Événement

Giallo Gelato presents a matinee of HATCHETS AND HONEYMOONS

On December 2, hatchets and honeymoons are happening in Chicago, and all in broad daylight! Produced by independent film programmer Stephanie "La Gialloholique" Sack, Giallo Gelato -- Hatchets and Honeymoons presents a matinee screening of Italian director Mario Bava's Gothic giallo classic, 1970's Hatchet for the Honeymoon.

The word "giallo" means "yellow" in Italian, which was the color of the covers of the pulpy crime novels from which Gialli took their delightfully lurid inspiration. Stylistically and psychologically, the Giallo shares DNA with other European genres such as British Folk Horror, French Fantastique, and German Krimi; however, Italian directors such as Bava, Argento, and Martino mingled their complex murder mysteries with the occult, pre-code Hollywood horror, police procedurals, and even elements of psychedelia to create a cinematic grammar all their own.

The matinee kicks off at 11:59a with a screening of the short film Dead Day Revolution Vampire Blues, described by Writer-Director Dean Gold as a a rock n roll roller coaster to hell. Employing retro imagery embracing Americana, movie history, and unadulterated rock n roll, Dead Day Revolution Vampire Blues delivers a full-on cinematic experience with colorful gags and pulse-pounding thrills. Giallo Gelato is delighted to announce that Mr. Gold will be in attendance.

Plagued by production problems in 1969 and initially misunderstood by both the Italian and international audience upon its 1970 release, Mario Bava's Hatchet for the Honeymoon would nevertheless have the last laugh on the Giallo genre. Thanks to the curatorial efforts of boutique labels and Italian film historians, Hatchet for the Honeymoon has recently undergone a sympathetic rediscovery, noted for its luscious cinematography and clever in-camera effects. More crucially, Bava's ghastly exploration of the shattered male psyche serves as a shockingly prescient progenitor to many axe-wielding impotents, including Patrick Bateman from Mary Herron's American Psycho.

Attendees of the Giallo Gelato -- Hatchets and Honeymoons matinee will enjoy a pre-screening introduction and post-screening discussion with Stephanie Sack and her co-presenter Bill Holland, an award-winning motion-graphics designer, animator, Gialloholic, and Italo Disco DJ.

Matinee of Mario Bava's Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970) and Dean Gold's Dead Day Revolution Vampire Blues (2016)

presented by Stephanie Sack / Giallo Gelato

December 2, 2023

Facets * 1517 W. Fullerton * Chicago * 60614

doors -- 11:30a

matinee -- 11:59a to 2:29p