Blood and Black Lace. 89+ min. Mario Bava, dist. by MVDvisual, www.mvdb2b.com. 2016. Blu-ray UPC 760137720690. $39.95.

Death Walks Twice: Two Films by Luciano Ercoli. 208+ min. Luciano Ercoli, dist. by MVDvisual, www.mvdb2b.com. 2016. Blu-ray UPC 760137827597. $69.95.

Killer Dames: Two Gothic Chillers by Emilio P. Miraglia. 202+ min. Emilio P. Miraglia, dist. by MVDvisual, www.mvdb2b.com. 2016. Blu-ray UPC 760137843498. $69.95.

The Perfume of the Lady in Black. 104+ min. Francesco Barilli, dist. by Raro Video, www.rarovideousa.com. 2016. Blu-ray UPC 816018011002. $29.95.

What Have You Done to Solange? 102+ min. Massimo Dallamano, dist. by MVDvisual, www.mvdb2b.com. 2016. Blu-ray UPC 760137802891. $39.95. F/Horror

Giallo films, a genre originating in Italy, are an evolutionary step between the classic murder mystery and the American slasher film craze of the 1970s and 1980s. As with murder mysteries, they often have interesting and solvable crimes that a careful clue hunter can adequately sleuth, but visually the emphasis is on presenting shocking and unusual murders, with some emphasis on psychological deviancy on the part of the killer. Bava’s Blood and Black Lace is the proto­typical giallo. Here, the models who work the runways at the Cristiana Haute Couture fashion house are being gruesomely killed one by one by a masked assailant with motives that no one can ascertain. This seminal piece of giallo filmmaking brings exceptionally staged murder sequences together with solid, traditional murder mystery elements that should satisfy mystery fans. Dallamano’s What Have You Done to Solange?, the terrifying tale of a student on a romantic boat trip with her married teacher who witnesses a schoolmate killed on the shore, replaces the graphic murder with the red herrings and false leads of a traditional mystery but tips the scale back toward giallo territory by making the murders among the most ghastly in concept without showing a preponderance of viscera and keeping the mystery complex. Two dual-film sets offer further variations on the giallo theme. In Miraglia’s Killer Dames twosome, both films include strong supernatural overtones familiar to mystery fans who love sinister old dark houses. The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave deals with a wife who may have returned from the grave to kill her psychotic husband, while in The Red Queen Kills Seven Times, sisters try to avoid a family curse that says that one sister will kill six innocent people before finally killing her sibling. In the Death Walks Twice pair, director Ercoli stretches the formula in a more crime and police procedural direction. In Death Walks on High Heels, an exotic dancer is doggedly pursued by a killer who believes she has the jewel stash of her late father. In Death Walks at Midnight, a fashion model believes she witnessed a murder in the apartment opposite hers while under the influence of drugs for a photo shoot. Finally, in The Perfume of the Lady in Black, Sylvia (Mimsy Farmer) is a chemist who is haunted by childhood memories. As social pressure on her increases, she begins to see visions, such as a little girl or an earthy, sensuous woman, and she starts to lose her grip on what is real. Director Barilli pushes the giallo further from the typical expectations and boldly explores insanity and psychology while delivering chills. The ending is most shocking and unexpected and will satisfy even jaded fans of horror and mystery. VERDICT This astounding menagerie of restored giallo captures much of the breadth and depth of the style. If you buy nothing else for your patrons, offer them a scent of Perfume; it’s the best of this bunch.—Douglas Rednour, Georgia State Univ. Libs., Atlanta