Delving once again into the genre’s post golden period, in this month’s episode of Fragments of Fear dynamic duo Peter and Rachael take a look at an example of the giallo poliziotteschi hybrid in Paolo Cavara’s politically charged E tanta paura aka Plot of Fear (1976). In their dissection of the film, they explore Cavara’s background as the originator of the Mondo film and take a look at how the creative freedom afforded to him in Plot of Fear led to a complex, deconstruction of the giallo utilising elements of the poliziotteschi and American led conspiratorial thrillers of the era. Other themes explored in the episode include Plot of Fear’s satirical leanings, the concept of surveillance led paranoia, political injustice and decadence and perversion:

There’s a very different feel to this offering – whether it be the Americanised cast that includes the likes of former Bond girl Corinne Clery, Tom ‘Alien’ Skerritt and Eli Wallach, or the blending of the Italian giallo and poliziotteschi genres.

Here’s the synopsis:

Inspector Lomenzo investigates a series of murders committed against wealthy people. The inspector’s sole trace is that the murderer is in the habit of leaving illustrations at the crime scene.

And here’s a trailer (this one is available on Amazon Prime btw)…


About The Author

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Simon is a journalism tutor in London, who also just happens to be a movie fanatic, with a craving for the darker side of cinema. He has written three books - on the horror films of director Bob Clark (2014), the history of the character Norman Bates (2015) and the work of British exploitation director Pete Walker (2017). He is currently working with director Richard Loncraine to explore all avenues in a bid to orchestrate the re-release of 1978 Mia Farrow chiller Full Circle