Feuertanz - Horror Infernal

When Dario Argento calls "Inferno" a difficult movie, he ain't kidding. It's a feast for the eyes that's easily on par with his most acclaimed work, but also a narrative train wreck loaded with nonsense. I'd have less of a problem accepting the free-association nightmare logic of the film if Argento didn't feebly try to make it coherent (in the works of David Lynch/Cronenberg, things are far more intriguing the less they're explained). It also doesn't help that all of the characters are so thinly-defined they barely exist, and that our American lead (Leigh McCloskey) spends the film looking as confused as most viewers will be. "Inferno" is the second part of a trilogy begun by 1977's "Suspiria" (and concluded by this year's "Mother of Tears"), and in some aspects, Argento seems to be mimicking the visual (lots and lots of blue-to-red lighting schemes) and musical (Goblin is replaced by Keith Emerson) cues that made that film so successful. And while "Inferno" is punctuated by many wonderfully surreal and ambiguous setpieces (a chase through a library; a rodent feeding frenzy during a lunar eclipse; a search for keys in a submerged catacomb), the film lacks the efficiency and flow of Argento's best films, instead taking a more contemplative approach to the mythos of "The Three Mothers." While these elements make for an interesting view, the lack of a relatable human anchor ultimately keeps "Inferno" from achieving greatness.

This is a film about witches, ancient alchemy, and death. The atmosphere is Gothic and medieval. But the setting is modern. Most scenes take place in small, stylish interior spaces. For lighting, Argento uses the glow from indirect sources (mostly blue, red, and orange hues), and alternates this with darkness. In combination with the lighting, the film's sound effects, which alternate with silence, are appropriately spooky. And Keith Emerson's soundtrack, with all that organ music, contributes to the Gothic tone. One of the best parts of the entire film is the rock-opera opus from the chorus at the film's end, with that great beat, and lyrics that are indecipherable.

The nightmarish atmosphere, while maybe not quite as stunning as in "Suspiria", is more than adequate to induce suspense, anticipation, and a sense of danger. From out of the darkness and stillness comes "death", in all its horrific cruelty. As a "horror" film, "Inferno" is fairly pure, in that the plot is more or less self-contained. There are only brief references to the "real" world, outside the confines of the story.

The film's plot is indeed thin, and functions really as an excuse for the actors to move from one atmospheric set to the next. The script does not require great acting skills, mercifully, since great acting is nowhere to be found.

Of the various Argento films I have seen, "Inferno" is perhaps my least favorite. It does not have the conviction of Argento's other works. It seems more like a half-hearted sequel, an afterthought, to "Suspiria". Like most sequels, I find it less satisfying than the original, the soundtrack notwithstanding. Still, for Argento fans, "Inferno" is a must-see, if for no other reason than for purposes of comparison.

Sequel to SUSPIRIA is both wonderfully lit and beautifully filmed. It is also visually very much like SUSPIRIA (which can be both good as it is dripping with atmosphere and bad as I think of it as the younger sibling who wants to be just like its older brother or sister).

One big problem I had with the film is the plot. If you have seen SUSPIRIA then you know that the villain will be a witch. Here two siblings Rose (Irene Miracle) and Mark (Leigh McCloskey) are investigating killings that are taking place only to find that a coven of witches is located in Rose's building. Okay, so the plot is not exactly non-existent, but there is not much to grab hold of at times. Some of things that take place as well in the film border on silly. Not to say that you should not see this film. As I mentioned earlier it contains lots of atmosphere that many horror films do not take the time to create. Maybe you will love it, but don't be surprised if it doesn't strike a chord like some of Dario Argento's other earlier work.

Pretty good score by prog rocker Keith Emerson. Also starring Daria Nicolodi. Followed by MOTHER OF TEARS.

Dario Argento is a master of his genre, no doubt about that, but his script here is pure hokum. The film has a number of striking images (the mysterious beauty that appears out of nowhere in the classroom; the drapes being slowly ripped apart by the nails of a stabbed-to-death woman; the close-up of Daria Nicolodi's lips; the pursuer at the library's basement, whose face remains in the dark, but whose hands are clearly not human), and a very peculiar architectural design, with secret passages leading to all sorts of hidden rooms to other passages to other rooms....However, as many others have said, the film is best approached as a dream, because the plot is incoherent and there are several scenes that run on too long. It does get better on the second viewing. (**)

In New York, the poetess Rose Elliot (Irene Miracle) reads an ancient book called "The Three Mothers" that she bought in the bookseller and antique Kazanian close to her building. The architect and alchemist E. Varelli, who tells that had designed and built three buildings for three mothers,in Rome, New York and Freiburg, wrote an impressive story in London. These threes wicked mothers, called Mater Suspiriorum (the oldest one), Mater Lachrymarum (the most beautiful) and Mater Tenebrarum (the youngest and cruelest), intended to rule the world with sorrow, tears and darkness. In accordance with the book, there are three keys, each one of them hidden in one building. Rose realizes that she lives in one of the buildings, and decides to look for the second hidden key in the cellar. From this moment on, weird things happen to her and she decides to write a letter to her brother Mark Elliot (Leigh McCloskey), a student of musicology in Rome, and asks him to visit her in New York. Mark never meets his sister and finds who the three mothers are indeed.

This is the beginning of "Inferno", one of my favorite Dario Argento's movies, with an intriguing and frightening story and great atmosphere. There are many flaws in the screenplay; the characters are not well developed, so their motives are not clear; and there are lacks of explanations for many events, so the viewer does not understand why the evil mothers attack the characters of the story, but anyway it is a cult Gothic movie. With some improvements in the screenplay, this movie would be a masterpiece classic. I have already seen this scary movie four times in a VHS I have recorded a couple of years ago from cable TV, and unfortunately it has not been released on VHS or DVD in Brazil. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Mansão do Inferno" ("The Mansion of the Hell")

Note: On June 23rd, 2009, I saw this movie for the fifth time in an imported DVD.

On June, 4th 2015, I saw this movie again.