Famously dubbed “the giallo to end all gialli,” this 1975 slasher from horror master Dario Argento is an essential watch for fans of the prolific director’s other work, impeccable set design, and striking cinematography. 

When jazz pianist Marcus Daly (David Hemmings, Blow-Up) witnesses the murder of a famous psychic, he becomes fixated on catching the killer and teams up with an enthusiastic reporter, Gianna Brezzi (Daria Nicolodi). Engaging in a gruesome game of cat and mouse, Daly and Brezzi search for clues to the killer’s identity while a hatchet-wielding psychopath, hot on their heels, disposes of anyone unlucky enough to enter their rapidly shrinking orbit.

Deep Red sits quite interestingly in Argento’s filmography, following up his “Animal Trilogy” of early gialli where he worked to define his style, and preceding his legacy-cementing work in the late 70’s and 80’s that he’s most known for today like Suspiria (1977) and Tenebrae (1982). There is a capability and confidence on display in Deep Red that shows he was no longer a directing novice, but a rising legend working comfortably in the genre that was already five years into its cultural boom started by Argento himself.