Posted by Pope Will at 192.30.226.29 on September 10, 2001 at 12:52:55:
In Reply to: "Italian Horror" posted by dmcfan on September 10, 2001 at 11:29:27:
It begins and ends with Argento, especially his early work which is controlled and story-diven. Susperia is great if you seek out the longer running time. Stay away from film prints. 20th Century Fox screwed over last years Toronto Itallian Film Festival by sending a mis-labeled shorter (censored) version with a longer listed running time -- and refused any refund or other compensation. This is even after several phone calls made by the festival rep to double check that it would be the correct version.
Mario Bava should also be mentioned. Worth looking up. But it seems that their contribution to American cinema (by way of inspiration) is only represented in the Friday the 13th films. Which is kinda sad.