Abstract

In 1960s Italy the giallo, the thriller, and so-called fumetti neri proved to be ideal means to renew popular cinema in the same moment when consumer culture was transforming Italian society. These genres allowed filmmakers to adopt innovative narrative and visual forms that reflected the new desires and fantasies generated by a new socio-cultural context, emphasising in particular their erotic and transgressive aspects. The article offers a discussion of a few films directed by Mario Bava in this period from this specific perspective: The Girl Who Knew Too Much/Evil Eye (La ragazza che sapeva troppo, 1963), Blood and Black Lace (Sei donne per l’assassino, 1964) and Danger: Diabolik (Diabolik, 1968), widely considered by critics as a paradigmatic example of pop art in cinema.