HorrorSpeak---Terror Awaits You in Every Forum!!!!: Italian Horror

OK here goes I have to agree with whoever suggested Nightmare Castle. That's a good mid 60's Italian Gothic Horror. After you've made it through the major players there is still plenty to see. Some good, and some down right horrible.
I would say that the penultimate Italian horror after seeing the flicks of Argento, Fulci, and Bava would be Ruggero Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust.

Deodato also made Jungle Holocaust and House on the Edge of the Park also worth seeing.

Michele Soavi was a minor player in early 80's Italian horror frequently working as an A.D. for Argento, and an actor for Fulci amongst others. His films are some of the best late period Italian horror films and they include Stagefright, The Sect, The Church, and the classic Cemetery Man (Dellamorte Dellamore)

I would then look into Lamberto Bava who did some really decent stuff with Demons, Demons 2, and A Blade in the Dark. Demons is an awesome party film, and the sequel while not nearly up to par with its predecessor is still fun.

Umberto Lenzi is the director of what is generally considered the first film in the Cannibal cycle "Man from Deep River," which is actually quite good. He also directed the lesser, yet amusing, "Nightmare City." He is most well known for doing the notorious (and in my personal opinion notoriously awful) Cannibal Ferox.

Those are the best name directors you'll see in Italian horror. Then there are other more well known names who tend to make giant piles of crap among them are....

Bruno Mattei who made the films "Hell of the Living Dead," "Rats : Nights of Terror," "Women's Prison Massacre," and "Cruel Jaws (an pseudo-Italian Jaws 5)." Hell of the Living Dead is one of the most absolute worst zombie films ever made. It has a derivative plot filled with bad acting, bad effects, and the worst footage National Geographic could have rejected from one of its nature docs. The other films are equally as bad.

Luigi Cozzi is the director of "Alien Contamination," and of the "Black Cat" (A sort of third entry into Argento's mother's trilogy), Contamintion is known for some decent gory set pieces and for copping the plot and lead actor from Fulci's "Zombi 2."

I can't recall the director, but worth checking out even considering its absolute badness is "Burial Ground : Night of Terror."

I would pretty much avoid Joe D'Amato's Anthropophagus, although I may be wrong, but he directed a pretty decent flick Beyond the Darkness (Buio Omega), but I can't remember if that was him or not.

Avoid anything Italian and labeled Zombi after Fulci's Zombi 2. Even Fulci's Zombi 3 isn's very good which probably more or less stems from the fact that is was a paycheck film from Fulci, which shares a directors credit with Bruno Mattei. Zombi 4 :After Death, and Zombi 5 : Killing Birds are awful and completely forgettable, however if you count Jess Franco's Virgin Among the Living Dead as Zombi 4 (as it was titled in some regions) then it could be considered somewhat good, Franco isn't Italian though, and therefore not really a part of this discussion.

I would check out Zombi Holocaust aka Dr. Butcher M.D. alot of people hate it, I enjoy it. Chas Balun once said in one of his books something like "It has Cannibal and Zombies, it was freakin' awesome) the opening sequence is contributed by Street Trash writer, and Document of the Dead director "Roy Frumkes.

Since you've probaby seen a good deal of the Unholy Trilogy (Fulci, Argento, Bava) I would recommend that you check out some of their non-horror of lesser known works which are sometimes just as good.

From Fulci check out
Cat in the Brain
4 of the Apocalypse
The Psychic
Conquest
Beatrice Cenci
Lizard in a Woman's Skin
Don't Torture the Duckling

From Bava check out
Rabid Dogs
Four Times the Night
5 Dolls for an August Moon
Roy Colt and Winchester Jack
and
Danger : Diabolik

Argento only made one foray out of horror the "Five Days of Milan," and is has rarely been seen outside of it's regular theatrical run. I don't know what its like, and cannot really commment on it, however, if you stumble across it PM me I'm curious to see it .

Enjoy the films.