Phenomena (1984) review

(8/10)

This is one of Argento's works that's more different from his usual style. It still has his essence in it, but it really seems to flow with its release time in here. Either way, it's still a great film.

PLOT:Jennifer (Jennifer Connelly) has just moved far away to attend a special school for girls, but she's not like other young girls. Aside from her dad being famous, she has the unusual power to control insects and also sleepwalks intensely. All of the others girls make fun of her, but a famous insect scientist, Dr. John McGregor (Donald Pleaseance). If that's not enough, there's a killer on the loose in town, slashing away at tourists and young girls. Jennifer and Dr. McGregor both find clues to the murders and think insects could lead them to the bodies, so now they must give it a try. It's a good plot executed very well.



ACTING:The performances in here were pretty great. Jennifer Connelly was never the best actress, but she played a very great part in here as the sensitive bug-telepathic, Jennifer. Donald Pleaseance also played a great part as the bug scientist, Dr. McGregor; he recited his lines very well. The other shiners would be Daria Nicolodi as Mrs. Bruckner, Dalila De Lazzaro as the Headmistress, and Patrick Bauchau as Inspector Gieger.

SCORE:The score and soundtrack was very diverse and well done with the likes of Goblin, Claudio Simonetti, Iron Maiden, and Motorhead among others. The score was very creepy and unique, as usual, and the soundtrack consisted of gritty, heavy metal to set the violent mood. For this aspect, I believe the film matches its time period of release very well.

EFFECTS:The blood splatters widely in this film of Argento's. The blood is still bright red and realistic as it's always been. There's a good bit of violence in this horror film as well. There's also credit to be given to the effects used for the insects and how all the right shots were done on camera. It makes me wonder how they did it.



OTHER CONTENT:This Argento horror film really takes the cake for his works in the '80s. Everything from the music, to the actors, and even to the mood of the film just screams '80s. However, this doesn't fully distract from Argento's style. This film was pretty scary, very suspenseful, unique, and just something new for Argento. The only flaw I can really find in this film is that it contains a few cheesy moments that the '80s is barred to hold, including the ending. The ending was pretty great overall, but the twist with the chimpanzee was pretty cheesy to me. It doesn't distract from much, though, for Argento's signature style and editing is style purified in this film.

OVERALL,a great Argento horror with a good plot, great acting, creepy score, heavy soundtrack, Argento blood effects, worthy insect effects, scary moments, lots of suspense, uniqueness, great Argento editing, and just something new for him to work with, but it's kind of cheesy, ending and all.

Tenebre (1982) review

(7/10)

This Argento work redeemed itself from the near-mess that Inferno left behind. It's much creepier with a better plot and vision.

PLOT:Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa) is a best-selling author who has just release his latest work, named Tenebrae, which describes a few murders. His fame is rising steady until someone starts to murder real people influenced by his book. Now he must try and figure out who it is with his colleagues, Anne (Daria Nicolodi) and Detective Germani (Giuliano Gemma), as well as others. It's a good plot executed very well.



ACTING:The performances in here are pretty great. Anthony Franciosa played a great part as the misunderstood author, Peter Neal. I think his final scenes were the best. Daria Nicolodi also played a brilliant job; she's been in a several other of Argento's films and I can see why. Her final scenes in this film were also the best in here. The other shiners would be John Saxon as Bullmer, John Steiner as Cristiano Berti, and Christian Borromeo as Gianni.

SCORE:The score is done this time by Cladio Simonetti, and he does a great job composing creepy themes for the film. It reminds me much of Goblin and the unique score they do. I rather liked it.

EFFECTS:The blood flows freely in this Argento flick. As the body count stacks up, the blood flows further; each kill gets bloodier and bloodier. I was impressed by how violent some of the kills in this one were, but I enjoyed how he did each of them, especially the last few deaths. Argento really did pull himself up from Inferno.



OTHER CONTENT:This Argento work is actually a really good one considering it followed Inferno. This one's much creepier with its atmosphere and has a more visionistic approach to it. Some of the cutscenes/dream sequences along with the kills were very much a part of Argento's unique vision; I really appreciated it. It even kept the twist at the end that Argento usually has in each film, except this one was a lot more spread out. It still lacked in scariness and a bit of substance, but it was good overall.

OVERALL,a good Argento horror with a good plot, great acting, creepy score, impressive kill/blood effects, a creepier atmosphere, a more visionistic approach, and a set of Argento twists, but it lacks a strong scare factor and some substance.

Inferno (1980) review

(6/10)

This is the weakest of Argento's films that I have seen up to now. It's still very suspenseful with his usual style, but compared to his past, it's not as elaborate or developed.

PLOT:Two girls in both New York and Rome named Rose (Irene Miracle) and Sara (Eleonora Giorgi) both have come across and began studying a book called "The Three Mothers", which tells the story of three sisters that ruled supernaturally with power in several different parts of the world (one being the ballet school in "Suspiria"). Rose sends a letter to her brother majoring in musicology, Mark (Leigh McCloskey), to come and visit. However, when he arrives in New York, she's nowhere to be found, and now it's up to him to uncover the mystery of her disappearance and of the three sisters. It's a good plot executed kind of lazily.



ACTING:The performances in here are pretty great, I'd say. Leigh McCloskey played a pretty solid pary as Mark, our main character. It wasn't spectacular, but he did a pretty great job. Irene Miracle also played a pretty great leading part as Rose, his sister. The other shiners would be Eleonora Giorgi as Sara, Daria Nicolodi as Countess Elise, Alida Valli as Carol, Feodor Chaliapin Jr. as Varelli, Sacha Pitoeff as Kazanian, and Gabriele Lavia as Carlo.

SCORE:The score was of the usual horror goodness by Argento's favorite, Goblin. It was creepy, unnerving, and got the job done.

EFFECTS:The effects were also of Argento's standard. The blood effects looked similar to what they did in his past works, and he also used the alternating light color as he did in "Suspiria" to add creepy effect. These worked as well as they could for a film like this.



OTHER CONTENT:As I said before, this is the weakest of Argento's works that I have seen. The plot's not as developed, it jumbles up, and it's not as scary. Compared to his other works, the plot for this film is just underdeveloped. I spotted a couple minor holes and due to its development, it was also really jumbled. There was no solid plotline, so you spent most of your time confused and guessing who was who and what was going on. Also, it wasn't as scary. The creepy factor was the same, but it only had one or two good scares as compared to the likes of "Suspiria" or "Deep Red", which were abundant in them. This film does have a lot of flaws, but it's still very suspenseful and keeps true to Argento's basic style.

OVERALL,an ok Argento horror with a good plot, great acting, unnerving score, Argento effects, lots of suspense, and Argento's usual style, but the plot was underdeveloped, things got jumbled up, and it wasn't as scary as it should have been.

Suspiria (1977) review

(9/10)

This is the film that Argento seems to be most famous for, and I can see why. It's full of suspense, extreme scares, and has a compelling story.

PLOT:Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) has just moved from America to a big ballet school overseas. However, she has come at a pretty bad time. She sees a student (Eva Axen) running away from school and mumbling some nonsensical things, and later that night, that student is murdered gruesomely. Suzy thinks next to nothing of it, and even makes a friend named Sara (Stefania Cosini). As soon as she gets there, she notices things aren't right. From maggots falling from the ceiling to poison in here food, among a few other disappearances, things don't seem natural here at all. After a while, Suzy begins to learn that this may have been a meeting place for witches for a long time. It's a great plot executed quite well.



ACTING:The performances in this film are pretty great, I'd say. I've seen Jessica Harper in a few other movies after this (Phantom of the Paradise, Shock Treatment), but I have to say that she did pretty well for an early performance. She hasn't always been the best actress, but this role seems to have been written right for her. Other shiners would be Stefania Cosini as Sara, Eva Axen as Pat, Flavio Bucci as Daniel, Alida Valli as the Mistress, and Joan Bennet as Madame Blanc.

SCORE:The score was brilliantly done by Argento's choice band, Goblin. The score was very disturbing and enhanced the mood of each scene. It also let you know when something was about to happen. It was perfect for a horror and a suspense.

EFFECTS:The effects are traditionally that of Argento: bright, red blood after bizarre violence. The effects in here were used very well for scares, from the bloodflow to the eerie lighting; I loved the way he experimented with lighting in here by changing its colors frequently from red to blue to green. This one he really put his effects out there.



OTHER CONTENT:This Argento horror film was very good. The suspense builds up greatly and is released through either little, spooky scenes in which something is built further, or extreme, violent impulses which make this film all the more great. This one, unlike the past two I've reviewed, hasn't borrowed a lot plotwise. Suspiria exists within its own horror ecosystem and provides scares in its own way. This is truly a unique, horror landmark of the 70s. However, it also doesn't go as far out with its scares as the past two have. It does have a few extremely violent scenes, but it doesn't scare as bad as the past two have. Either way, it doesn't fall short from Argento's reputation any.

OVERALL,an awesome Argento horror film with a great plot, great performances, brilliant score by Goblin, Argento experimental effects, built-up suspese, extreme releases of horror, and a different plot build-up than the past two, but it wasn't as scary to me as that of Deep Red, etc.

Deep Red (1975) review

(9/10)

This chapter in Argento's collection is a very odd and complex one, but it is very scary and well-crafted. Only a few minor flaws throw it off its axis of greatness.

PLOT:Jazz pianist, Marcus Daly (David Hemmings), witnesses a murder through a window of paranormal psychic, Helga (Macha Meril), who sensed her murderer coming. Things don't seem so bad afterwards, despite the fact that he's shaky, but then strange things start to happen. The unforseen killer starts to kill any friend or aquaintance of Marc that may have a connection to this person's history or a key to the murders. Marcus then becomes enthralled by figuring it out and teams up with his drunk best friend, Carlo (Gabriele Lavia), photographer Gianna (Daria Nicolodi), and Helga's friend, Giordani (Glauco Mauri), to solve the murders and put this killer's history together. It's a good plot executed brilliantly.



ACTING:The performances in this film are pretty much outstanding overall. David Hemmings played a pretty respectable part as Marcus Daly, the main protagonist of the film, but he was not the only outstanding peformance in the film. The others, I guess I could call them shiners too, would be Gabriele Lavia as Carlo, Clara Calamai as Carlo's mother, Macha Meril as Helga, and Glauco Mauri as Giordani. I felt the passion in the parts of Helga and Giordani. The emotion the put into their parts was just brilliant. I could also feel the emotion in the other two, but it was more dramatic than outstanding. Either way, the performances this film holds are all worthy of praise.

SCORE:The score was very unique and well done by a band named Goblin. I had heard about these guys and how they helped Argento's films, and now I must say that I love their musical vision. They sound like a combination with horror score and futuristic rock, which go together rather well. Not to mention this film had a theme creepier than any other I've heard (the one with the child singing). That theme song just sends shivers down my spine. I hope to see much more good stuff from Goblin in Argento's next few films.



EFFECTS:The effects used in here were pretty great, as well as standard in Argento's style. Argento's typical bright-red blood color and harsh prop violence enhance this film's creepiness and shock, making it all the more scary.

CAMERAWORK:Dario Argento has a certain style for how he wants his films to be shot, and it is seen clearly in here through the different pans and zooms that go with the mood ever so well. He has a vision much like Kubrick with the camera.



OTHER CONTENT:This is one of the few horror films that scared me fairly well. It was very scary, well-crafted together, stylized, complex, odd, and mysterious. It was definitely like almost no other film; notice that I said almost. One of the few flaws this film has is being very similar in structure to that of his past work, The Bird With the Crystal Plumage. In both, a guy witnesses a murder and gets ensnared in the mystery, an overly important detail from the beginning comes back as a shocker to the main character and audience, a brief climax is shown before the mystery is solved, and the aquaintances of the main character are hunted and killed. It's very similar, but this film is more advanced in its plot twists and uniqueness. This one is way more of a horror than a slight thriller/horror combo. Also, I hated that the copy I had of the film shot the dialogue in both English and Italian dub, alternating at random times. That just became aggrivating after a while and along with the organization,  threw the film off of its axis of greatness.

OVERALL,an awesome Argento horror with a brillaint plot, outstanding performances, unique score by Goblin with an overtly creepy theme, classic Argento effects, Argento style camerawork, very scary moments, well-crafted plot elements, stylized aspects, complex plot twists, a good mystery, and an odd feeling, but it borrowed a bit from his past films, and the double-dubs threw the film off a miniscule bit.

The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (1969) review

(9/10)

This seems like a very fitting start for my Argento marathon, and not for the purpose of it being his debut. This film is creepy, stylized, well-thought out, and even terrifying to an extent.

PLOT:Sam (Tony Musante) is an American tourist in Italy with his girlfriend, Julia (Suzy Kendall). Things are going well until he witnesses a near-murder in a local art gallery. Trying to save the victim, he gets help. The cops later question him, and he tells them all he knows. He thinks that will be the end of the traumatic event, but he starts getting strange phone calls and murder attempts at him and his associates. Is the killer trying to get revenge? This spins him off deeper into the mystery of finding out more about the killer and his or her's motives. They find clues such as a painting that may be linked in, a voice persona, and even a strange clicking sound heard over the phone. Will Sam find the mystery out or die trying? It's a good plot executed greatly.



ACTING:The acting in here kind of fluctuates depending on the character, but it was fairly good for the most part. Tony Musante played a very good and convincing part as Sam, the investigating victim. His personality really drew the film all together. The other shiners would be Suzy Kendall as Julia, Enrico Maria Salerno as Morosoni, and Dario Argento as the black-jacketed killer (without face shots). I believe Eva Renzi played a decent part as Monica, but only in certain spots. She can come off as overacting in parts, but brilliant in others.

SCORE:The score was very well done by Ennio Moricone. It was very creepy and mystical all at the same time. It truly enhanced the creepy feeling of the film.

EFFECTS:They say Argento is known for his effects as well as his editing and violent scenes. The effects aren't shown very much, but of what is shown, they are pretty good. The blood looks real in the scenes it's shown.



OTHER CONTENT:This is a very fitting start to my horror film marathon and my Argento marathon. It's creepy, well thought-out, and full of style. There are certain moments in the film that send shivers down my spine, whether it be the effects of the atmosphere or the facial expressions the characters give off. Argento really knew how to pull this off. He also thought the mystery he wrote into the film out with every detail leading back to something. I appreciate that shock. Argento's editing is something else as well. His stylized violence, clean-cut editing, and overall direction of it all just comes together to make something unique. However, this did have a flaw I noticed. Most of its imperfections worked with the film, but one didn't; that one was the fact that Argento wrote in some non-essential, comedy relief-like parts which, to me, kind of interrupted the flow of the film. A couple examples would be the scene with the transvestite in the pervert line and the odd diet of the artist. These kind of deter from the film's flow and throw it off balance for just a little while. Aside from this, it's a very great horror film.

OVERALL,an awesome Argento horror film with a greatly-executed plot, good acting, very well done score, realistic effects, creepy atmosphere, well thought-out mystery, and clean-cut editing, but some comedic scenes seem to throw the film off of its terrifying axis for a few moments.