The Woman in the Lake, also known as The Possessed in English, is a surreal and haunting mystery set in an isolated resort town in the cold, windy off-season. An imaginative writer who feels depressed and empty seeks rest and possibly inspiration in the bucolic setting and a young woman named Tilde.
Much of the film takes place inside of the writer's head and he imagines various scenarios of "what if" with only the barest clues about the woman's suicide. The atmosphere is suggestive of ghost stories and gothic horror, updated to the mid-20th century rather than a Victorian setting. La donna del lago is considered a proto-giallo but frankly I find it a bit of a stretch.
There's no black gloved killer nor gore, in fact very little blood is shed other than a reoccurring vision of Tilde's slashed throat. Sexual exploitation is kept to a tasteful minimum of suggested erotica rather than explicit nudity, and while the architecture of the old hotel and visual cinematography share something in common with gialli, it's not a feature that is specific to the sub-genre and is an aspect found in many horror films throughout the 1960s and 70s.
Other than this being a mystery with a femme fatale, I see very little in common with any giallo I'm familiar with. In fact, there is no punchy twist ending, instead The Possessed suggests strongly that it's just an Italian arthouse flick that leaves the viewer with more questions than answers.
Much of the film takes place inside of the writer's head and he imagines various scenarios of "what if" with only the barest clues about the woman's suicide. The atmosphere is suggestive of ghost stories and gothic horror, updated to the mid-20th century rather than a Victorian setting. La donna del lago is considered a proto-giallo but frankly I find it a bit of a stretch.
There's no black gloved killer nor gore, in fact very little blood is shed other than a reoccurring vision of Tilde's slashed throat. Sexual exploitation is kept to a tasteful minimum of suggested erotica rather than explicit nudity, and while the architecture of the old hotel and visual cinematography share something in common with gialli, it's not a feature that is specific to the sub-genre and is an aspect found in many horror films throughout the 1960s and 70s.
Other than this being a mystery with a femme fatale, I see very little in common with any giallo I'm familiar with. In fact, there is no punchy twist ending, instead The Possessed suggests strongly that it's just an Italian arthouse flick that leaves the viewer with more questions than answers.