All the Colours of the Dark (1972)

All the Colours of the Dark is a 1972 Italian/Spanish giallo horror thriller film directed by Sergio Martino (Mountain of the Cannibal God; The Great Alligator; Torso) from a screenplay by Ernesto Gastaldi and Sauro Scavolini, based on a storyline by Santiago Moncada (although Gastaldi has disputed this). It stars George Hilton, Edwige Fenech, Ivan Rassimov and Julian Ugarte.

Tutti i colori del buio (Italian title) aka Todos los colores de la oscuridad (Spanish title) has also been released as They’re Coming to Get You, Day of the Maniac and Demons of Dead (US Independent International titles).

The film’s soundtrack score was composed by Bruno Nicolai.

In the UK, the film is released on Blu-ray and DVD by Shameless on 12 June 2017.

Buy: Amazon.co.uk

Jane (Edwige Fenech) lives in Putney, London, with Richard (George Hilton), her boyfriend. When she was five, Jane’s mother was murdered, and she recently lost a baby in a car crash. She’s plagued by nightmares of a knife-wielding, blue-eyed man and soon finds herself stalked by him too.

Richard, a pharmaceutical salesman, thinks the cure is vitamins; Jane’s sister Barbara, who works for a psychiatrist, recommends analysis; Mary, a neighbour whom Jane meets, promises that if she participates in a Black Mass, all her fears will disappear…

Reviews:

“As far as gialli go, All the Colors of the Dark is one of the very best. From the get-go, with a quietly terrifying fade to black view of an isolated river cutting to a disorienting nightmare which makes not one lick of sense, the viewer is made to feel just as unsure of their sanity as the heroine! The film does a superb job of identifying with Jane, throwing her into a whirlwind of horrific imagery which she doesn’t understand.” Casey Scott, DVD Drive-In

” …a very head-trippy, surreal and unique giallo flick (given its occult theme, not normally explored within the genre) that unfortunately is a little slow at times (something that is normally associated with the genre). The movie lacks much of the intrigue and plot twists that Martino displays in his better films…” Terrence Kelsey, Feo Amante

” …melds a Hitchcockian woman-in-peril/murder mystery plot with trippy, supernatural frills. Both aspects yield their own strengths. The devil worshipping horror stuff provides some unsettling imagery (particularly those skin-crawling hallucinations) presented in sumptuous scope photography, while Martino ratchets up the tension throughout the mystery angle, as the story takes some satisfyingly twisted turns.” Andrew Pragasam, The Spinning Image

“Special note must be made of Martino’s stylish and fluid direction. The use of stately locations in England helps to give the film an appropriately chilly quality, while the expert framing and use of colour ensures that the film looks good from beginning to end.” Troy Howarth, So Deadly, So Perverse

Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

” …while this doesn’t play as sleazily as many of its counterparts, it’s still pulsing with sexuality. Likewise, the violence isn’t as gratuitous or elaborate as what you’ll find in a giallo, but there’s certainly a mean, grisliness to the film, particularly with the Satanic stuff. Transcending the clunkiness is a bit hard–even some of the surrounding performances are often as mechanical as a plot… Brett Gallman, Oh, the Horror!

” …All the Colours of the Dark is so chic it hurts. Great locations, awesome soundtrack, yeah, yeah, there could have been more gore, but Sergio Martino makes stalking seem cool again; not that it ever went out of fashion. A gorgeous leading lady and an effective villain make this Italian giallo worth a look-see.” House of Self-Indulgence

“Of these films Tutti i colori del buio is arguably the most alluring, containing as it does a crazed agglomeration of psychedelic effects to illustrate Fenech’s mounting paranoia […] Martino comes up with such arresting tableaux as an elderly couple frozen in death over their breakfast newspapers.” Jonathan Rigby, Euro Gothic: Classics of Continental Horror Cinema

Buy: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca

Despite the requisite wooden acting and baffling plot-holes […] All the Colors of the Dark is an enjoyable piece of hokum that should please fans both of the giallo format and of supernatural horror. Packed with style, suspense and beautiful women, this Euro shocker is not to be missed.” Michael Mackenzie, The Digital Fix

Choice dialogue:

Jane:”These dreams I have are like horror stories.”

Richard to Barbara: “Beauty should be shown. Why hide yours under all this clothing?”

Richard to Barbara: “You must be the most unforgiving bitch in the world.”

Cast and characters:

George Hilton as Richard
Edwige Fenech as Jane Harrison
Ivan Rassimov as Mark Cogan
Julian Ugarte as J.P. McBrian
George Rigaud as Dr. Burton
Maria Cumani Quasimodo as Elderly Neighbour
Susan Scott [Nieves Navarro] as Barbara Harrison
Marina Malfatti as Mary Weil
Alan Collins as Lawyer Franciscus Clay
Dominique Boschero as Jane’s Mother
Renato Chiantoni as Mr. Main
Tom Felleghy as Inspector Smith
Lisa Leonardi as Girl with dog

Previous releases:

The film was released on DVD in North America on October 12, 2004 by Shriek Show.

Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Filming locations:

Aldwych underground station, London, UK (platform)
Bishop’s Park, Putney, London, UK
Holland Park underground station, London, UK (entrance)
Kenilworth Court, Lower Richmond Road, Putney, London, England, UK
Wykehurst Park House, East Sussex (also in Demons of the Mind and The Legend of Hell House)