BOOK REVIEW: THE BLOOD RED EXPERIMENT EDITED BY JASON MICHEL AND CRAIG DOUGLAS

The Blood Red Experiment edited by Jason Michel and Craig Douglas is an anthology of six stories that try to capture the bizarre magic of Giallo Horror. It is a very intriguing concept to put on paper, considering most Giallo movies are heavy on style and lite on substance. For the most part I believe the authors and editors did a wonderful job delivering beautiful scenes of murder and mystery. But in the end, I found myself wishing there was more plot and less focus on creating interesting visuals.

I don’t think you need to have a deep understanding of the concepts that come with a Giallo movie to appreciate the anthology. Though, we are given a brief introduction that covers the idea of mystery, murder, and erotic nature of these films. It’s a nice way to set the stage for what’s to come, letting us know that we are going to be seeing themes of a mysterious black gloved killer, the targeting of women, the outlook on religion and those that sit at the fringe of society.

Personally, Giallo movies are something of a blind spot for me. I’ve seen and own Suspiria, as well as caught bits and pieces of other Dario Argento films, but that is about it. I do know that they are more focused on the style and visuals as opposed to delivering a rich story. Usually, a bunch of strange things happen, with moments of gruesome imagery and murder. And these six stories give us exactly that. There’s a main character that might be an art student(Impermanence Of Art and Madonna Of The Wasps), a reporter(Canvas Of Flesh and Blood Of The Lamb), or a linguistics expert(Quaenum In Illis), then we have a mysterious murderer that we might have met, the two intersect, and then the story is done.

Out of the six stories, I’d say three of them follow the traditional concepts of beginning, middle, and a somewhat satisfying conclusion. Two of the stories seem to be a bunch of things happening that end just when they are getting good. And one is a stream of conscious story in the style of William Burroughs, which has some amazing imagery, but for the life of me I couldn’t tell you what happened.

I was never disappointed while in the middle of them. There are some great descriptions and ideas at work here. They truly captured the spirit of Giallo, with gory kills, interesting locations, and unique characters. But, if you were looking for characters with meaningful arcs, they you might find yourself disappointed. They end the story the same person as they were at the beginning, unless of course they are killed. It felt like the last chapter for a number of the stories was missing. We never see the wrap up or bow on the end of the story. Each one almost reads like a slice of life, which is fun, but also not as satisfying when you reach the final word. This doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the stories, I just wanted more.
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The Blood Red Experiment is truly an experiment in storytelling. The challenge of taking the visual style of a film and trying to make it work on paper is a tough one. But, overall, I believe the authors in this anthology succeeded. Even with the few hangups, I enjoyed each story for what they were, a journey into the sick and twisted world of a murderer finding unique ways to create art with a straight razor and black gloves. The imagery you’ll find in here will stick with you long after you are done. If you are a Giallo fan, I think this will hit all the right buttons, and if you are more of a fan of mystery and creative murders, this will definitely fill that bucket.

THE BLOOD RED EXPERIMENT EDITED BY JASON MICHEL AND CRAIG DOUGLAS

Inspired by the genius of Hitchcock and his films, latin luminaries such as Argento and Bava directed macabre murder-mystery thrillers, that combined the suspense with scenes of outrageous violence, stylish cinematography, and groovy soundtracks. This genre became known in their native Italy as giallo.


Giallo is Italian for yellow, inspired by the lurid covers of thrillers, in the way that pulp fiction was derived from the cheap wood pulp paper of the crime stories, or Film Noir came from the chiaroscuro of the German Expressionistic lighting.


Craig Douglas and Jason Michel bring gialli-inspired stories together from some of the best crime writers on the scene today to a wider audience, giving birth to a new literary movement in crime writing, NeoGiallo, and drag this much maligned genre screaming and slashing its way into the 21st Century.

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