In recent years many filmmakers attempted to recreate the giallo movies, mainly in both the independent market and foreign horror cinema. However, one needs to inform some of the readers of exactly the term refers to first giallo original appear in crime novels by Italian authors, by the 60s to early 80s drifted with no set boundaries but stays passionate incorporating crime, mystery and thrillers with horror flowing between them. It does extend further with emphasis concentrated on visuals, wherein the script lies dormant, and a mixture of gore and eroticism is heightened on the screen often accompanied by questionable dubbing, women in a person struggle of acceptance, vibrant display of colors, coining the term ‘livid vivid’. Now, this leads to many of today’s directors and even cinematographers as admirers of Fulci, Bava and Argento, uses their styles as a blueprint to follow for more bizarre cinema; most recently found in the movie The Void (2016).  Therefore, Housewife technically may not fall under the rules of giallo, due to certain plot elements director Can Evrenol clearly finds inspiration deeply penetrating multiple scenes, it’s not on the same intense level of his film Baskin (2015), rather finding a new path using different creative methods which becomes an interesting trip. His Turkish design likely to find a small audience seeking the new experimentation in cinema and crafting dream-like horror situations to subject not only the cast to but the audience; too, thanks to RLJE Films distribution.

The title gives away who the movie focuses on, a Housewife, not the best method, if trying to instill some mystery, nevertheless it’s just one of a few issues to try to overlook. Holly (Clémentine Poidatz), the housewife to a true crime author is tormented daily by her past, name a severely traumatic situation that occur, the effects nearly crippling her. However, to track back a little to Holly’s childhood, in memories she lost her sister and father, done in by her mother, the haunting memoirs plaguing her daily existence, all of it occurring in the opening gritty portion of the movie. This results in the slow first act, and the trauma gave a rude awakening, but the pacing transforms into a snail stuck in tar. Her friend Valery (Alicia Kapudag) brings her to a strange gathering of people, a cult like leader named Bruce O’Hara (David Sakurai (Supernatural Tales [2012]) claims ability to travel through dreams, taking things out of them and welcomes her into a vast mental haze of bizarreness.  Herein, the loss of any twists more of an imagination without a baseline of foundation for the viewers to connect too, it almost borderlines on an installment of the infamous Amityville franchise where nothing truly connecting to anything else, yet still attracting the viewers. As earlier mentioned, giallo movies have often either fun dubbing into English subtitles or perform by well versed English actors, such as Dressed to Kill (1980) by director Brian De Palma, however in this film, the actors themselves don’t fit the roles well enough, aside from Sakurai’s appearance, but the accents all thick making it increasingly difficult to understand the overall conceptual design. Meanwhile Holly moves through set construction scenes, and dream sequences, pushing herself past the normal parameters of her safe zone.

A few distracting issues arise with this film, aside from plot holes or absent of logic to connect them simply pulls the film down, while striving for a vivid array of lighting techniques. A viewer seeks entertainment and like to know where one is going with the movie, none of that happens.   The synth-driven score, and incredible cinematography occurs, it appears more of color images and mixture ad-lib structure as if tossing any image onto the screen and masking in a dream world constitutes as giallo, sorry the genre dives into a more structural sounded plot and continuity, while the eroticism, graphic tones and vile imagery isn’t enough to save the overall production.

Take a moment to think of Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci meeting in a field doing a waltz wearing mirrors on their suits, and Mario Bava sitting on a bench feeding pigeons, sounds interesting and intriguing then this is not what this film tries to attempt, herein all presents poor aspects of these masters of work. While taking a page from Argento with the vivid colors, another from Fulci odd dream sequences though he still holds the trophy with A Lizard in a Women’s Skin (1971), sadly the pages never connect as all from different books, most likely to seek a divorce from the Housewife.

Tagline

• There’s Only You And Your Dreams

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6464678/

IMDb Rating: 5.0/10

Baron’s Rating: 4.0/10