Aenigma

AENIGMA opens with Kathy (Mijilijana Zirojevic) getting ready to go out on a big date, while the wretched theme song, "Head Over Heels" warbles along.

Oh no!

It's a set up! Instead of a date, Kathy's wicked -aren't they always?- school mates humiliate her, ending in tragedy for Kathy. Now, comatose Kathy's disembodied consciousness floats away in order to take her terrible vengeance.

Enter Eva Gordon (Lara Lamberti), a new student at St. Mary's College.

Dear lord!

Jazzercise breaks out!

For her part, Eva begins dating a faculty member right away. A maid at the college has a mystical link to Kathy, and bizarre deaths ensue. Meanwhile, Eva starts acting strangely, causes mayhem, and begins dating her doctor. This, while Kathy cackles with eeevil glee! Is Eva being slowly possessed by Kathy? How will this affect her love life?

Director Lucio Fulci was an interesting guy with a varied film canon. The same man who brought us LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN, DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING, and ZOMBIE, managed to also give us this crackpot movie. What can possibly be said about a film containing "death-by-snails"? Definitely a different, novel take on what could have been just another CARRIE clone. While certainly not a classic, at least this movie is fun to watch, and still superior to much of Fulci's later output.

WARNING: "Head Over Heels" plays again at the end!...

I didn't have high expectations going into this, which is the right way to approach it. I mostly wanted to see the infamous death-by-snail scene, which did not disappoint.

The film didn't make a lot of sense in general, but it's mostly well shot and has Fulci's trademark atmosphere and grit.

Overall, there's nothing earth shattering, but its story is told in unusual ways and I enjoyed it. That's good enough for me.

The late Lucio Fulci, director of numerous Italian gore classics, obviously deemed gastropods so terrifying that he gave them starring roles as slimy killers in Ænigma, a 1987 clunker that clumsily blended elements of Carrie and Patrick to tell the tale of a comatose girl out to seek revenge on those responsible for her condition.

In the snails' unforgettably daft scene, a girl awakens to find herself smothered by the slow-moving molluscs, who ultimately suffocate the poor lass, covering her from head to foot in slime. It's just one bad moment out of many bad moments in a very bad film.

Ænigma opens with a young woman named Kathy (Milijana Zirojevic) excitedly preparing for a date (with the help of her friends) by selecting a nasty red dress and plastering on her make-up like a clown. Once ready for her night of romance (gold eyelids—check!; red cheeks—check!; hideous hairstyle—check!), the girl rushes to the door to meet her lucky beau.

Later that night, the couple park in a remote spot for a bit of canoodling. Kathy soon gets into the mood, and begins to moan loudly and writhe in pleasure, much to the delight of the small crowd of onlookers hiding in the bushes. Yes, Kathy is the subject of a mean school prank: the guy she is getting all gooey over doesn't really go for the minging clown look; he's only with the poor lass in order to humiliate her in front of his pals.

Realising the truth, Kathy runs away in tears, only to be hit by a car, ultimately ending up in intensive care.

Meanwhile, at the exclusive boarding school where Kathy lived with her mother, new student Eva Gordon (Lara Naszinsky) is getting used to her new environment. However, fitting in with the other girls might not prove to be easy, since Eva is being telepathically controlled by Kathy, who is looking to even the score with her bullies...

I get the distinct feeling that, with this particular film, Fulci was attempting a more stylish approach than usual:Ænigma is rather restrained in the gore department, and the boarding school setting and general ambiance is very reminiscent of the work of giallo genius Dario Argento. Unfortunately, Fulci is not quite in the same league as Argento when it comes to creating stunning visuals and a dreamlike atmosphere, and the result is a rather bland and unmemorable effort that leaves one longing for some yucky eyeball trauma or a bit of messy brain scrunching to spice things up.

The story, a weak mix of elements stolen from several much better films, doesn't make much sense (no explanation is given for how Kathy can conjure up snails and, in one equally silly scene, animate a marble statue), and the majority of the cast is pretty lousy. The only recognisable name in the film (recognisable to fans of low-budget trash, I mean) is B-movie star Jared Martin who is totally wasted in his role as a neurologist (although he does get to roll around naked with a lightly-oiled Naszinsky, which would be a fair enough reason for taking the gig!).

Ænigma is one for Fulci fans who, like me, have seen all of his better known films already and are now just ticking off the other titles from his filmography for the sake of completion.

The spirit of a comatose teenage girl possesses the body of a newcomer to her girls boarding school to enact bloody revenge against the elitist, lingerie-clad coeds responsible for her condition.

Donald C. Willis described the film as a "episodic horror-fantasy variation on 'Carrie' by way of 'Patrick' and 'The Medusa Touch'" and that the "heavy-handed intro" makes the film get "off to a bad start". He forgot "Slugs", though this film is nastier than "Slugs" and may be worth watching for that very reason.

The interesting thing is how this is a Yugoslavian film. What? I feel like that deserves more of an explanation. I know that Romania was popular for a while to film on the cheap, but you rarely hear about Yugoslavia. What was Fulci doing there?

I am not surprised to see mostly negative reviews for Fulci's 1987 "Carrie" inspired "Aenigma". It does not stand up to his late 70's/early 80's gore epics that you all are familiar with. But wait, let's remember that Fulci is still visually inventive in 87, with lots of great camera moves and flair. The man knew how to tell a story, folks. He may have been a jerk to his colleagues, but what a great craftsman. He was trying to make a US style teenager quasi slasher popcorn movie here, a lighter less horrifying type of deal. I think it should also be said that this was well cast. The beautiful college girls each play their roles with unique personalities, something you won't find in most US films of this type. The geeky girl in the red dress is a hoot, and so is the famous snail scene. Best of all is the English new wave/pop sappy romance song that sets up the audience perfectly. It's an interesting and engaging story, even if it is clearly inspired by Carrie. And unlike so many other horror films, the ending is rewarding, logical AND suspenseful. I still haven't seen a Fulci film that I don't like, and this is no exception...check it out!