"Giallo" is Italian for "yellow." In the context of this film, Giallo is the name of a black-gloved serial killer with a penchant for torturing and disfiguring beautiful women. "Giallo" also refers to an Italian film genre that combines crime fiction and mystery with elements of horror and eroticism. The term "giallo" was originally coined to describe the pulp fiction whodunit novels first published by the Mondadori Publishing House in 1929, because of their yellow covers. Film versions of these novels began emerging in the 1960s, and one of the biggest names in Giallo films was Italian film director Dario Argento, who is also directing this film.