"Phenomena" is Dario Argento's eighth horror success in a row, this time set in a Swiss (pardon me: Swiss Transylvanian) boarding school where the girls are frightened to death. A maniacal killer is loose in the area since quite a while and the local police forces have no idea how to stop him. The cute Jennifer is an American new arrival who fancies insects, sleepwalks and has a famous actor as a father. With the help of a nearby living entomologist, she discovers that she has telekinetic powers that make it possible for her to communicate with insects. This ability might help her a great deal in tracking down the whereabouts of the feared killer
Out of Argento's entire repertoire, this "Phenomena" is the most difficult one to rate. Some of the style elements and gimmicks used belong to the director's finest achievements to date while other aspects are embarrassingly incompetent and crappy. Although I admire the fact that Dario attempted to enrich the standard giallo-like plot with supernatural ideas, the hunt for the murderer is too often ignored which results in a more or less disappointing climax. You can't guess along in identifying the killer, as you're given no clues or additional info at all. Also, the plot holes and illogicalness of the script sometimes make it impossible to take this film serious. And by illogicalness, I don't necessarily mean the whole "communicating with insects"-premise but merely the fact that this 14-year-old girl and a swarm of bugs simply succeed in what the police officers failed to for over more than eight months. And personally, I didn't think it was well-considered to send out a fragile young girl on her own to look for rotting corpses, but our entomologist in wheelchair seemly doesn't have moral issues with that. Similar to this little example, the script features several other ridicule elements that often make you wonder how on earth Argento gained the reputation of talented scriptwriter.
And yet despite all this ineptness, "Phenomena" still is a truly powerful horror film that easily crushes most American competitors of the 80's decade simply thanks to Argento's genuine sense of atmosphere and petrifying storytelling. Dario Argento is a phenomenon himself and every film of his is worthy viewing it's as simple as that! The tone of Phenomena is very eerie and compelling and you're presented to a never-ending series of beautiful mountain scenery and stylish cinematography. As mentioned above, the setting of this tale is Switzerland and Argento emphases this by a great use of typically Swiss things, like cuckoo clocks and isolated mountain roads. The soundtrack is downright brilliant with an excellent use of hard rock songs by Iron Maiden and Möterhead, while Argento's regular band Goblin delivered its greatest title song ever! The dazzling instrumental composition sticks to you long after you finished watching the film! The acting performances are far above the Italian standards with Jennifer Connelly in a terrific role. Connelly is quite a big star right now, with major productions like "Requiem for a Dream", "Hulk" and "A Beautiful Mind" on her repertoire, but it was in fact the Italian shlock industry that initially discovered her talent! Whoever claimed this type of cinema is entirely worthless. Donald Pleasance slightly disappoints as the tame entomologist and all the young actresses in their debuts easily outshine him. And, of course, we wouldn't be talking about an Argento movie if it didn't contain lots and lots of gore. Phenomena is particularly outrageous, with truly nasty slaughtering and detailed images of gruesomeness. Especially if you purchase the uncut 110 minutes version, a word of warning is in order, I think. Definitely not for the squeamish but warmly recommended to Italian horror buffs!
And yet despite all this ineptness, "Phenomena" still is a truly powerful horror film that easily crushes most American competitors of the 80's decade simply thanks to Argento's genuine sense of atmosphere and petrifying storytelling. Dario Argento is a phenomenon himself and every film of his is worthy viewing it's as simple as that! The tone of Phenomena is very eerie and compelling and you're presented to a never-ending series of beautiful mountain scenery and stylish cinematography. As mentioned above, the setting of this tale is Switzerland and Argento emphases this by a great use of typically Swiss things, like cuckoo clocks and isolated mountain roads. The soundtrack is downright brilliant with an excellent use of hard rock songs by Iron Maiden and Möterhead, while Argento's regular band Goblin delivered its greatest title song ever! The dazzling instrumental composition sticks to you long after you finished watching the film! The acting performances are far above the Italian standards with Jennifer Connelly in a terrific role. Connelly is quite a big star right now, with major productions like "Requiem for a Dream", "Hulk" and "A Beautiful Mind" on her repertoire, but it was in fact the Italian shlock industry that initially discovered her talent! Whoever claimed this type of cinema is entirely worthless. Donald Pleasance slightly disappoints as the tame entomologist and all the young actresses in their debuts easily outshine him. And, of course, we wouldn't be talking about an Argento movie if it didn't contain lots and lots of gore. Phenomena is particularly outrageous, with truly nasty slaughtering and detailed images of gruesomeness. Especially if you purchase the uncut 110 minutes version, a word of warning is in order, I think. Definitely not for the squeamish but warmly recommended to Italian horror buffs!