Black magick, statist oppression, non-localized consciousness, catalepsy. A giallo revision of the 70's paranoid thriller, set after the collapse of Prague Spring. It unfolds like a downbeat psychedelic spy novel, with all the flowers not gone but crushed underfoot. In both texture and thematics, Short Night Of Glass Dolls feels like it has either absorbed elements from or evolved parallel to the Czech New Wave. A cold air of inevitable, stale sadism, a ruling class bored with its own decadence but unwilling to let go, a policy of unyielding, reflexive sacrifice.

A mysterious disappearance, Black Magic, and political unrest via expertly conjured symbolism. Aldo Lado’s Short Night of the Glass Dolls is a slow burn excercise in dread that doesn’t rely on the usual giallo tropes. No black gloves or razor blades, no lurking psychopath drenched in black, just pure mystery with one hell of a framing device... a man waking up on a slab in the morgue— unable to move a muscle as he begins to piece together just how he got there.

Naturally he has a deadline to try and figure out just what led him to this mindfuck of a position, culminating in an ending that pulls no punches and isn’t afraid in anyway whatsoever to mess with you. The final freeze frame image is my exact reaction anytime I revisit this gem.

Ignoring the unfortunate anti-communist sentiments, you can find surprising beauty in the yellow, brown, and grey of this film, contrasted against deep shadows and sparse light. The conceit is executed in a slightly corny way, alleviating what would otherwise be terrifying, but the ending makes up for that with sheer stomach-churning doom.

October count: 2/31

*italian voice* Mamma mia that’sa spicy gialli

Bureaucracies and privileged classes will do anything to maintain their power structures; the free press is a perennial obstacle and threat. We must assume that this remains true in movies in which earnest journalists never seem to actually write a damn word.

This is a great film that would be even better if it were about 20 percent shorter, particularly streamlining its final third, when the reveals begin tumbling out.

Very surprising Twilight Time put out Short Night of Glass Dolls a British set giallo-esque film..a non-linear mystery focused around Gregory a reporter who is found "supposedly" dead in a plaza at the beginning of the film. However, Gregory only appears dead but is conscious and with no visible signs of life. As Gregory recalls the disappearance of his girlfriend and the puzzle unfolds which only gets more stranger, psychedelic, and surreal. I won't spoil the ending but it hit me like a sucker punch. The cinematography is brilliant and the film is well made. I don't think this movie is well-known in the giallo genre..I hope this release will allow more people to discover this gem.

A slow burn of suspense. It was refreshing to see something like this as the story isn’t your usual typical story. If you’re looking for a movie with blood and gore search elsewhere. It’s definitely worth watching though especially if you’re a fan of the Hitchcock suspense slowly building up to the final scene.

Wait, you’re tellin me that this guy can’t remember ANYTHING out of chronological order?

Super solid, underrated giallo with the blood of a paranoid thriller flowing through it. The ending is an absolute terrifying banger.

The film is granted a great deal of excitement by its frame story of a seemingly-dead man trying to recall how he ended up in the morgue and to regain his signs of life before the doctors give up on him. Every time a section in flashback begins, we're first shown images that will be given context before we return to the present, which does a lot to build anticipation.
However, by the end, things aren't tied together very neatly, and the political metaphor seems distracting and shallow. But despite the stumble at the end and the lack of any real menace, the film has enough neat tricks up its sleeve to keep things interesting.

Necessary rewatch in order to realize the crazy critique on Communism. The script is so specifically political and European, it's hard not to make the head spin.

Yet literally the ending is paid-off in the most head-spinning way. There's a real beautiful amorality here, as everything - the main character, the police, the government - seems corrupted to the core.