Inferno

Comment: 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

Comment: total non-sense. my least favorite of the three mothers triolgy because it really makes no sense at all. there is no main character and just one weird situation after the next. visually its great and it has the classic Argento sensibility, but its in no way a rewarding film.

Comment: It started with a woman doing a very stupid thing, where you want to say "are you crazy?" Women in horror films seem to put themselves in harm's way for no good reason. The beginning was creepy and the mood continued by being bizarre. I was suspicious of everyone, wondering who was in on it. Argento films are great also because of the interior design of the sets, or the buildings he had transformed.

Comment: At its essence, Inferno tells a classic horror movie tale about a haunted house. It's a bit odd, bombards the viewer with random, twisted imagery when least expected, attacks the senses with a kaleidoscope of colors, and overpowers the eardrums with pounding piano accompaniment.

Beginning in what feels like a movie half-finished, a woman is reading a book about Three Mothers (Tenebrarum, Suspiriorum, and Lachrymarum). Written by an architect/alchemist named Varelli, it tells of these three evil entities their resting places. One such place is in New York, and the young lady, Rose, reading/translating the Latin book senses a connection to her surroundings.

Even though I had to watch the introduction twice to understand it, with talks of mothers, keys, cellars, and what-not, the story sets up fairly well. Although, the beginning is a little too packaged for most viewers, myself included, but from all that I have read of Argento, the zip-locked plot is not the important part. The voice-over continuously leading both Rose and the viewer towards the next step is hilarious: "The second key is hidden in the cellar."

What follows is the meat of the story, doom and gloom awaits any who dare delve into the wickedness of not only the Three Mothers story, but also any who snoop around the house - the true star of the movie. Characters die non-connected albeit creative deaths, as the world itself, ostensibly controlled by the Three Mothers, unleashes its fury. Spectacular deaths, amazing in both their gore and their senselessness, it's horror for the sake of horror, with no pretense or worry about an in depth plot or protagonist.

Being an Argento neophyte, I can say one thing without reservation about Inferno: This is absolutely not the right movie to start viewing his work. For all of the movies in his oeuvre, and for all fans passionate fans, jumping straight into Argento's Inferno is a little too hot; there needs to be a period to adjust to the heat. While the lighting, colors, and sets for some of the scenes are way ahead of their time, at times it feels like a movie directed by someone with severe ADHD, jumping from here to there without transition. This movie is directed explicitly for the foreign horror connoisseur, a person with true passion for the legacy of horror. I'm sure it's perfect for the target audience. Granted it's an obviously older movie and can be appreciated as such, it's much too spastic and disconnected, not to mention extremely lacking in character development to actually create a new Argento fan.

Beware the bag o'cats.

Comment: Inferno is probably one of my favorite Dario Argento film and is one of the best films in the three mothers trilogy, the film has an intriguing and frightening story and great atmosphere but there are many flaws in the script and the acting wasn't particularly that good, but then again who watches a Dario Argento flick for the acting?. The film was beautifully shot and had a nice gothic atmosphere that almost seems like a living nightmare and there are some nicely made setpieces which were very memorable, my favorite would have to be the part where Irene Miracle's character is swimming in an underground room filled with water. I'm not going to compare all three films since each one was different, this one was somewhat similar to Susperia but had a couple of difference mainly because of the location and the third film which was the weakest but still watchable was completely different and more modern.

The whole film was visually stunning where the use of color is more prominent with mostly blue, red, and orange hues just like in Susperia and there is some great use of lighting by Argento. Anyway the film is all about witches, ancient alchemy and death and is Dario Argento's follow up to the classic Suspiria which continues the plotline of the Three Mothers, three witches that reside in their own respective gothic buildings specifically designed and built for them. A young woman (Irene Miracle) renting out a room in a multiple-story Gothic mansion in New York City (also head quarters to the witches) becomes obsessed with a book on the sisters and ends up meeting a gruesome demise for her meddling. Her brother (Leigh McCloskey) receives a distressed letter and returns from musicology studies in Rome to investigate, he then encounters a series of grisly murders and coming face to face with the spirit of death itself!.

Inferno is often misunderstood by Argento fans who either complain about the bad acting or think it's confusing but in my honest opinion I thought it was a very satisfying and suitable follow up to Suspiria and was quite entertaining too. There are a few things to note while watching Inferno and that is Mario Bava's influence on the film which is obviously more prominent than is actually recognised and the awesome musical score done by Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, the music was just absolutely wonderful and set the right mood for the film which was dark and creepy. The death scenes and gore were pretty good but I would say that they were tame compared to Dario's other films, in one particular scene which I thought was a bit hilarious and absurd has a guy who's trying to drown a bunch of cats in a bag near by the lake then all of a sudden stumbles and falls in the lake only to by butchered by a maniac hot dog vendor and then eaten by a bunch of rats, this scene in particular did not make any sense but was pretty cool to watch. I have the old Anchor Bay edition and the disc is simply gorgeous with a great widescreen print that has never looked better and the dolby surround audio sounded fantastic on my system (Keith Emerson's soundtrack rocks and is very clear!).

The extras however are minimal but definitely worth it and contains a short but fascinating background documentary/interview segment (that really should be longer) and the usual trailer, bios etc. while not as packaged as the Deep Red disc it's still a must have for any self respecting fan of Dario's work, Inferno was a fantastic horror film that has tons of style, some good and gruesome death scenes and dark atmosphere that will please all you fans of Argento's work, but if you're new to Argento's work make sure you see Suspiria before viewing this sequel or you may just get a bit confused.