Tenebre - Special Edition

Great cinematography! Good Acting! Fun story! AND John Saxon! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Very good place to start looking at Argento's films, it still has some of his artsy style, but it's not a mish-mash of terrifying images like suspiria (which is considered his masterpiece and I must agree, but this one is just as good for different reasons), it's a very coherent story, nice and violent :) I love it when the girl paints the wall, (you'll see..) The soundtrack rocks, and the deaths are very well orchestrated.
Good Times, Good Times.....

"Tenebrae" (also known as "Under the Eyes of the Assassin", and "Unsane") is a victory of style for writer and director Dario Argento and star Tony Franciosa, and I would give this film three and a half stars if that were allowed in the rating system. The premise is that a famous novelist, Peter Neal (Franciosa) visits Rome on a book tour when murders recreated from his books begin to occur. The police solicit his help in solving the case, but are unprepared for the convoluted web that awaits them.

Argento manages to use cutting implements of almost every kind in this film: knives, daggers, axes, hatchets, and even a hokey piece of modern sculpture. The forthcoming sculpture impalement is totally obvious as soon as the audience sees the art in question and where it is located. Sure enough, it plays a key, if ridiculous, role in concluding the film. There are other ludicrous coincidences that require utter suspension of disbelief, especially the attempted dog-attack homicide leading to the victim stumbling in to the murderer's lair, finding evidence for all the killings conveniently displayed on a table, and helping herself. While generally suspenseful, obvious contrivances like these took away one star from my evaluation of the film. The flashback explanation of the murderer's motivation to a childhood incident in Rhode Island also seemed very forced. While it may have tied up a few loose ends of the plot, I didn't find it added much to the story. The other star was lost on technical issues: my copy had very washed out color, while I found the musical score more distracting than anything else.

The film does have many good points, and for fans of the genre, it is recommended as a good early example. The direction is very stylish and at some points almost voyeuristic. The acting is much better than most films of this type, with Franciosa turning in a very strong performance (maybe a bit over the top toward the conclusion), and supporting actors turning in good performances as well. John Saxon, for example, has a brief appearance as a publisher, and manages to perfectly capture the greedy zealotry of the trade that Argento was trying to convey.

This is a thought-provoking slasher movie that is skillfully crafted and will please fans of the genre; to them I recommend it with no reservations.

Italian film director, producer and screenwriter Dario Argento is best known for his work in the "giallo" horror film genre, which is a assimilation of the horror, fantastique, and erotic film genres first created by director Mario Bava. Argento not only acknowledges Bava as an influence, but also recognizes Riccardo Freda, Sergio Leone, Alfred Hitchcock, Michelangelo Antonioni, Ingmar Bergman, and Federico Fellini as influences for his films. Argento collaborated with George Romero on the 1978 zombie cult classic, Dawn of the Dead.

Tenebrae is a riveting piece of horror cinema. Banned as a "Video Nasty" in the UK upon its release, the 1982 film tells the story of Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa), an American writer in Rome promoting his latest ultra-violent murder-mystery novel (entitled Tenebrae), only to become involved in the search for a serial-killer. Prior to Neal's arrival in Rome, a beautiful young shoplifter (Ania Pieroni) is brutally razor-slashed to death by a killer who has apparently found his inspiration for killing in Neal's novel. Soon more women are murdered: Tilde (Mirella D'Angelo), a beautiful lesbian journalist, her lover, and Maria (Lara Wendel), the young daughter of Neal's landlord. Eventually the killing spree is brought to an unexpected and bloody end by homicide Detective Giermani (Giuliano Gemma). For anyone who appreciates horror film, Tenebre has it all: mystery and suspense with lots of startling surprises, warped characters, aberrant sexuality, gruesome murders, dark doubles, characters afflicted with defective memories, and unfamiliar settings. For anyone unitiated in the films of Dario Argento, Tenebrae is a good introduction.

G. Merritt

This is absolutely a masterpiece of film art
from the genius of Dario Argento.
It must be seen by all who love suspense and terror movies
and who wish to experience truly great film-making technique.
The imagery and sounds are amazing, typical for Argento.

The reason for the four stars is due to its
comparison to some of his other films;
the Argento scale, if you will.

It is about a serial killer on the loose and the
effort to stop him/her.
A theme that is overused in film,
but Argento, like Hitchcock, is one of the
masters of suspense and his films are required
viewing if you like that sort of thing.
I do.

This film has my favorite
movie murder sequence ever.
You'll know it when you see it.
Bravo!

Add this film to your collection.
It is one that you will watch
again and again.

I notice that Argento is most often praised for his "set pieces," which are usually the suspense/murder sequences. I have to agree I enjoy these very much. He can be very slick. His movie "Tenebre" is actually fairly well constructed. It is about an American novelist Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa) who came to Rome to promote his book only to be mired in the tragic deaths of many beautiful women. Seemingly based on his recent novel the girls (and others) all die horrific deaths with Argento's arsenal of ways to kill pretty Italian girls. Three very memorable scenes in this movie to my mind, and a recurring theme of deep human despair which I have found in his movies so far. Two scenes here which specifically communicate this sense of futility. The first of which involves eight or maybe nine if you go back all the way to the introduction of the minor character involved turns of fate in a lengthy and relentless sequence characteristic of Argento's films and for which I can see why he is sometimes compared to Hitchcock (though is it appropriate to do so???). It is a turning point in the film. I am reminded of the scene with the pile of razor wire in "Suspiria". The other scene in "Tenebre" more graphically identifies that theme in the image of a character impaled on a polished piece of metal, trying to pull it out but his hands are too slippery with blood to grip the object.

Stylistically speaking the movie departs from garish and moody lighting of "Suspiria" for a more frontal, "realistic" look. If that hallucinogenic quality is the only thing a person liked about those movies. Interestingly enough, people complain that it looks like a TV show and the commentary notes that Argento was looking into the lighting of American television police drama to incorporate into this film. Don't mistake, color is still important. You will notice there is a lot of white so that when someone gets killed.... The other Argento trademarks are here, and effectively so. Camera movement, cutting, and soundtrack are still extremely important. The soundtrack is by three of the members of Goblin and, while of course sounding dated, fits very well, especially in one scene where you hear probably the whole main theme played over the duration of a long elaborate crane shot. I'm still amazed that in a movie where sound is so important I am able to forgive mediocre dubbing.

If you ever find yourself trying to argue that Argento isn't a misogynistic film director, make sure you try and sway the conversation away from this film. The vast majority of sick violence is directed at the fairer sex, but never mind! The murders are typically well orchestrated, and it is obvious which part of his film that Argento values the most. I see that's part of reason why many respect this guy so much - he gives horror fans exactly what they want.