12 Conclusion

Whilst one of my initial reasons behind writing this dissertation might have been to prove that the traditional giallo can still be relevant today to an international audience hasn’t quite developed into the answer I was looking for, I still feel that with the evidence discussed with Amer (2009) and it’s homage to the giallo, there is certainly enough within the genre to be adapted to the modern day audience and something that can easily feel right at home in the art house cinemas. Its stylistic visuals and almost complete neglect for dialogue could really provide a starting point for a new era of art-house cinema, maybe not a resurrection of the giallo but certainly a new wave of genre filmmaking that is inspired by the genre itself.

Though the main question that I had posed for my research was to answer can ‘high art’ exist within ‘low-art’ and I think that the giallo genre has shown plenty enough in it’s rich if not short lived history to provide enough artistic qualities, especially with the marvelous and thought provoking use of colour in film and not forgetting the symbolism with the Italian traumas caused by Mussolini’s fascist reign. With the links to Mussolini and giallo dating back to the very first giallo; Ossessione (1942) which managed to get released under the nose of his fascist reign, there really should be a clear recognition not just from film academics from the horror aficionados that Ossessione (1942) was the first giallo film as well as being the first Itailan Neo-Realist film; no matter what the genre, whether it be high brow art or exploitation each has the equal right to their history and should be embraced and not ignored for the fear of being tarnished just because a genre can be linked with another genre that doesn’t fit within it’s artistic value.

There has always been a gap between High Art and Low Art; it’s something that most people would argue that has no connection, the art house/high art movement is completely separate from the low art/exploitation form and the Hollywood movement, but I feel that through my research and readings into the giallo, I believe that the genre itself manages to bridge the gap between high art and low art; whilst the films of the genres didn’t play in the art houses and first run theatres at the time and appealed more to the grindhouse cinema and drive-in audiences, the films themselves show great uses of colour in film and symbolize themes and atmosphere through their visceral lighting techniques and style, and not forgetting the strong link between the gialli killers and Mussolini, there is plenty of contextual theory to be read into and it is this quality that I believe can build bridges between High Art and Low Art; which could allow for a better appreciation of the art of film as a whole.