![]() With ruthless precision, Argento dissects the notions of how families can fragment and become distorted- Jennifer's celebrity father has abandoned her for a year's shooting on a film, her mother left without so much as a goodbye, and the bizarre genetic quirks that explain the identity of the killer(s) reflect Argento's own disintegrating domestic state at the time. On closer analysis, this simply isn't true. Most unfairly, Phenomena has been termed a work of style over substance with no internal schematics to hold it up. The off-kilter, dreamlike performances have also drawn critical fire, and again it's a matter of taste. In many ways, though, these "flaws" can be almost as endearing as the film's good qualities its sheer daffiness is almost beyond criticism. The film boasts a few strange quirks, such as a voiceover narrator inexplicably appearing 15 minutes into the film and a bizarre tendency to rely on heavy metal tunes by Iron Maiden and Motörhead to get the viewers' blood pumping. Add to that top notch make-up effects by Sergio Stivaletti ( Demons) and an unsettling score featuring Goblin, Claudio Simonetti, and Simon Boswell, and the result is an undeniably unique and haunting experience. The eclectic supporting cast also commands attention with appearances by Argento regular and ex-partner Daria Nicolodi (in an astonishingly wild performance), the icy Dalila Di Lazzaro ( Flesh for Frankenstein), and Patrick Bauchau ( A View to a Kill) as a nosy police inspector. In many ways this film is the perfect stepping stone between the crystal-clear, razor-edged photography of Tenebrae and the baroque hyperactivity of Opera, delivering essentially two split narratives which finally converge in the amazing, excruciatingly violent final half hour. A local Scottish entomologist, John McGregor (Pleasence) tells Jennifer about a string of bizarre serial killings in the area, and with the aid of Jennifer's uncanny powers, they set out to find the murderer. Her awkward habit of sleepwalking gets her into trouble on her first night when she wanders out of her room and witnesses the murder of a schoolmate, and on top of that, it appears she has a telepathic connection to insects. On the surface, Phenomena is a return to Suspiria territory with a virginal American girl, Jennifer (future Oscar winner Connelly), arriving at a boarding school for girls in Switzerland. While the longer edition may not clarify much in the way of storyline, it does greatly aid the film's pacing and overall effect as the eye and mind are given more time to absorb the bizarre, shocking collision of images and horror and mystery elements. theaters in 1985 under the auspices of New Line (though its gruesome ads were censored in many local papers). These diverse responses are due to how willing the viewer is to enjoy a film with complete disregard for standard cinematic laws of narrative logic and linear plotting, and it didn't help for many years that the United States only had access to a heavily shortened version, Creepers, which amazingly enough played in U.S. Synapse Films (UHD & Blu-ray) (US R0/RA 4K/HD), Arrow Films (UHD & Blu-ray) (UK R0/RB 4K/HD), Happinet (Blu-ray & DVD) (Japan R0 HD/NTSC), Arrow Films (2011 Blu-Ray & DVD) (UK R0 HD/PAL),Īnchor Bay (US R1 NTSC), Medusa (Italy R2 PAL) / WS (1.66:1) (16:9), Divid 2000 (UK R2 PAL) / WS (1.78:1) / DD2.0, Dragon (Germany R0 PAL) / WS (1.66):1)Ĭommercially popular but critically attacked upon its release, this wild and woolly shocker has built up a fiercely loyal fan base over the years, particularly among fans of director Dario Argento. Starring Jennifer Connelly, Donald Pleasence, Daria Nicolodi, Patrick Bauchau, Dalila Di Lazzaro, Federica Mastroianni, Mario Donatone, Fiore Argento But someone has been killing the students, and it relates only indirectly to the criminal sanitorium nearby.Color, 1984, 115 mins. She discovers her alternate personality when she stays at a boarding school that was once the home a Richard Wagner. Her doctor said that it can develop a split personality. Jennifer Corvino, the daughter of a famous actor, has had trouble with sleepwalking for some time. With the help of a wheelchair-using entomologist (Donald Pleasence), she discovers she has special psychic powers, and uses them to pursue the killer.Ī young girl, with an amazing ability to communicate with insects, is transferred to an exclusive Swiss boarding school, where her unusual capability might help solve a string of murders. Jennifer Connelly stars as a young girl who arrives at an eerie Swiss boarding school where the students are being butchered by a serial killer. An edited version of the film was released in the United States under the title Creepers. Phenomena is a 1985 Italian horror film directed by Dario Argento.
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