Rachael Nisbet is an Edinburgh based freelance film critic specialising in Italian genre cinema. She has contributed essays, liner notes audio visual essays and commentaries to releases by home distribution companies such as Arrow Video, 88 Films, Vinegar Syndrome and Indicator. She has also made appearances on documentaries such as All Eyes on Lenzi: The Life and Times of the Italian Exploitation Titan, The Prince of Plasma: The Giannetto De Rossi Story, The Emmanuelle Effect and Franco-Philes: Musings on Madrid's B-Movie Maverick. Her first published essay on the work of Dario Argento was featured in Troy Howarth's Murder by Design: The Unsane Cinema of Dario Argento in 2021.
Rachael co-hosts the Fragments of Fear podcast alongside Peter Jilmstad - the show is dedicated to the discussion and appreciation of giallo cinema with a slant towards the genre’s lesser celebrated titles and is available via all reputable podcast providers. Rachael has also guested on podcasts for Supporting Characters, Screaming Queenz and KPBS San Diego.
Rachael's passion is bringing new perspectives to cult and genre cinema with a particular interest towards highlighting the role of production design in film. Outside of her love for Italian genre cinema, she enjoys endlessly rewatching Alan Partridge, listening to French House and trawling charity shops for 80s design & architecture magazines.
This site.
At present, this site will primarily consist of posts on the visuals of cinema but will shortly be expanded to film criticism. For my writings on cinema, please refer to my Italian genre film blog - Hypnotic Crescendos (link in the bar above).
Get in Touch.
If you have a project that you think I'd be an ideal fit for, then I'd love to hear from you. Please see my portfolio tab above. You can enquire about my rates and availability via my contact form below or via the email link at the top left of the site.