Yesterday, I reviewed one of Fulci's better movies (City of the Living Dead), so today I'm turning my attention to another notable Italian director who made his name in the horror genre. While Fulci was celebrated for his excessive use of gore, Dario Argento was better known for his deft use of a moving camera and the way his creative cinematography and lively color palettes served to inject a surreal element into his work. Dario was no stranger to gore either, and he also shared Fulci's enthusiasm for twisted plots. Though he has completely lost his ability to make a decent film in this day and age, Argento was lighting up the screen with sensational chillers and gruesome thrillers in the 70s and 80s. In my personal opinion, Deep Red may just be his best feature, though Suspiria will always be more popular. Hey, that's okay--Suspiria is a top-shelf horror film, but for my money, Deep Red is more riveting and far more fulfilling. While Suspiria is a fairy tale of sorts, Deep Red is a blood-curdling mystery that is equal parts slasher flick and ghost story, though to label it as either would be inaccurate. David Hemmings stars as a pianist who witnesses a horrific murder without being able to identify the killer. Soon, he and an intrepid reporter (the wonderful Daria Nicolodi as Gianna Brezzi) are trying to solve a vicious mystery that reaches into the past. As they work to uncover the truth, the death toll rises and it becomes quite clear that they are in great danger. Stellar cinematography, an amazing score by Goblin, and one of Argento's most inventive plots come together in Deep Red, an elaborate whodunit that is full of scares and twists.
Final Grade: A
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| In Deep Red, David Hemmings is drawn into a savage mystery. As he tries to unravel a brutal murder, bodies continue to pile up until this shocker reaches a grim conclusion. |
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