Tenebre - Special Edition

This movie got me into giallo flicks. The story blows anything Hitchcock did out of the water and the special effects are awesome. The goblin music is probably my favorite soundtrack for a horror movie ever. DARIO ARGENTO IS GOD!

i love this movie but its not really a giallo but more like a slasher movie this was once banned in the uk so dont watch around grandma there are a lot of good death scenes an amazing soundtrack and beautiful (cut) camera angles

Tenebre is tied with suspiria as my favorite Argento film. Let me tell you why. First off, the cinematography and lighting is great. This movie is just as stylish as suspiria and rivals its cinematography and beautiful lighting techniques. Second, this is probably the best giallo ever. It really kept me guessing until the gruesome finale. You are constantly wondering who the killer is and what that girl in those flashbacks mean. Third, this is probably Argento's goriest. We have two throaght slashings, a stab in the neck, an axe in the head, an arm lopped off (creating the beautiful arm painting scene in which a woman's arm is lopped off and her blood continuisaly spews and eventually she squirts her blood onto a wall), an axe in the back, a pole through the stomach, and plenty of stabbings.
The movie is about a murder mystery writer who is finding out about murders based on those from his book Tenebrea(wich means darkness in Italy or something like that). The murders (and his past) cause the writer to spiral into insanity which you'll find out about at the end.
Tenebre is a truly awesome giallo as you can see. For those of you just tuning in to Argento I strongly recomend you see this or suspiria first. Do whatever you can to see this movie. Rent, buy it, steal it if you must!!!!!! It is truly a great movie. Kudos to Argento once again. Peace out:)

Argento's return to giallo in 1982 after his two supernatural outings SUSPIRIA and INFERNO was triumphant one. By this point Argento was so well versed in the sub-genres conventions that TENBRE has an effortless feel about it, the sense that the director was hardly stretching his innumerable talents. The film has a nice allegorical feel in its exploration of the effects of violence in the media on people. In this case it is not a film, but a novel. Argento is clever to divert attention away from the medium of cinema. At the time of the films release just such arguments about violence were reaching an apex, especially in the UK where TENEBRE was actually banned due to its violent content and the influence such imagery might have.

From a visual perspective Argento goes to the extreme opposite of his previous two films, by presenting a bright and starkly lit world, this brightness is taken to its extremity when one character played by JOHN SAXON is stabbed to death in broad daylight. The film works well, because of a confusing narrative structure, which is punctuated by flashbacks, which is what one expects from a giallo. If it makes sense, then arguably it has failed. As usual the film is filled with tremendous set pieces, including an astonishing sequence where Argento shoots a house from every conceivable angle in one take. A scene which is disturbing because of the almost omnipotent quality of the gaze of the killer. The Rome location is evocative and surprising in the rather dour and dreary impression it gives.

Sadly the broader themes of the film are not dealt with in a particularly intelligent and sensitive way and half way through the film Argento loses patience and begins despatching cast members with clockwork regularity. Performances are above average for an Italian horror production as is the soundtrack. Considering the way Argento deteriorated as the 80's became the 90's, TENEBRE stands as one of the directors better films.

When Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa), a popular horror novelist visits Rome to promote his latest best-seller "Tenebrae", he is suddenly thrust into a world of murder and mayhem when a psychopath goes on a killing spree and uses techniques described in his book. The killer seems to be on a mission, killing off people (mostly women) who are morally corrupt and are referred to by the killer as "deviants".

This blood-soaked, fast-moving Argento flick is not in the same classic level as his masterpiece "Suspiria" or even "Deep Red" but his fans seem to love it regardless. The film is not really a horror film but a sexually charged detective thriller with an attractive cast, solid acting (although some of the dubbing is pretty annoying), creative camera angles (typical in an Argento film) and lot's of blood (again, typical of an Argento film). Like Argento's other work, this film is visually stunning. The entire cast is made up of photogenic, elegant actors; Daria Nicolodi, Mirella D'Angelo, Anthony Franciosa, John Saxon, Ania Pieroni and a whole array of exotic European beauties. Argento also uses the color red effectively throughout this film; bright red lipstick, red stilettos, red cars, countless scenes of gleaming red blood. It takes someone like Dario Argento to make blood look so beautiful on screen.

This film was released in North America in a heavily edited form and under the insane title of "Unsane". I've never seen the edited version but apparently many scenes were cut in order for the film to get an "R" rating. "Tenebrae" may be violent but the violence itself is no more shocking then the numerous slasher films released from Hollywood throughout the decade so it's a mystery to me as to why this film was given this kind of treatment. It's a shame because not many people have been able to see this in its unedited form until it's DVD release.

"Tenebrae" boasts a strong cast, a great score (maybe a bit outdated but it's awesome nonetheless), a good story, and a great "twist" finale. Like Dario's other film's; "Deep Red", "Opera", "Phenomena", "Inferno" and the enigmatic "Suspiria", "Tenebrae" is eerily suspenseful, looks splendid and is a worthy addition to anyone's DVD collection. Unless of course, watching beautiful women get the "axe" by a homicidal maniac isn't exactly your cup of tea.

Highly recommended.