By ROB FREESE
Husband and wife team Fabio and Luna Chimenti are film journalists writing for Italy’s long-running genre magazine Nocturno, which celebrated its 50th year in 2025. They joined the magazine in 2019 and quickly rose to become the publication’s top film reviewers, specializing in Italian cinema.
Their “Nocturno Cinema” column provides special features and behind-the-scenes content for Italian indie/underground horror films released on DVD and Blu-ray. The Chimentis also regularly collaborate with CG Entertainment (formerly Cecchi Gori), a production and distribution company that boasts an immense catalog of cult classics and limited editions, all essential releases for film fans. In 2018, they executive-produced Don’t R.I.P. Vol. 2, a collection of seven short films selected from hundreds of entries from an online contest, providing emerging young directors with an opportunity to share their vision with an audience.
They have served as radio commentators, film experts and jurors at various Italian film festivals. For years, they ran the largest VHS and DVD rental store in Livorno, a port city in the region of Tuscany. Because of changing tax laws, they no longer rent films but still sell them and offer an inventory of all genres to choose from.
More recently, Fabio and Luna have been reaching fans worldwide through their Instagram account, which boasts more than 55,000 film fanatic followers just like them.
Luna and Fabio Chimenti
While they are die-hard horror fans, they also enjoy thrillers, noir, drama and gangster films such as La Haine (Hate), Eastern Promises, City of God and The Warriors. Their earliest horror influences include the masters of fear, Dario Argento, Mario Bava, Lucio Fulci and Alfred Hitchcock. Fabio, in particular, grew up in a family that loved horror so much that on the evening of their honeymoon, his parents attended a screening of George Romero’s Zombi (Dawn of the Dead).
Because Italian cinema, especially horror, is close to the hearts of so many fans worldwide, I thought Fabio and Luna could share their perspective and experiences, particularly in how it began changing in the late ’80s and early ’90s, transitioning from giant screens to television as well as sharing the culture of Italian horror fandom.
As they do with everything in life, from writing about cinema to running their businesses to raising a family, Fabio and Luna responded collaboratively to my questions.
What caused the Italian film industry to begin closing down in the 1980s, sending films to television rather than theaters?
Unfortunately, what moves the world is money, especially cinema, which is a veritable industry that requires it. Although we shouldn’t necessarily demonize television, which has been a showcase for many directors who couldn’t find space in theaters, the experience of sitting in a movie theater is, of course, unique and inimitable.
For years, Italy was a major exporter of films worldwide. What happened?
Italy exported incredible films as long as there were directors capable of creating a global work with a universal language, but also a distinctive touch. Over time, the masters disappeared, production funds disappeared, funding went to completely opposite genres, and everything ground to a halt.
Did this result in Italian TV being full of blood and violence?
For a while, it certainly was, but then comedy took over and horror disappeared.
Did Italian films generally face strict censorship before going to theaters?
In Italy, censorship was very strong. Several films were even withdrawn from theaters and then re-released in a more toned-down version, with absurd cuts and a rating for minors under 18. One above all, Don’t Torture a Duckling, by the maestro Lucio Fulci, was cut severely.
Did home video fill the void for the bloody cinematic nourishment Italian horror fans craved?
Of course. Consider that you’re talking to two people who were the owners of Livorno’s oldest video rental store, and today, we still boast a catalog with over 16,000 titles. Video stores in Italy were mostly privately owned and independent, not owned by major franchises like Blockbuster. Here, you could find unimaginable and unobtainable films – real gems for lovers of gore, slasher, and splatter – in short, films where violence and blood flowed in abundance.
Dario Argento’s “SUSPIRIA” (1977)
Were the classic Italian genre films of the 1980s successful in Italy, or was their success primarily due to their international distribution?
Absolutely, those Italian films are considered cult classics today and cornerstones of the genre. They were once despised, mistreated, criticized, and considered trash. Fortunately, thanks to the foreign market, they have always enjoyed great success.
What was the cinema like when you were growing up?
The single-screen cinema was a unique and inimitable experience, just like a dream. Multiplexes didn’t exist; each theater had its own programming and film genres. The seats were really small and uncomfortable, but despite this, everything took on a different flavor. As teenagers, we saw a lot of films in the theater, but among the standouts I’d say The Matrix, The Blair Witch Project, American History X, 28 Days Later, Saw, Donnie Darko, Hollow Man, The Others, American Psycho, Battle Royale, all of Dario Argento’s films from 1998 onward, and many others.
What’s the state of physical media in Italy today?
Of course, even in Italy, physical media is dying and its days are numbered. Only the hardcore true fans will continue to buy physical media, perhaps in limited editions like CG Entertainment does, to get something unique. For the rest, streaming will be the only option.
Are North American horror films still shown on Italian screens?
It can happen, but little or nothing gets into theaters, and to be shown, they still have to be films by prominent directors or with very famous actors.
What kind of horror films are being produced in Italy today?
Nowadays in Italy, mostly horror films are produced by indie production houses and not even pure horror but rather thrillers/dramas disguised as horror.
“YOU DIE” (2018)
In 2020, I saw a fantastic Italian horror film called You Die.
I think that was from 2018. We were among the first to write a review of You Die in the magazine Nocturno, where we praised this enjoyable Italian film.
Are there any new genre films, current or upcoming, that you’re excited about, or that fans around the world should watch for?
Certainly, first of all, we recommend you find the film We Were Children. We have just talked about it with a nice review that you can find for free here. It is a tense and distressing thriller made in Italy. Another recently released film that has thrilled us is The Forbidden City, available on Netflix, and Mimì the Prince of Darkness, another Italian horror drama, but appreciated all over the world.
Speaking of genre films, I’m incredibly curious about the recent Diabolik trilogy by the Manetti Brothers.
Let’s start by saying that for us, Diabolik is the one and only inimitable film directed by the master Mario Bava, so making a comparison is very difficult. We can tell you that the Manetti Brothers saga is not bad at all, but they are directors who rarely manage to land overseas, precisely because their direction is independent and therefore intended for a predominantly Italian audience.
Any final thoughts?
We conclude by thanking all our readers and supporters who write to us every day, making us feel their presence and their deep affection. Anyone with film-related questions can message us on our official Instagram profile: fanmillebollevideo.
Thank you all, and remember that cinema speaks one universal language: Art is passion, love and sharing, and we can all continue to make it live.
