Something like a Phenomena
As an odd little teenage hamster, I would happily pontificate for hours on the delights of Italian horror. Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Ruggero Deodato and friends showed me a new side of cinema that opened up so much for me. The juxtaposition of innovative and beautiful cinematography with extreme violence was a fascinating mixture for a young horror fan. From Argento’s heavy use of lighting to enhance the look of his movies (In particular Suspiria and Inferno) to Deodato’s social conscience that resided within the horrific imagery that he would portray in his work. This is not to say that the aforementioned directors didn’t churn out their fair share of duffers, but when they were good they were very very good and when they were bad they were, well, horrid. The Giallo genre fascinated me; the Giallo’s took their name from the yellow covered crime paperbacks, popular in post war Italy (Giallo being Italian for yellow). The movies fused suspense, intricately crafted storylines and blood, lots and lots of blood. The soundtracks were almost always worth mentioning, with Argento favourites Goblin (Dawn of the Dead, Suspiria) providing more revolutionary music than Kraftwerk ever would. Four Flies on Grey Velvet features the most amazing score by Ennio Morricone, a psychedelic jazz nightmare. It has been a few years since I have watched some Argento (With the exception of his most recent offering The Three Mothers, which was awful) and so I was excited to obtain a collection of untouched Italian prints of all his older movies. Last night the marathon began with Phenomena. This is a great introduction to Argento for any of those who may be interested; it stars Donald Pleasence, a very young Jennifer Connelly and a monkey. Connelly is shipped off by her movie star father to a Swiss boarding school for girls. She is subject to suspicion and abuse and seeking refuge, finds a friend in Pleasence’s handicapped insect expert, who discovers her special gift with insects. She has a telepathic gift with allows her complete control over the insect world (whilst rocking some fabulous caterpillars over her eyes). There is a return to the Giallo theme, with a serial killer picking off people all around her, she makes plans to escape the school as she realises that she is the next target. Highly original in execution, the performances are great for a film of its genre. The soundtrack is amazing, with Goblin, Lemmy and Bill Wyman all contributing. I can honestly say that this is one of Argento’s most accessible and enjoyable features, seek, watch, and thank me afterwards. Saving the rest of the Argento movies for later in the week, next up was Detour, which is basically The Hills Have Eyes, except its celluloid discharge. Notable for the fact that it features teenagers coming back from a rave in ‘Cyber’ gear, a laughable late attempt to make the film trendy and cutting edge. Watching a pink haired Cyber Goth run about the desert in big black boots and a long cardie was amusing; the rest of the movie was not. Predictable, uninspired and boring, this is one to avoid when you inevitably see it for sale in the 2.99 section of your local DVD store. The final movie in this triple feature was the woeful Kinky Killers. It was neither kinky, nor featured any killing worthy of mention. I had more fun at the dentist last week. To sum up, acquire a copy of Phenomena and have some fun with a monkey, if you get offered the other two, punch the person who did so in the groin and call them a fool. Film Noir and more Argento reviews to come soon.
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