Phenomena

Phenomena has long been one of my favourite Dario Argento films. It definitely seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it kind of film, even more so than most Argentos, and I think it's his most unjustly underrated piece of work to date.

A 14-year-old Jennifer Connelly shines in the lead role, playing a sleepwalker who has a bizarre telepathic bond with insects and uses them to help her solve a string of gory murders at a girls boarding school in the Swiss Alps. She is one of my favourite Argento heroines, a tough, brainy and eccentric little girl somewhere between Nancy Drew and Snow White. She deserves special credit for taking on some truly gruesome scenes, like when she falls into a pit of maggots, slime and rotting corpses. As for the rest of the cast, Donald Pleasance is good as the wheelchair-bound Scottish entomologist and Daria Nicolodi has fun with a small but juicy role.

Argento really let his imagination run wild making this one. Phenomena is a surreal, magical and surprisingly beautiful film, as much a dark fairytale fantasy as it is a horror film. It's visually stunning and I loved the incongruity of having all this gory mayhem happen against the picturesque backdrop of the Swiss Alps. Claudio Simonetti's electronic score is perfect, particularly the haunting main theme with its 80s synths and choral soprano vocals.

With its girls boarding school setting and unseen killer on the loose, Phenomena can be taken as a companion piece to Argento's earlier classic Suspiria (1977). But the introduction of slimy maggots, a razor-wielding pet chimp and six million buzzing insects set it apart. It all descends into glorious chaos for the Grand Guignol climax, which is perhaps the most thrilling house-of-horrors funhouse ride Argento has yet given us.

A remarkable film.

This Is A Review Of The Uncut Version.

Dario Argento has enriched the Horror/Giallo genre by quite a bunch of brilliant films, including such stunning pictures as "The Bird With The Crystal Plumage" (1970), "Profondo Rosso" of 1975, "Suspiria" of 1977 or "Tenebrae" of 1982. While the brilliant Giallo "Profondo Rosso" and the supernatural Horror masterpiece "Suspiria" are Argento's greatest achievements, "Phenomena" is a personal favorite. Accompanied by one of Goblin's most outstanding scores, "Phenomena" is a visually stunning and incredibly suspenseful blend of Giallo elements and supernatural Horror, and a must-see for every Horror-fan.

Jennifer Corvino (Jennifer Conelly), the daughter of an American movie star, is sent to an elite girl's boarding school in the Swiss mountains, more precisely in a part of Switzerland referred to by locals as 'The Swiss Transylvania'. The area is currently terrorized by a serial killer of girls, whose victims are always heinously dismembered. Although a friendly and lovable person, Jennifer does not make too many friends in the boarding school, and due to her sleepwalking most of the other girls think of her as weird. But sleepwalking is not her only unusual characteristic. Jennifer loves insects, and insects also seem to have a strong affection for her. While Inspector Geiger (Patrick Buchau) is investigating the brutal murders, Jennifer befriends wheelchair-bound entomologist Prof Mc Gregor (Donald Pleasence), who helps the police with their investigations...

Argento is a master of suspense and atmosphere more than he is a master of logic, but Phenomena is intense enought to forgive some logical flaws. While the plot may not be the most logical one ever written, it works perfectly. Then 15-year-old Jennifer Conelly is outstanding in this, a perfect performance from the beginning to the end. The supporting cast is also very good, the great Donald Pleasence's performance as Prof Mc Gregor is just one of many very memorable performances in "Phenomena". As usual for Argento, the movie is impressively photographed on great, scary locations. Dario Argento has always placed great emphasis on impressive colors (especially red, of course), and hardly ever have I seen a horror film as visually and acoustically stunning as Phenomena. The brilliant Progressive Rock Soundtrack by Goblin manages to even intensify the suspense, and is one of the best scores I have ever heard in a horror film.

Partially a Giallo, and partially a horror film with psychic and transcendental elements, "Phenomena" is creepy as hell from start to finish. It is also easily one of Argento's most brutal movies. Phenomena was also released under the title "Creepers" in the US, but that was a mutilated version cut by 29 minutes, so the 111 minute version is essential. Stunning and absulutely phenomanal!

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.

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"

Memorable and different to modern horror An eerie film with a good cast, some fun practical effects and a nice premise. The soundtrack was also very memorable and different.

The film is basically an 80s slasher, however with teenagers who are actually played by actors the right age which makes a nice change.

Of course there's not much character development but the film does have some scary bits. There's some rather bad ADR and dubbing too.

Jennifer C is really good in this film I thought, there's one really memorable scene involving a lot of insects. Another scene too is utterly horrifying and gave me a terrible shock. I do recommend this film actually but you will need to bare with it a bit.