Phenomena (a.k.a. Creepers) 1986
Sub-Genre- Giallo
In Attendance- Me, Eryn, The Vanilla Gorilla, and Nick.
What's it about?- Snooty American schoolgirl hottie, Jennifer Corvino (Jennifer Connelly was older than me when this was made, so I can call her hot and it's not creepy!), is shipped off to a Swiss boarding school by daddy, and good old fashioned Giallo goodness is unleashed!
Almost no one likes her at school, mainly because she's creepy; she can talk to, and command insects to do her bidding; She dates a crippled guy (the ever wonderful Donald Pleasance) who has an insane chimp as a pet; she sleepwalks in the middle of random acid trips; and she's a bit of a snotty bitch.
She does make one friend though; a strange foreign girl who chain smokes and wants to have sex with Jennifer's dad. Unfortunately, that doesn't last very long, as a killer who is knocking off random schoolgirls makes her pay. Pay for what, you may ask? I have no idea, and I've seen this thing 5 times. Stop asking.
Along the way, Jennifer gets into all sorts of zany adventures; she plays with bugs, falls into a pit of maggots and body parts, forces herself to vomit, takes Tae-Bo lessons, plays with a laser guided chimp, and teams up with a fly to track down the killers stash of corpses at the urging of her wheeled-pedophile boyfriend. I wont ruin the ending here, or the 19 twists that wouldn't make sense even if I did, but suffice it to say that mongoloids and bees aren't friends. Also, fire spreads really easy over water. Also, why was the killer killing in the first place!?!
The Good- Dario Argento is a Master of Horror, without doubt. Most Gialllo/Italian Horror flicks make little sense, but they don't need to; they're so packed with atmosphere, wild color schemes, creepy and grandiose music, and gore, that they make you forget how confused you are. Argento does all of this better than any other. If you can manage to take these kind of films for what they are, and not demand perfection, then you'll be pleased. If not, then go rent Scream.
Phenomena manages to keep the tension at a good level, and delivers on the gore. The use of a chimp and swarms of insects puts a neat twist on the genre, and makes the movie creepier.
Donald Pleasance is a horror god. The Halloween Movies, Price of Darkness, Escape From New York... he always delivers, and manages to raise the level of some less than great movies just by his presence. He shines in this one as well. It's a shame he's gone.
Of course, Jennifer Connelly makes this one instantly better. I wont dwell on her too much here, you can see our tribute to her in the Horror's Hottie's section; but she kicked ass in this one.
The Bad- As with most Euro horror fare, especially that of the Italian kind, plot holes are abound, and it's chalked with confusion aplenty. I feel like saying "Ahoy" next, as that would somehow make this section quirky. Nevermind.
The Downright Horrendous- This kid!
The Gory- The insects add another level of gross to Phenomena, especially with the maggot pit scene. There are plenty of good old fashioned Giallo gore moments here, the best of them coming via straight razor at the films end.
What did we learn?- Don't ever piss off a chimp.
Rating- A- Standard Italian Horror shortcomings aside, this is a must own for any horror fan, especially fans of 80's horror or Giallo.
Fun facts- Giallo means yellow; Argento's daughter, Asia, is hot; JC's son is named after Stellan Skarsgard; JC auditioned for Firestarter and Say Anything, but didn't get the gigs.
Final Thoughts- Maybe the hottest chick of ever...
