Occhiali neri

I don't know what the bad reviews are about. I was pleasantly surprised with this. I love horror but giallo isn't my favorite, although Suspiria is in my top 10. To me giallo is gore and bad character development. This had what was missing in most other Italian horror films that I couldn't seem to get into. Real human connection, but it was still an obvious Argento movie. I actually cared wether these people lived or died, the dog too. This was a great film from a great director who's grown with time. Stop living in the past. I look forward to his next, and if this is his last, it's a great movie to end on.

Americans like to say they like Giallo, mainly because they know what an influence on the slasher film those films had. But really, other than a sampling of Bava, Argento, and Fulci, and only them because they saw their other work, it hasn't been a huge sell in the states.

But if you've watched enough of it, Dark Glasses fits right in with say Knife of Ice, or the Killer Reserved Nine Seats.

Is it Argento's finest hour? If you expected an 82-year-old man to make a film partially funded by the Italian public broadcasting system and with only an hour and 25 minutes to work with that would top Suspiria...... I just don't know what to tell you.

If you wanted to watch a master filmmaker make a relatively safe and standard enjoyable Giallo film, this has got you covered.

The past 15 years have been really hard on Dario Argento fans. Dracula 3-D & Giallo were the lowest of the low and Dark Glasses is a faint improvement. The biggest issue with recent Argento films seem to be the low budgets. It's not as if his early work was mega budgets but the past few movies he seems to be working from the biscuit tin. The style and flair that went with his earlier work is just not there any more. This movie has a nice soundtrack and is Argento all over however that appears to be the only thing remaining.

Ilenia Pastorelli is the lead role and it's not unfair to say she isn't the best actress in the world. Asia Argento is in this and is given nothing to do and makes you wonder if she would have been the lead if this movie was made in 2002 when Dario Argento wanted to film it.

The movie climaxes with a typical ridiculous killer reveal and goes full on Cujo remake. Anyone watching this would perceive this as someone doing a bad Argento movie and not the great man himself. People would be best off watching Deep Red again.

I found the film a little bit lacking. This is a slasher film and not Citizen Kane! Dario has done some great innovative stuff over the years and while this not being one of them I found it entertaining.

Music - awesome. Photography - decent.

Everything else - lame.

Still better then Argento's Dracula, though.

All in all - for diehard Argento fans only.