Infierno

Dario Argento is a filmmaker whose work is stunning and memorable. Suspiria is a beautiful vibrant work that encapsulates what an Italian horror is. In the same way Phenomena is an enthralling effort with a monumental soundtrack and horrifically beautiful visual display. I wanted to check out the rest of The Three Mothers trilogy and Inferno was the next on cue. I knew what type of film to expect and while this isn't his best film, I did enjoy experiencing it.

The film starts with a story in a book about The legend of the Three Mothers who are three evil sisters and how they live in different houses in different places. From there we immediately follow different characters as they start meeting their gruesome demise at the hands of a concealed figure. Mark is the main focus of the film, as he travels out to New York to get in touch with his missing sister. He soon learns about the legend of the Three Mothers and the violence that is occurring around him.

This is no Suspiria (or Phenomena). The characters are one dimensional, give ordinary performances. You don't have a young Jennifer Connelly or Jessica Harper to boot. The film gets a little muddled in its Three Mothers mystery. For a long time there isn't much going on besides watching different characters getting killed off slowly. I know that Argento is known for his shots and his vivid imagination of colors on screen but he is technically more style than substance. This film is the prime example of that.

With all that said I still really enjoyed this. its a joy to behold. Its pure Argento; the set pieces, the framing of the scenes, the gruesome but beautiful violence, and the pure suspense of what will happen. its quite good. It doesn't have the strength of a powerful soundtrack or a notable character but there's still beauty in it yet. I am probably going to watch the final film in the trilogy soon. I'm not expecting much because modern day Argento isn't all that (see Dracula 3D).

7/10

It can hardly be denied that Italian horror film director Dario Argento is a true master craftsman. His films are often visually arresting, with many strange and horrific sounds, imagery, and bizarre set decorations that really succeed in creating atmospheres of pure dread, evil, and terror. His "giallo" (the Italian word for "yellow") murder-mystery films are what are most-known around the world to horror fans, because they combine the typical whodunit with elements of horror and the supernatural; the best film of this genre that I've seen so far is Argento's "Suspiria" (1977), though I have yet to see the other highly regarded picture from this time, "Deep Red" (1975).

Argento's 1980 feature "Inferno" is a semi-sequel to his earlier "Suspiria"; "Inferno" is the second in a loose film trilogy known as the "Three Mothers," which began with "Suspiria," followed by "Inferno," and was concluded in 2007 with the long-delayed "The Mother of Tears." This loose trilogy surrounds the legend of three ancient witches living in the present-day - one in Germany ("Suspiria"), another in New York City (this film), and the third finally in Rome ("The Mother of Tears"). "Inferno," while visually arresting with astounding production values and horrific blood-lettings, is a mixed bag with little coherence in the plot.

I did not find Argento's earlier "Suspiria" to be a particularly well-acted or well-written film. Argento is largely a director of style over substance, but his style is usually the star of the show in most of his films, hence why actors and plot often seem secondary. What made that film so horrifying was its sounds, imagery, and soundtrack (by the Italian band Goblin). It was such a uniquely unsettling horror film experience that it terrified me to the bone when I watched it for the first time.

"Inferno" is alternatively set in Rome and New York City. Rose Elliot (Irene Miracle) discovers the book "The Three Mothers" in New York City and comes to suspect that she is living in one of the buildings believed to house one of the Three Mothers. She writes to her brother Mark (Leigh McCloskey) in Rome for him to come visit her. This sets in motion a series of events that plunges them into a horrifying world of murder and the supernatural as they try to uncover the truth about the Three Mothers.

A lot of events in "Inferno" seem random and off-putting and seem to interfere with the narrative with little in the plot connecting any of the events. For example, the beautiful Italian girl (Ania Pieroni) who shows up at different points while Mark is in Rome; she never speaks, he never speaks to her, and we know nothing about her. But she provides an interesting visual element in an otherwise dark and disturbing picture.

"Inferno" is incredibly well-made, but like I said even incoherence in the plot has its limits. "Suspiria" didn't have much of a coherent story, but Argento's style and use of secondary background elements (sound, imagery, music) were able to make you "experience" the picture in ways that were more than enough to make up for the picture's shortcomings. "Inferno" does have some neat camera and visual trickery that plunge you into the madness so that you feel like you're actually there experiencing everything the characters are witnessing.

There are also some creatively gruesome murders here and there (a disturbing factoid here is that Argento himself often likes to portray the hands of the killer in his films). There's even a disturbing sequence involving a crippled old man, cats and rats that is pretty extraordinary and has to be seen to be truly believed, even if it does seem a bit random. And there's another sequence involving Rose in an underwater moat that is just downright chilling.

"Inferno" is not as "hot" as I thought it was going to be. In fact, I thought it was a little cold for my liking, considering my experience with "Suspiria." Maybe it'll get better (and "hotter") on repeat viewings.

6/10

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.

Okay, here's the deal: If you need a coherent movie with an algebraic plot, skip this one. If you are interested in Dario Argento but haven't seen any of his films, start with something else. If you are a fan of Dario Argento, do yourself a favor and buy this one. Inferno is weird, makes no sense, but is a gorgeous horror film. I loved it.