Tenebrae (Argento, 1982): Prince Charles Cinema, 1pm
This film is part of a Dario Argento season at the Prince Charles Cinema.
Screen Slate review:
Anthony
Franciosa plays Peter Neal, an American mystery writer who
travels to Rome in promotion of his latest novel, but must confront the
influence his lurid fiction has when a black-gloved murderer begins
mutilating people. Genre film actor John Saxon (Enter the Dragon, Black
Christmas) and frequent Dario Argento collaborator (and former spouse)
Daria Nicolodi (Deep Red, Phenomena, Opera)
also star as Neal's agent and assistant who become embroiled in the
investigation — Nicolodi in particular gives an impressive performance
(with an even more impressive scream) that elevates an admittedly thin
role. Tenebrae is often regarded as a giallo comeback for the
filmmaker, a return to the subgenre he helped define, following his
foray into supernatural horror with Suspiria (1977) and Inferno (1980).
However, it is also a self-reflexive examination of his own career, and
the accusations of misogyny often directed at him. Argento was never
one to conceal his more perverse preoccupations; if there is an
opportunity to capture the strangling of a beautiful woman on screen, he
will not only take it but provide the grip of his own hand in front of
the camera. At the same time, the technical focus in Tenebrae —
from rather majestic (and now infamous) crane shots to the general
construction of the plot itself (essentially a way to move from one
intricate and gorgeous murder set-piece to another) feels like an
acknowledgment of responsibility: like pulling back the curtain on the
machinations in place that not only punish women, but turn such
punishment into spectacle. Tenebrae is essential Argento: perhaps the
auteur's clearest
articulation of his own psychological and stylistic obsessions, but
with a more critical eye. We long to see men who dehumanize and kill
women eventually fall on the sword themselves. In Argento's world those
glimmers of hope are there if you look: the impalement will just most
likely involve a stiletto.
Stephanie Monahan
Here (and above) is the trailer.
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