Inferno
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Eleonora Giorgi, Feodor Chaliapin Jr., Leigh McCloskey, Ryan Hilliard, Veronica LazarBrand: Ryko Distribution
Cinematographer: Romano Albani
Composer: Keith Emerson
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 107 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-02-27
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Blue Underground
Movie Reviews of Inferno
Movie Review: A Rare Breed of Horror Cinema
Summary: 4 Stars
Only Dario Argento could pull this one off. His 1980 semi-sequel to Suspiria (2-Disc Special Edition) and the 2nd film in his "Three Mothers" trilogy has the least amount of plot I've seen in an Argento film. Most horror films don't have much of a plot as they rely on blood, gore, and idiot characters to fill in much of the story. Argento's Inferno is a rare breed. It's an effective horror film with its fair share of blood and despite having no real plot to speak of, I found it hard to not give the film my full attention.
A young woman named Rose (Irene Miracle) discovers an ancient book entitled "The Three Mothers," which tells a story of three evil witches. Rose has a feeling that the book isn't entirely fictional and begins following "clues" she believes she found in the book. This leads her to a mysterious cellar, where she finds an underwater ballroom.
Meanwhile, her brother Mark (Leigh McCloskey) is a musicology student studying in Rome who keeps seeing an evil looking woman with a cat. Soon, Mark is in New York to see his sister and instead encounters her friend Elise (Daria Nicolodi, co-writer of Suspiria).
This is a very loose synopsis of the film as I find it difficult to really describe. I've only seen three Argento films prior to Inferno and have been able to review those films at great length. This movie's just rendered me speechless.
I really don't know how to rate Inferno either. Was I always fully aware of what was going on? No. Was I fixated by the film? Yes.
First of all, the score by Keith Emerson is great. Argento has a great ear for composers, although Emerson has music in this film that is both cheesy and creepy, though never at the same time. Furthermore, the use of music, by Emerson or not, is great in this film. In one early death scene, the murder is set to an opera score. This is not an entirely new idea now or in 1980, nor is this particular death as creative as those in other Argento movies but it's still very good.
The film's saving grace is really Argento's visual flourish as a director; his trademark style that allows him to construct great scenes around a nonexistent plot. Every scene of this film made me think that Argento must've been suffering from writer's block amidst a surplus of creative ideas.
Those who love Inferno will be the first to admit that the film has no plot, which is a fascinating tidbit itself. Even when I had no idea what was going on, this movie was hypnotic and had a better grip on me than even Suspiria (which was a more tightly constructed film, without a doubt).
There are scenes I found ridiculous (the ending with the Grim Reaper particularly) and there is some campy dialogue scattered throughout the movie. Horror films are typically built on the ludicrous and dialogue has never been Argento's strong suit, so these qualities certainly aren't the film's fatal flaw.
I don't know how to recommend this movie as I couldn't tell you if it was good or bad. After all, can some very good elements serve as compensation for no story? Horror film fans should approve and it's a hard movie to take your eyes off of. It's not a masterpiece, it's not perfect, but you shouldn't be entirely unsatisfied with it.
GRADE: In the "B" range
Summary of Inferno
The Master Of Horror Dario Argento Brings You Terror That's Hotter Than Hell!A young woman stumbles upon a mysterious diary that reveals the secrets of "The Three Mothers" and unleashes a nightmare world of demonic evil. As the unstoppable horror spreads from Rome to New York City, this unholy trinity must be stopped before the world is submerged in the blood of the innocent.
Written and directed by Dario Argento, INFERNO is considered to be the sequel to his classic SUSPIRIA. This surreal shocker stars Irene Miracle (NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS), Daria Nicolodi (DEEP RED) and Leigh McCloskey (DALLAS), and features a pulse-pounding original score by Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Now transferred from the original vault negative materials, INFERNO contains visually stunning sequences of horror that Argento fans consider among the best of his career.
Dario Argento's sequel to Suspiria, his first and to date only American hit, is an even more incoherent nightmare fantasy. Laden with symbolic imagery and fantastic explosions of death shot in candy-colored hues, it's a bloody feast for the eyes. Mark (Leigh McCloskey), an American music student in Rome, rushes home to New York after a frantic phone call from his sister only to find an empty apartment and obscure clues about a supernatural presence in her spooky building. It all has something to do with the mysterious Mater Tenebrarum, one of the "Three Mothers" of Argento's murky mythology, and the fun house of an apartment house she inhabits, complete with a fully furnished underwater ballroom, miles of secret tunnels flooded in red and blue light, and hidden passageways under the floorboards. Meanwhile, there's a killer running around stabbing beautiful women for who knows what reason, a crippled bookseller attacked by rats, and a homicidal hot-dog vendor in Central Park. Why? It's best not to ponder such mysteries--Argento obviously isn't as concerned with making sense of his meticulously staged murders as he is with lighting them with just the right hue. Dramatically it's inert, a parade of quirky but faceless victims dispatched with elaborate care, but it's beautifully designed and executed, a spectacle of elaborate set pieces and magnificent decor orchestrated with a complete disdain for narrative logic. --Sean Axmaker
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