Forgotten Gialli: Volume Nine – Vinegar Syndrome (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Italy, 1994 (Madness, Bugie rosse), Italy, 1992 (Murder in Blue Light)
Directors: Bruno Mattei (Madness), Pierfrancesco Campanella (Bugie rosse), Alfonso Brescia (Murder in Blue Light)
Cast: Monica Carpanese, Gabriele Gori, Emy Valentino, Achille Brugnini, Fausto Lombardi, Carlo Granchi, Antonio Zequila (Madness), Tomas Arana, Gianfranco Jannuzzo, Gioia Scola, Alida Valli, Lorenzo Flaherty, Natasha Hovey, Gianni Franco (Bugie rosse), Florence Guérin, David Hess, Brian Peterson, Joseph Misiti, Wendy Windham, Rik Battaglia (Murder in Blue Light)

Release Date: March 31st, 2026
Approximate Running Times: 90 Minutes 39 Seconds (Madness), 92 Minutes 36 Seconds (Bugie rosse), 89 Minutes 13 Seconds (Murder in Blue Light)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (All Films)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian (Bugie rosse, Murder in Blue Light), DTS-HD Mono English (Madness)
Subtitles: English (Bugie rosse, Murder in Blue Light), English SDH (Madness)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $89.98

Madness: "Giovanna is a successful comic artist, and her brutal Doctor Dark comic has made her rich and somewhat notorious. While she and the comic are both under fire for possibly inciting readers to violence, a real-life murderer suddenly begins carving out the eyes of their victims only to deliver them to Giovanna. Under continuing pressure from her manager and the public, she flees to the country, eager to clear her head and distance herself from the fact that someone is making gruesome reality out of her fiction. Not only does the terror follow her, but now someone is calling Giovanna to menace her under the guise of Doctor Dark. Will the police find the killer before they reach Giovanna, or will all this nervous exhaustion do her in first?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Bugie rosse: "Television journalist Marco knows the importance of a good story, a terrific scoop, and he's willing to do the deep research to secure his reputation. When investigating murders in his city's gay underground, he doggedly sticks to posing as a man lurking in the park for night-time tricks who may give him a lead, in spite of his own marked aversion to same sex contact. Although he gets arrested after each murder, and even if he's increasingly suspicious to the police, Marco stays on the story. His connections with the paper and a local prosecutor can only keep him safe for so long, and things look dire amid increasing tension with his wife and the psychic weight of the job. But he's just come across an attractive male hustler who may provide him with the clues he needs. That is, provided Marco can uncover the deep secrets that the killer will stop at nothing to protect." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Murder in Blue Light: "Top model Starlet works for some of the highest-priced ad campaigns in New York, even if part of the job is occasionally fighting off a grabby client. But she regularly drops out of her high-fashion life to secretly turn tricks as Sherry, a dominatrix and role player for men looking to play out their oddest kinks with her. She doesn't need the money; instead, she's hunting for a certain man. Meanwhile, a rash of stabbing murders keeps occurring around her. Grizzled, sarcastic NYPD sergeant Flanagan is the only one who can keep Starlet out of harm's way, though she refuses to level with him, and instead plays detective herself. When Flanagan keeps coming up with nothing, despite constantly rousting local prostitutes, he decides to apply pressure elsewhere. With creeps from both the high and low elements of New York life, and a serial murderer about, how much longer can Starlet push her luck?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5 (Madness), 4.5/5 (Bugie rosse, Murder in Blue Light)

Here’s the information given about Madness' transfer, “Newly scanned and restored in 2K from its 35mm original negative.”

Madness comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 29.7 GB

Feature: 24.8 GB

Here’s the information given about Bugie rosse's transfer, “Newly scanned and restored in 2K from its 35mm original negative.”

Bugie rosse comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 38 GB

Feature: 25.1 GB

Here’s the information given about Murder in Blue Light 's transfer, “Newly scanned and restored in 2K from its 35mm original negative.”

Murder in Blue Light comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 43.3 GB

Feature: 24.4 GB

Bugie rosse’s and Murder in Blue Light’s sources are comparable. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and grain remains intact. Madness’ source does not fare as well, notably when it comes to image clarity. That said, flesh tones and colors look correct, black levels and compression are solid, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 3.5/5 (Madness), 4/5 (Bugie rosse, Murder in Blue Light)

Madness comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. While dialogue comes through clearly enough to follow, there are some sibilance issues and times where the audio volume fluctuates.

Bugie rosse and Murder in Blue Light each come with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian with removable English subtitles. Dialogue always comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced and ambient sounds are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras for Madness include an interview with actress Monica Carpanese titled Through the Eyes of Madness (12 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with producer Gianni Paolucci titled Seeing Madness (19 minutes 48 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with The Hysteria Continues!.

Extra for Bugie Rosse includes an interview with director Pierfrancesco Campanella titled Red Heat (29 minutes 24 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with actress Gioia Scola titled Naked Lies (11 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with actor Tomas Arana titled The Last Temptation (13 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Barbara Scoppa titled Lady in Red (13 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), and an interview with composer Natale Massara titled Red Eros (18 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles). 

Extras for Murder in Blue Light include an interview with actress Florence Guérin titled Florence, Ma Chérie! (21 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Sonia Topazio titled Blue Light Topaz (31 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview titled The Highly Dependable Mister Bradley with film historian Eugenio Ercolani who discusses director Alfonso Brescia (25 minutes 43 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an alternate home video cut of Murder in Blue Light, sourced from standard definition video (94 minutes 50 seconds, 1.66:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital mono Italian with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with film historians Eugenio Ercolanoi and Troy Howarth.

Summary:

Madness: "Life inmates' art"—when a comic book artist's creation comes to life and mimics the brutal murders in her comics.

Bruno Mattei, directed by Madness. He was one of the more prolific filmmakers making genre cinema in Italy during the 1980s and 90s, and his films are known for their anemic budgets. Notable films he directed include Hell of the Living Dead, Rats: Night of Terror, Night Killer, and Cruel Jaws. Originally made for foreign audiences, when Madness was released in Italy, it was re-edited, and two murder scenes from A Blade in the Dark were added. This release does not include the Italy version of Madness.

Madness starts off on solid ground; its premise, a killer who mimics a comic book killer, is full of possibilities, and the film does a phenomenal job of exploiting them. Madness has many of the familiar giallo tropes, notably a gloved killer who wears a mask to disguise their identity. When it comes to the kills, while there are not the most stylish murder-death set pieces, they have a sufficient amount of gore.

The opening setup does an excellent job laying the foundation and there are a few well-placed twists that keep you guessing. A notable example of an effective twist occurs early on when someone claims to be the killer, only for more murders to happen while they are in police custody. That said, the narrative never feels predictable, and its brisk pacing effectively builds momentum to a finale that perfectly puts everything into perspective.

A main draw of Italian cinema for many decades was its ability to cast recognizable names that would help attract audiences. By the late 1980s and into the 1990s, when Madness was made, this was no longer the case, with most of the cast being made up of relative unknowns. While none of the cast standout, their performances suit well the story that unfolds.

When discussing the cinema of Bruno Mattei, there is one element that can be said about the bulk of his films. They are highly entertaining despite any budgetary limitations. An area where Madness cut corners was its soundtrack, which is credited to Flipper Music, a music library company. The score uses music cues from Lady Frankenstein's score. The screenplay has many elements that feel like they were lifted from Tenebre. Ultimately, Madness is a fun film that giallo fans should thoroughly enjoy.

Bugie rosse: A journalist looking for a big story becomes entangled in a series of killings where the targets are gay men.

Bugie rosse was directed by Pierfrancesco Campanella, who's best known for Bad Inclination.

The giallo is a genre whose hook can make or break a film, and Bugie rosse’s premise is a solid one that effectively draws you into the web of deceit that unfolds. From there the narrative has a few well-placed twists that do a superb job hiding the killer's identity. The most interesting aspect of the narrative is how the protagonist, a straight man, questions his sexuality the further he dives into the world he’s exploring.

The cast has several recognizable faces: Tomas Arana (The Church) in the role of a reporter named Marco; Natasha Hovey (Demons), who portrays Marco’s co-worker; and Alida Valli (Suspiria) in the role of Roberto’s mother. The most memorable performance is Gioia Scola’s (Obsession: A Taste for Fear) portrayal of Marco’s wife Adria. That said, all of the performances work extremely well within the confines of the story that unfolds.

From a production standpoint, there are a few areas where Bugie rosse does not work; its most glaring shortcoming is its inability to create momentum. When it comes to employing giallo tropes and murder set pieces, Bugie rosse delivers in both of these areas. Another strength is an exemplary mood-reinforcing score composed by Natale Massara (Private Crimes), who is most known for conducting Pino Donaggio’s scores. Ultimately, Bugie rosse is a satisfying mix of suspense and sleaze, making it a film that giallo fans should enjoy.

Murder in Blue Light: A model leading a double life as a prostitute searches for her brother's killer.

Alfonso Brescia directed Murder in Blue Light. He was a workmanlike filmmaker whose career spanned four decades and covered most film genres. Notable films he directed include The New Godfathers, Beast in Space, and four Star Wars knockoffs: War of the Planets, Battle of the Stars, The War of the Robots, and Star Odyssey.

Despite a solid premise, a revenge-themed story about a woman in search of her brother's killer, the result is a film that often gets in the way of itself. Instead of focusing on moments that one expects from a giallo, Murder in Blue Light pads its narrative with softcore erotica scenes where the protagonist indulges her clients' weird kinks. When it comes to these erotica moments, they commit the worst sin of all; they are severely lacking any heat.

Most of the cast are made up of names no one will know. The only cast members of note are those two leads, Florence Guérin (Too Beautiful to Die), who portrays Scarlet, a model by day and a prostitute by night, and David Hess (House on the Edge of the Park) in the role of Sergeant Flanagan. That said, none of the performances leave a lasting impression, which is not a surprise since they are not given much to work with.

The narrative is unfocused, moves slowly, and never manages to build any momentum. That said, there are a few interesting twists, notably the revelation of who the killer is. Murder in Blue Light’s only saving grace is its visuals; there are a few stylish moments that heighten the mood. Ultimately, Murder in Blue Light is more a softcore thriller than a traditional giallo, making it a film that even giallo completists will find a chore.

Something that can be said about Vinegar Syndrome’s Forgotten Gialli series is that there have been many well-known films that really don’t fit the bill. This time around, all three films in this collection are perfect examples of films waiting to be discovered or forgotten. Vinegar Syndrome adds another exemplary release to their Forgotten Gialli series. Recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer