervisor Nora Felder. If you are familiar with her work on Yellowjackets and Stranger Things, you know Felder does not miss.
Maa (2025)
To battle a demon’s curse, a mother transforms into the legendary goddess Kali. As usual, Netflix did not advertise an international horror movie that seemed to have some potential. If they had told us Maa was an Indian Hindi-language mythological horror movie, most people who yell for intersectionality and originality would have run at it. Instead, we had to find out about it months later while looking for something we hadn’t already seen on the app. This movie is too long, and I cannot say it is good by any stretch of the imagination. However, it also made me realize how little I know about the goddess of destruction. If you are a nerd like me, this might lead you down a cool rabbit hole. You can also say you gave a view to a horror movie starring Brown people. Who knows, maybe you could be one of the few who enjoy this chaotic film.
Until Dawn (2025)
A group of friends find themselves trapped in a time loop where they keep getting killed in gruesome ways. I love the video game and was so bummed this adaptation was so bad. However, the practical effects are very cool and should be celebrated more. I think the stuff that the SFX team pulled off might be the only reason to watch the movie personally. I’m happy the actors whose work I enjoy got paid, and that’s another positive thing I can say. However, if we want to see young people in deadly time loops, we have so many movies that do it better. Excuse me as I look right at Happy Death Day and all of the movies that have tried to copy her.
Ziam (2025)
A Muay Thai fighter battles through a zombie apocalypse to save the woman he loves. Netflix fumbled the advertising for this one too, because who doesn’t want to see a Thai zombie film? So, I was excited to watch it, but then sad I did not like it. However, I think this one is on me. It is an action-horror with a lot of heartfelt moments, and that’s not my bag. I wanted more violence and zombie action because I am a broken and heartless ghoul. So, Ziam might be the only movie on this list that does not deserve my bombastic side eye. I am waiting for other people to watch it and let me know if they have a better time with it, though.
While I was not the audience for these movies, I am assuming some of you will dig them. Worst-case scenario, you cross off a few more 2025 horror movies and have something to talk about at Friendsgiving. Happy Horrordays! I will see myself out now…


