Italians know how to make horror movies. Directors from the country that birthed the Renaissance look back into their rich artistic history in order to add an aesthetic edge to their tales of terror. While scary Italian cinema reached its apex in the 1970s, the 1980s included quite a few invaluable contributions to the genre from Italian directors.
While names like Dario Argento and Mario Bava are well-known in most horror circles, there are many other talented directors from Italy whose works have been overshadowed or neglected. This list brings together 10 Italian horror movies from the 1980s that most people don't know about. They're all bloody, gothic, psychological films any fan of creepy cinema should know.
The New York Ripper (1982)
This controversial slasher from Lucio Fulci is still censored in the U.K. to this day. It's a gruesome, excessive tale about a serial killer brutalizing women in New York City. While Fulci wanted to make a movie about American exorbitance, competitiveness, and misogyny, many audiences have been turned off by all the blood and sex depicted in the film.
In the movie, the killer turns out to be a man who loses it after his sick, young daughter is given a poor diagnosis in the hospital. Fulci is known for not holding back with violence, and this film is one of his most gratuitous.
Madhouse (1981)
A standard slasher, Madhouse is a familial horror film in the vein of Brian de Palma's Sisters. In the days leading up to her birthday, Julia keeps dreaming about a twin sister she has never met or known. The dreams are disturbing, leaving Julia unraveled.
When the day arrives, Julia gets ready for her birthday party, and there's a special guest: her twin, Mary, who just escaped a mental hospital. Deformed and angry about her imprisonment, Mary shows up to get revenge.
The Spider Labyrinth (1988)
Also released under the title The Spider's Nest, this film takes place in Budapest, Hungary. An American scientist tries to catch up with an old colleague in Eastern Europe. When he arrives, he finds out the scientist died under strange circumstances.
The American scientist investigates the death, uncovering evidence his dead colleague was about to expose the existence of a spider cult. Soon, the American man becomes the group's latest target.
Tenebrae (1982)
This is one of the lesser-known Dario Argento films. Argento is responsible for the classic Suspiria, and this later release attests to his taut, psychological style as a storyteller. In the movie, mystery novelist Peter Neal travels to Rome to promote his new book.
After he arrives, a series of mysterious murders connected to his books begin to occur. As the local police investigate, the bodies continue to pile up. The literary undertones, bloody deaths, and chic set designs are all signature Argento. So is the twist ending.
Macabre (1980)
This is the feature debut from Mario Bava's son, Lamberto. Set in New Orleans, this cerebral movie focuses on a woman named Jane. When the movie begins, she leaves her children alone to go rendezvous with her lover, Fred. This meeting sets off a series of violent and tragic events that lead to Jane being institutionalized for a year.
After she's released, Jane tries to pull her life back together. Unfortunately, it seems the trauma she endured is just too much, and she slowly unravels, losing touch with reality.
Stage Fright (1987)
A smart and trendy satirical slasher about the creative process, Stage Fright is the first film from Italian horror actor Michele Soavi. The film focuses on a group of egotistical and testy actors working through a rehearsal for their forthcoming play.
Unfortunately, there's a crazed former performer stalking them. The man, who just escaped a mental hospital, locks the actors in the theater, taking them out one by one in showy and melodramatic ways. The killer also wears coveralls and a large owl mask throughout the movie, one that becomes more and more bloody as the bodies add up.
A Blade in the Dark (1983)
Another film from Lamberto Bava, A Blade in the Dark focuses on a composer named Bruno who travels to an Italian villa in order to score a horror film. Soon, the events happening in the horror movie come to life in the villa, causing Bruno to spiral.
Psychological and self-referential, the film blurs the distinction between reality and fantasy within the confines of a classic, iconic Italian villa.
City of the Living Dead (1980)
A zombie thriller from Lucio Fulci, the events of the film are set off by the suicide of a priest. His death opens a gateway to Hell, from which dozens of hungry zombies come forth to wreak havoc on the local town.
The movie is noted for its top-notch, yet graphic, special effects. It also includes two of the most memorable deaths in horror history, one involving a power drill. Despite's its gory overtones, City of the Living Dead does include some blood-free moments of true suspense.
The Church (1989)
This film was originally designed by director Michele Soavi to be part of Dario Argento's Demons trilogy, but it was eventually changed into a stand-alone film. The movie tells the story of a haunted Italian cathedral with a brutal and cruel past.
The Church's action reaches back to the middle ages, when the church was built by the Knights Templar on top of a mass grave containing massacred villagers accused of practicing Satanism. In the present, the crypt in the church is opened up, unleashing all the demonic forces held within. The movie stars a young Asia Argento.
Cut and Run (1985)
One of the more problematic tropes in Italian films involves cannibalistic natives. Still, it's important to acknowledge this troublesome aspect of these horror films, and Cut and Run is a prime example. It follows a TV crew who travels through South America in search of a drug czar running a deadly operation.
As they roam deeper and deeper into the jungle, they encounter hostile locals and other problems. This film is in the same vein as the most infamous Italian cannibal film of all time, Cannibal Holocaust.