Phenomena

Dario Argento is a genius... this is a fact. The film starts off with a beautifully gory scene, then somewhat mellows out for a while. Some great scenes of night walking/dreaming/etc stand out, but it's not until about 2/3 of the way through the movie that it becomes a classic.

Beheadings, stabbings, and a pool of body parts ensue. But by far the creepiest thing of the movie is when the son who is left alone "with his crazy thoughts" turns around from his corner, revealing his face. This is possibly the scariest thing I have EVER seen on film... even scarier than the robot-butler-doll from Deep Red. And that's saying something.

An amazingly spooky and incredibly gory battle follows, leading up to the gorgeous, bloody end.

Dario Argento can do no wrong.

(****1/2 out of *****) My personal favorite Argento picture, this stars a young Jennifer Connelly (who would later go on to win a best supporting actress oscar for "A Beautiful Mind") as an American student in a snobby Swiss boarding school that is being terrorized by a brutal serial killer. Helping Connelly find the murderer are crippled Donald Pleasance, his intelligent primate assistant, and the entire insect world, with which Connelly has an unexplainable psychic connection. This movie may be short on sense and logic, but it more than makes up for it with outrageous style and bizarre uniqueness. It's like a twisted fairy tale, with heroic flies, disfigured killer midgets, and vengeful chimpanzees with straight razors. As in Argento's "Opera," some of the use of annoying late ‘80s metal bands (like Iron Maiden and Motorhead) doesn't work half as well as the ominously beautiful score composed by Claudio Simonetti. Argento's never been a great writer of dialogue, so some of the lines seem pretty stilted, and you also have to put up with some so-so acting from a good majority of the cast (also, unfortunately, typical of a lot of Argento's movies), but these things are easy to overlook in the midst of the nightmarish beauty and creepy atmosphere on display here. Also stars Daria Nicolodi in a more wicked role than usual and Patrick Bauchau as a police detective.

HIGHLIGHT: The plot becomes more and more freakishly surreal until Connelly finds herself, first, in an underground tunnel, following the extension cord of a telephone (a scene reminiscent of Alice in a seriously frightening Wonderland), and, later, in a filthy pool full of human bones and maggots.

Dario Argento is very good at lining up nice shots. If only he could hire someone to review the screenplays and point out all the errors. Any idiot of the street could do it for $10 an hour. Yes, yes, I know the whole "My movies are like a dream" crap, but it's hard to get absorbed in the dream when you keep being smacked over the head with plot inconsistencies and intensely moronic characters. Credit to Phenomena, Jennifer Connelly made one of the few appealing Argento protagonists, and generally didn't behave like a complete nitwit (with several exceptions). David Lynch's movies feel like dreams also, but don't pull you out of your suspension of disbelief with patent stupidity. If you don't know Argento, don't start here. If you've never liked Argento, this won't change your mind. There are some effective moments and nice shots that make the movie not a complete wash, but nothing to really justify it's existence.

In Switzerland, the teenager Jennifer Corvino (Jennifer Connelly), daughter of a famous actor, arrives in an expensive board school and shares her room with the French schoolmate Sophie (Federica Mastroianni). Jennifer is a sleepwalker, is capable of telepathically communicate with insects and has adaptation problem in the new school. While sleepwalking, she meets and becomes friend of a Scottish entomologist, Prof. John McGregor (Donald Pleasence), and his chimpanzee Tonga. Jennifer decides to help the investigation of Dr. McGregor about a serial killer that is killing young girls in that area.

It may sound ridiculous, but "Phenomena" has never been released on video in Brazil; only two days ago, "Phenomena" was released on DVD in Brazil and now I am glad to have this movie in my collection. The weird story of Dario Argento, one of my favorite directors, is a total cult, showing bizarre characters and situations, maggots, flies, deformed people, serial killer and lots of bodies and body parts. A fifteen years old Jennifer Connelly in her third work, extremely beautiful, shines in the very original role of a sleepwalker that is very connected to insects and develop the skill of communicate with them. Daria Nicolodi, the mother of Asia Argento and former mate of Dario Argento, has a minor, but very important role. And the versatile Donald Pleasence, in the role of a paraplegic researcher, is efficient as usual. The music score, with Goblin, Iron Maiden and Motorhead, is another great attraction of this movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Phenomena"

This movie seems to be either loved or hated. Those that love it seems to be Argento fans that have succumbed to the style and imagination. Those that hate it seems to get annoyed at script flaws, soundtrack, actors etc.

Most of the criticizers seems to have missed the point. Dario Argentos movies is supposed to be watched and experienced, not dissected looking for flaws etc. which is true for most movies. I have the ability to turn the criticizer off when I watch movies, especially when it comes to horror/fantasy/scifi. They're movies, not documentaries, and they're not supposed to reflect your reality. Think of them as dreams, and we all know that dreams are most often illogical, strange and wonderful. That's the frame of mind I have when I watch Argento movies. And Phenomena is great in that aspect since it builds upon imagination.

Phenomena was the first Argento movie I watched, and it turned me into a big fan of his work. Donald Pleasance is great as useful, and Jennifer Connelly made many of us aware of how much we all want to meet her (at least the male audience). I watch this movie in much the same way as I did Suspiria (masterpiece), as a fantasy horror, a sweet nightmare. The first scene, where the Danish girl misses the bus and looks for help is unforgettable. The fact that the rest of the cast is a bunch of young and inexperienced teenagers is something most of the viewers familiar with Italian horror are used to.

Would I recommend this? Absolutely, it's one of the better Argento movies. Who would like it? Anybody with an open mind and interested in prime italian fantasy/horror.