#13 - Tenebrae (1982)
(dir. Dario Argento)
An American writer visiting Rome becomes entangled in a series of murders by a killer who seems obsessed with his latest novel. This film works as both a really solid giallo on it's own, and also as a sort of meta-commentary on the genre as well. The author is accused of being misogynistic, a criticism often leveled at the giallo genre as a whole (and for good reason - it's hard to deny some misogyny in a genre that basically always involves scantily clad women being brutally murdered). Argento is responding to his own critics here, although the message of the film gets a little muddled - despite claiming that he doesn't hate women and that life doesn't imitate art, the conclusion of the film seems to imply the author is doing just that. Gialli never really make a ton of sense though, so I can't really blame this one for being a little unclear too.
Anyway, this is a pretty great giallo, maybe not one of Argento's personal best, but certainly top tier for the genre. The mystery is a pretty good one, the camerawork is fantastic (especially a really cool long crane shot), the sets are typically baroque and colorful, the music rules (the soundtrack, like many of Argento's film, is done by the prog-rock band Goblin), and everything is stylish as hell. The new blu-ray that just came out from Synapse Films is particularly good looking, with all the appropriate colors popping out like crazy (especially red, naturally).
If you like giallo films, this one is essential. It's not quite as good as some of Argento's earlier films like Deep Red or The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, but it is still up there with the best the genre has to offer. Highly recommended.
Comments
Post a Comment