Cosmic Films Acquires U.S. Rights to Director’s Cuts of Giallo Thrillers 'Deep Sleep' and 'Francesca'
Cosmic Films has acquired the U.S. VOD rights to the newly reworked Director’s Cut versions of Luciano Onetti’s cult giallo thrillers Deep Sleep and Francesca.
Both films, originally released to international acclaim, have been substantially reworked by Onetti and will debut in the United States in their new Director’s Cut forms for the first time.
A psychological giallo told almost entirely from the killer’s perspective, Deep Sleep (Sonno Profondo) traps viewers inside the mind of a sadistic murderer whose carefully constructed world begins to unravel after receiving an anonymous envelope containing photographs of his latest crime.
As the hunter becomes the hunted, the film descends into a tense game of surveillance, obsession, and paranoia, blending classic giallo iconography with stark arthouse minimalism.
Meanwhile, Francesca unfolds as a gothic giallo mystery steeped in literary horror and theological symbolism. Fifteen years after the disappearance of a celebrated writer’s daughter, a series of ritualistic murders begins targeting the city’s most impure citizens.
Each crime scene is marked by a quote from Dante’s Divine Comedy, leaving detectives to decipher the killer’s increasingly symbolic trail.
According to Onetti, the new versions represent far more than simple revisions.
“These Director’s Cuts are not minor revisions,” said Onetti. “The films have been completely reworked with new editing, grading, music, and structural changes. I removed the artificial vintage filters to allow the cinematography to breathe more naturally while preserving the atmosphere that defined the originals. They feel closer to the films I would make today.”
The Director’s Cut of Francesca also arrives with an additional stamp of genre pedigree, as the film is presented by legendary Italian filmmaker Aldo Lado (Short Night of Glass Dolls, Who Saw Her Die?), placing the film within the broader tradition of Italian genre cinema.
Both Director’s Cuts are new and have not yet been released anywhere in the world.
With the acquisition, Cosmic Films plans to introduce the definitive versions of Deep Sleep and Francesca to U.S. audiences, continuing the company’s focus on curated genre cinema and international horror.
