Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Phenomena (1985)

Phenomena (1985)
Phenomena (1985)

Genre: Horror / Fantasy
Director: Dario Argento
Starring: Jennifer Connelly, Daria Nicolodi, Dalila Di Lazzaro, Donald Pleasence
Language: English, German, Italian
Duration: 110 min.
Rating: 8.0  

Summary:
A young girl, with an amazing ability to communicate with insects, is transferred to an exclusive Swiss boarding school, where her unusual capability might help solve a string of murders.



Phenomena also known as Creepers, is a film directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Franco Ferrini. A potent combination of the giallo mystery films that he began his career with, and the iconic, young female protagonist driven supernatural horror films he later conceived in Suspiria and Inferno.

It stars a surprisingly capable thirteen-year-old Jennifer Connelly as Jennifer Corvino, the daughter of a famous American movie star sent to a prestigious Swiss boarding school. There she discovers the unique ability to communicate with insects, which she uses to help track down a serial killer, while she herself becomes a target.

Phenomena (1985)

This is another fabulously bizarre outing from Argento, maybe even his most mental, who shuns all logic and reason to deliver a film with a constantly hypnotic and otherworldly atmosphere from it's slow terrifying start to it's sudden explosive finish. Jennifer suffers from bouts of sleepwalking, and this is exactly what the film feels like, a strange journey filled with dreamlike images and characters.

Adding to the craziness is an eclectic soundtrack, including some beautiful ambient synth compositions by Bill Wyman and Terry Taylor, the unmistakable sounds of regular Argento collaborators Goblin, and a couple of head-banging heavy metal tracks from Iron Maiden and Mötorhead. The overall effectiveness of these disparate musical choices is highly debatable, but what's certain is that they will leave a striking impression.

Phenomena (1985)

All his trademarks including black gloved bloody murders are here, and the film opens with one of Argento's most suspenseful sequences of terror and violence. One featuring his eldest daughter Fiore as a fateful tourist in the Swiss countryside who just missed the last bus and unluckily stumbles into the killer's home.

It's such an incoherent mess of disconnected ideas, that you'll probably have to already be a seasoned Dario Argento fan to fully appreciate Phenomena, but if you are, then chances are you'll find it's one of his best.

Bonjour Tristesse

Phenomena (1985)

Phenomena (1985)

Phenomena (1985)

Phenomena (1985)

Phenomena (1985)

Phenomena (1985)

Phenomena (1985)

Phenomena (1985)

17 comments:

Lisa Thatcher said...

I haven't seen this - but it looks wonderful.. 

Shutter Bug said...

could be an interesting movie... might check it out sometime...

G said...

interesting concept...will be watching this one

d_4 said...

... Well I'm giving it a watch anyway.  It sounds fun to me.

Margaret said...

I love this movie, it has very unique atmosphere and Connelly is simply lovely here. My favorite Argento is "Suspiria" but this one was very good too. Wonderful review!

Hoi-Ming Ng said...

This one sounds extremely strange. I don't know if it's to my liking.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

I'm surprised you would consider this one. But I'm not complaining

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Cool!

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Suspiria is my favorite as well. But this one is just so extra weird and it has so many creepy crawlies.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Yeah I totally understand.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

It is, if you enjoy this type of film.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Ahh yeah, post syncing of dialog is a common trait of Italian cinema of that era and in most cases it is a distraction for me as well.

This one is not so bad if you watch it in English because both Jennifer Connelly and Donald Pleasence speak their lines in English and it syncs up fine. However there are some segments of the extended cut of this film that were never dubbed in English so it switches to Italian dialog for those scenes.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

I agree, she looks and acts beyond her age here.  I don't mind the weirdness either it's part of the appeal for me. But the two people I've tried showing this to couldn't get past it.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

 Positively.

Jessica said...

The only thing I've seen by Argento is Suspiria, which was stunningly beautiful, though not all that frightening as far as I was concerned. What annoyed me a lot was the lack of lip/sound sync. I really don't like that in a movie. I suppose the italians with their habit of dubbing things didn't mind too much. Was that a problem in this movie as well?

James R. said...

It certainly makes even less sense than usual for Argento, but it has something going for it. Certainly Connelly is a big part of that, and I was astonished to discover how young she was when the film was made.

FrontRoomCinema said...

Spooky.....

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