Tenebrae (1982)
Sub-Genre- Giallo
In Attendance- Me, Machine, Geo, and Michelle.
Cast Members of Note- Tony Franciosa, Daria Nicoldi, and the 80's hotness of Ania Pieroni.
What's it about?- An American writer heads to Rome where he drives someone insane enough to begin killing people, as a sort of tribute to his books. Of course, it's the sluts that have to go first, because in Italy, slutty girls are evil and must be made to pay for their sexy sins.
A few lesbians and a nosy teenage girl later, and the killer is ready to move on to John Saxon! Now who would kill John Saxon? I mean really? He's always so likable in his films... More murders ensue, including the murder of the murderer, which makes it clear that there is more than one murderer?
Whatever.
The Good- Argento knows how to do Giallo; The mystery, the black glove, the excessive violence towards women, the naked chicks, the crazy music, the camera work, the gore, the slow and plodding plot... The man simply delivers.
Many horror fans will lambaste me for saying that Tenebrae isn't one of Argento's best; it's certainly good, but falls well behind Suspiria, Deep Red, Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Inferno, and Phenomena on my faves list. Maybe the fact that it's more brightly lit than his other movies, or that it's more of a detective story in a sense that threw me for a loop...
Still, it's a great piece of Giallo that should be seen.
The Bad- Why do people in these films snoop around when they should be running or grabbing a weapon?
The Downright Horrendous- Just once, can an Italian Horror flick be completely coherent, and not leave me scratching my head about something at the end?
The Gory- Plenty of blood and gore to go around in this one, but I don't agree that this was his bloodiest film, as it is widely described.
The Naked- Boobs and butts galore! The Italians are always good like that.
Best Line- "Pervert... Filthy Slimy Pervert!"
What did we learn?- Books can kill, so don't read if you don't have to. Also, Italian killers ALWAYS wear black gloves... maybe that's why they hate books? Don't ask me.
Rating- C+ Not one of Argento's best in my opinion, Tenebrae is still a solid effort that shows off the trappings of a true Giallo film quite well. I'd rent it first to see if it's your cup of tea, but definitely see it in any case.
Final Thoughts- Ania Pieroni was one of the hottest horror chicks of the 80's... if not ever.
