Phenomena

Rating:
Summary: Underated Argento classic gets a great transfer
Review: Being an owner of Suspiria and a True Argento fan this is gonna sound very strange but I would have to say thet Phenomena is my favourite Argento film. It has a solid Goblin soundtrack that I think is one of their best and most atmospheric yet. Tell me if you dont love the music when Jennifer Connelly slips into one of her sleepwalks. I also think that the story as well is one of the most straight forward and easy to follow (plotwise) ones from Argento. I was very happy when Anchor Bay released this as this film was lost for years and I refused to get Creepers. The transfer is truly magnificent and the sound is very clear but the most important thing is that this is the uncut original version and not the butchered 'Creepers'. Jennifer Connelly gives an impressive performance in this film (I used to have a serious crush on her) and there isnt any evidence of any dubbing of the other actors that you normally get with Argento flicks. Im tired of the negative reviews for this film, I think that it is so well directed and stands out from many of the other crap horror films that were around in the 80's. Typically the lighting is very good (as in Suspiria, Deep Red) and the scenery is also impressive heightening the atmosphere. Argento's movies are so much different and more complex than most horror films. The film seems to flow together very well and has some genuinely scary moments and twists to boot. I love the scene at the beginning where you see the killer breaking free from the wall, also the scene involving the bath at the end. It doesnt have the dread atmosphere of Suspiria but it works. With the impressive extras and insightfull commentary track, I would recommend this to any horror fan. I also think that it is a good introduction into the world of Dario Argento whom I am starting to think is better than Lucio Fulci. Take my advise (get this now). Get Suspiria as well.

Rating:
Summary: Not A Film For People Who Like "Freddy"
Review: Ok. If you like Argento I assume that's why you've come to this place here. People who don't know who he is, rent Suspiria and then come back. Creepers (its slightly silly American name), if you haven't already heard (come on now)is very interesting, complex, and has the typical Argento weirdness that flavours everything he touches. Connelly plays a girl with telepathic powers (she can communicate with insects) who becomes involved in a plot involving a mad serial killer on the loose in...where else? Switzerland. And to make matters even more kinky or whatnot, he's killing girls in a boarding school. The end is the best part, I think, although I would say very frightening for anyone who cannot tolerate horror films. Ever since I saw that film I've hated being near water and boats, and no, I don't like Friday The 13th!

Rating:
Summary: Creepers: Possibly the best horror film of the 1980's
Review: Creepers is special in a very important way: it's one of the few truly scary and entertaining horror films to come out in the 1980's. Jennifer Connelly is superb in her role as a girl who is friends with insects. A chilling heavy metal soundtrack, including bits from Iron Maiden's Powerslave album, enhances each and every terrifying scene. Donald Pleasance is perfect in one of his many roles in a great horror film. Overall, this film is great. A Warning for the queasy: An overblown vomiting scene is included. Rated R for violence, mature themes, profanity and gore.

Rating:
Summary: I LOVE THIS SLASHER-SUSPENSE FILM!
Review: Dario Argento Italy`s Premire Horror Director has created a well made thought out horror film that contains the best horrifying images i have ever seen. Jennifer Connley plays a gifted young girl who has the naive abilty to connect with insects is sent away to an all girl school which is the setting for a series of grisley murders. As Jennifer invesitgates these murders she enters the most horrifying nightmares she can ever encounter. Some Gross out scenes but it still kept me glued to

the screen. Most horror films of today can`t do that anymore. I lost all track of time when seeing this film that`s how much i enjoyed this film. Destined to become a modern day Horror classic! I love this movie! Another standout in this film is Donald Presence as the lonley doctor who befriends Jennifer. Like I said i Love this film!

Rating:
Summary: THIS MOVIE IS AN ACID TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I don't know what to say, first off Dario Argento is god!!! This movie is wild and crazy, Dario Argento is able to keep his stories fresh and on the edge, yet make it watchable, without the viewer saying "Now what the hell was that?" The camera work is amazing, as well as the directing and Jennifer acting is wonderful (not bad, since she was only 14 when this film was made). Donald gave us a super acting job as well. The beauty of Dario Argento is he always pushes his skills to the limit and the result is a great movie, his effects are at time amusing, yet insane!!!! This is a crack version of Snow White and if one buys this movie they must get the soundtrack by Goblin or don't even bother. A must for Argento fans, a must for movie fans!!!!!!!! Dark, Demented, Dario!!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Dario's favorite, and one of mine, too
Review: Many people call this one of Dario's weakest films, yet it is Dario's favorite. I loved it, as well. It feels like one long, frightening, beautiful dream where anything that can happen does happen.

The plot revolves around Jennifer Corvino (Jennifer Connelly), the daughter of an international movie star who is sent to a Swiss boarding school for education. While getting settled in, she learns of a murderer killing girls in the area. Also, we learn that she can communicate with insects.

That night, she has a sleepwalking attack, and witnesses something before ending up at the home of John McGregor (Donald Pleasence). The two become friends, as more people die and Jennifer's school think she has gone insane.

This film was my introduction to Dario's work and I have been a fan ever since. I believe Tenebrae would be a better introduction to Dario, but this is still a wonderful film. Check it out.

Rating:
Summary: Argento's neglected masterpiece finds a home on DVD
Review: Anchor Bay's code-free edition of Dario Argento's PHENOMENA not only restores the film to its original length, it also reveals the method in Argento's madness. Whereas the edited version (CREEPERS) was a fast-moving collage of half-baked themes which evoked nothing of any significance, PHENOMENA reinstates the crazy-quilt pacing, whereby dream-like passages surrender abruptly to episodes of screaming hysteria, all of which is essential to any appreciation of the film's dark ambitions. Romano Albani's sumptuous cinematography transforms the breathtaking Swiss locations into a fairy-tale landscape where monstrous eruptions of violence disturb the illusion of tranquility, and Jennifer Connelly drifts through the narrative in a state of near-hypnotic grace, allowing herself to become ensnared by the machinations of a deformed killer and his/her equally psychotic 'guardian'. True, the longer version is bogged down at times by lengthy dialogue scenes which hold up the plot, and the involvement of Donald Pleasence's chimp is no less misguided than before (its final act of retribution crosses the line into absurdity), but the set-pieces are magnificently realised, and the final 20 minutes are as hair-raising as anything in Argento's ouevre. Restored to its original cinematic glory, this outstanding DVD is 28 minutes longer than CREEPERS, and the sound and picture quality is truly exceptional. Though listed by most reference sources as a scope production (due perhaps to the confusing on-screen credit "Filmed in Panavision"), the film appears to have been photographed at 1.66:1 (but WHY! ), and that's how it appears on Anchor Bay's non-anamorphic DVD. Elsewhere, there's a trailer, a somewhat lacklustre audio commentary by the director and his collaborators, a couple of music videos, footage from Luigi Cozzi's documentary feature "Dario Argento Master of Horror" (1991), and a brief interview with Argento that was recorded for US TV in 1985.

Rating:
Summary: PHENOMENA---It will make your skin crawl...
Review: ...and it did. PHENOMENA was awesome. Jennifer Connely is sassy, beautiful, and a little on the odd side. The ending sequence is awesome. I was really suprised when Dario revealed the killer's identity. I didn't really get it, but after the second viewing I finally figured it out. Note: Pay attention to every piece of dialogue. The music is really cool too. There are also 25 minutes of features on the VHS tape including: two music videos, the theatrical trailer, behind the scenes featurette and an interview with Dario Argento. Note: Stay away from the 28 minute cut version entitled CREEPERS. It's horrible. Do yourself a favor, buy this video and treasure it. It will bring you everlasting enjoyment.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best horror films out there!
Review: With a score that makes this film irresistable, and the essential timing of it all, PHENOMENA stands out as winning dedication to the admirably weird. Jennifer Connelly gives a stunning performance and seems so right for the role of Jennifer Corvino, an actor's daughter, who has a supernatural relationship with insects. Donald Pleasence is also superb as Professor John McGregor, an entymologist who assists Jennifer in finding a killer roaming the campus of a girls school. Daria Nicolodi, who looks so different from when she was in TENEBRE plays Mrs. Bruckner. She surprises me the most in the film and it is fun watching her performance. Above all, the cute little monkey steals the show. A suspensful and original film. Outstanding scenes: Finding the glove in the woods, When Jennifer is first made fun of and she responds back with "I love you. I love you all." A rare treat in the horror/sci-fi genre.

Rating:
Summary: AMAZING!
Review: I WISH THERE WERE MORE HORROR FILMS LIKE THIS. EVEN IF YOU TAKE OUT ALL THE GORE (WHICH I LOVED), IT STILL STANDS UP WITH ALL THE SUSPENCE. DARIO ARGENTO RULES!