gialli

Gialli, often singular giallo in Italian, is a genre of crime fiction and film characterized by mystery, suspense, and often graphic violence. The term giallo means yellow in Italian, and the name derives from the yellow covers used on cheap crime novels and pulp magazines published in Italy after World War II, notably by Mondadori under the Il Giallo Mondadori imprint.

Literary giallo emerged in the mid-20th century and is typically built around a central mystery, a killer, and a cast of suspects; plots emphasize clues, misdirection, and a detective or amateur sleuth who unravels the crime. The prose often combines brisk pacing with red herrings and a focus on motive, psychology, and the mechanics of the investigation.

Giallo cinema developed from these literary roots in the late 1960s and 1970s; directors combined stylish visuals, intricate murder scenes, and psychological menace. Common features include first-person killer points of view, distinctive color palettes, elaborate set pieces, and often masked or anonymous killers. Notable filmmakers associated with the genre include Mario Bava, Dario Argento, and Sergio Martino, with landmark films such as The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1969) and Deep Red (1975) illustrating its stylistic approach.

Legacy: Giallo influenced later horror and thriller genres worldwide and contributed to developments in the modern slasher and Italian horror traditions. In contemporary usage, the term is applied more broadly to crime novels and films that emphasize mystery, stylized violence, and carefully crafted visual mood.