Darkness Surrounds Roberta

Oh, the glorious Italian giallo...yes, it's true, you have seen better days, my friend. Nothing of any real significance has come around in at least 20 years. Leave it up to an American producer and a German producer/director (Joe Zaso and Timo Rose, members of the same team that brought last years "Barricade") to assemble the one the better attempts at re-exploring this curiously seedy horror subgenre with “Darkness Surrounds Roberta”.

Blackmail, adultery, sex, politics, art, all these elements combine as a series of shocking murders that are shaking up the city of Florence. All the murders seem to be revolving around Roberta (Yassmin Pucci ), a sexy, but adulterous woman with some kind of violent episode in her past. Investigating the crimes are a former American detective (Joe Zaso) and his Italian partner.

One of the most surprising elements of “Darkness Surrounds Roberta”, is that it's a remarkably intense and intelligent film. “Darkness Surrounds Roberta” is very much in the spirit of the classic early giallos, like “Torso”, “Cat-O-Nail-Tails”, or “Lizard In A Womans Skin”. Anyone who's a fan of those classic giallos knows that while on the surface they could appear to be exceedingly cruel and violent films they were also frequently challenging their audience with complicated, heavily psycho-sexual stories and themes. Just like those classics, this isn't the kind of film you can watch passively for a thrill, it demands your attention. Writer/director Giovanni Pianigiani has woven a very complex, but utterly intriguing mystery-thriller, all the while finding the perfect balance of seedy sexuality and terrible violence.

The production team has gone beyond the pale to ensure this film has a wonderful authenticity to it. Shooting on location in Italy, the excellent script, the strange mix of acting styles that comes from having an international cast. It all comes together beautifully. All the right elements combine to help push “Darkness” beyond an homage, and into a real reincarnation of the stylishly sordid, psychosexual Euro-shocker.

DARKNESS SURROUNDS ROBERTA can be ordered directly from Cinema Image Productions