Ænigma

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've seen several movies made by Fulci. And this one is the least terrifying and scary among the others I've watched. For me it was much more easier to watch "Aenigma" then, for example, "Black Cat" or "House by the Cemetery" (which are, of course, the must seen ones). Nevertheless it has everything a good horror movie should have. I really like it, especially the ending, which shows brilliant work of camera and music together. This movie is an example of Lucio Fulci remarkable capability generated from his very own vision of reality to create the unique mood and atmosphere.

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!

One of Fulci's lesser efforts, Aenigma is a blatant copy of so many other films, it's hard to count them all. Set in a school, it involves a misunderstood loner called Kathy who is cruelly taunted by her classmates, but takes revenge by means of psychic powers. So far, so "Carrie". But here, the cruel prank puts the victim into a coma, and it's from here that she wreaks havoc, which echoes "Patrick". She somehow manages to possess another student, who goes through the school leaving a trail of destruction and death on Kathy's behalf.

Sounds great for Fulci fans, but don't hold your breath. The various revenge murders are all very unimpressive and often ridiculous, including death by being scared of a museum and death by being confronted with a boyfriend's corpse! What's wrong with these people!? The film has no highlights of gore whatsoever, which is a major shortcoming in a Fulci film. Even it's set piece murder, a "death by snails" sequence will probably leave you laughing (how exactly do snails manage to overpower someone??). This, along with the film's title, makes me think that Fulci is actually trying to emulate Argento's far superior "Phenomeona".

The film is generally pretty confusing, as Kathy's power, and her hold over the possessed girl are never properly explained. The acting is awful, the lead character (the possessed student) wanders around looking totally bored, so you won't really care about any of the characters. It's also ugly and dull to look at, even though Fulci tries to ape Argento yet again by bathing many shots in lurid coloured lighting, mostly a tiresome bright blue, but it just doesn't add up to anything coherent. The dubbing is poor as usual ans there's a really REALLY, bad ballad being crooned over the prologue when Kathy is looking forward to her big night out! Even Fulci completists could rest easy without ever watching this one. A real stinker.