Tenebre

Rating:
Summary: An impressive return to the italian giallo genre
Review: After many years and after doing only supernatural movies (SUSPIRIA, INFERNO) Dario Argento returned to the genre that made him famous, the italian giallo genre. This was a well recieved film when it came out. And instead of using the dark cinematography he usually uses he decided to try making this film sunny and it does not lessen the impact of the film. It is about an american author named Peter Neal(Anthony Franciosa) who is promoting his new book TENEBRAE in Rome and while he's there a mysterious killer (using the black gloves that have become a recurring prop in Argento's giallo films) viciously murders "perverts" in the same way as in the book TENEBRAE. He murders a theif, lesbians, etc. He considers them perverts. The movie is relentlessly violent, especially towards the end and it has many plot twists. Argento relies more on narrative in this film than he usually does but it still has his same style. It again features a great score by Goblin and it also features the director's wife, Daria Nicolodi. For the recored she has been in many of his films(DEEP RED, INFERNO, TERROR AT THE OPERA a.k.a OPERA and PHENOMENA a.k.a CREEPERS). This is one of Argento's best films and it features many famous sequences, including a crane shot that was very difficult to pull off in those days.

Rating:
Summary: One of Argento's top 5!!!
Review: "Tenebrae" aka:Tenebre/Unsane is better than other movies by Argento (Like Trauma, Syndrome and ugghh... The Phantom) mostly because of the direncting.

I LOVE american inteligent misteries like Se7en or Silence Of The Lambs, but the italians do better in that case. They combine "slasher" techniques with inteligent plots, giving us BEAUTYFUL movies. Tenebre's Violence is top-notch. But Argento's directing makes the murder sequences seem bautiful (Most people say that the "arm being chopped off" sequence was horrible, well, I thought it was WONDERFUL).

Argento does a wonderfull job on colors just like he did on Suspiria. The sets are white, the blood is deep red and the caracters wear white dresses, so we can see the blood spitting around. Another wonderfull thing about Tenebre is the rock/disco soundtrack composed by The Goblin (what ever happened to those wonderful disco/rock scores from the 80's ?). ButTenebre has a really bad point: The acting. Men act good (except for Johny) but women are terrible. I can't judge them because they where all dubbed, but whoever dubbed them must have ate frogs before doing it. Besides they where ugly and looked like men. Except for Daria, (too bad she was dubbed by Theresa Rushell) Tilda and the female cop. The ironic point is the girl on the beach dream sequences (You know, the one that looks like Linda Hamilton) who just hapened to be played by a transexual named Eva Robbins (Get this: Eva's birthname was Roberto). Argento bust have laughed from all those men that fell in love with her breasts without knowing that those breasts belonged to a HE.But don't worry, thank god Eva shows her breasts and nothing else! Followed by the bad dubbing witch are usually the main problem with Argento's films.

The DVD is good. Too bad there are no extras except for two really short making off segments, a cheesy triler and a sound comentary track.

Rating:
Summary: More horror-art from the Italian master of gore.
Review: Dario Argento has always been a mystery. He is a director who prefers grand stages to backalleys, murder then characterization, scenes then plot. His murders have an artsy quality to them, more like paintings then gory executions. He is the most backwards example of a horror director there has ever been. Yet he manages to draw out a primal reaction from his viewers with ever film he makes. 'Tenebre' takes us to Rome, where we meet a talented novelist who is being stalked by a relentless murderer who is drawing inspiration from the writer's novels themselves. Argento's trademark operatic styling comes into full swing during the second half of the film, starting with a long 3 minute tracking shot which scours over the rooftops and down the walls of a house where two young women will eventually be murderer. The infamous 'paint-the-wall red' scene would be entirely laughable if Argento didn't place it in the most serene of settings. His style always takes precidence over his plotting and 'Tenebre' is no exception. The story is weak and overly convoluted, wrapping up far after most have lost interest and containing one too many red herrings. But fans of his earlier films will find much to enjoy here.

Rating:
Summary: Argento's "funnest" Movie
Review: Actually 4 1/2 stars. Tenebre isn't Argento's best movie but one things for sure: it's definately his funest to watch. And it is the best one for someone who doesn't know his work to watch first, I know people who don't like horror that say this one is at least ok. The story involves... ah, heck with the story it all been done before and maybe better(In my best Argento impression), let's skip to the review(if you want story check out Brian DePalma's Dressed to Kill which this one is a lot like). Tenebre is a slick, stalk and slash, gut 'em murder mistery done with style to burn and flash with a killer music score from Goblin(da da da dung, da na da dung, da na da dung, da da da dung). If you don't like style get out, if you do dig in. It is also very hard to find out who the killer is. Less talky than Deep Red, more real life and less gory than Suspiria(although the ax murder and the end are both filled with the red stuff), gorier and bloodier than The Bird with the Crystal Pumage, and more restrained than Opera and more sex and nudity than all of them makes this his most watchable film. This one get you hooked in the begining and doesn't let go until the end. If there was one that would of broke him into the big time this would be it. The only thing that holds it back from being 5 stars is some of the acting(Nicolodi is good until the end and the women almost all stink). High body count but every murder scene is very well set up and executed. It's ironic that Tenebre means darkness in latin while every scene in the movie has a color of white or grey making the red stuff easier to see. In closing, Tenebre isn't the best horror movie in the world but if you catch it in the right mood it can be a fun ride. Best scenes: the first five murders(the second one is killer,baby) , the second to last death(which Mr. DePalma would later lift in Raising Cain), The ax murder(lot of red stuff), the conversation between Franciosa and the cop at a crime scene, and the conversation between Franciosa and Steiner.

Rating:
Summary: Not Argento's Best, But Stil Quite Fun
Review: Dario Argento is undeniably one of the best directors in the world. His visuals are stunning and his intrepid and innovative camera-work is unique and stimulating, exposing the viewer to the potential filmmaking has to offer. "Tenebre" is full of classic Argento directing, including a brilliant steadycam shot which took days to set up. Also, this movie contains enough grisly giallo scenes to satisfy the experienced gorehound. However, "Tenebre" lacks a dynamic script and thus the plot suffers some, presenting muddy characters whom we don't really care about. Though most of Argento's films are distancing and somewhat cold, "Suspiria" and "Phenomena" do more justice to his limitless talent.

Rating:
Summary: will knock you out of your seat
Review: Dario Argento has to be the closest thing Italian horror/suspense has come to having its own Hitchcock. "Tenebrae" confirms that: it's a rough-around-the-edges thriller about an author whose new novel inspires a series of violent copycat killings. Like most of Argento's movies, the plot gets lost in a tidal wave of style, but what's so bad about that? He maintains our interest with skillful tracking shots and unpredictable plot twists; his direction never falters for a second. There's also a suprisingly high level of bloodshed which took me by surprise, after seeing movies like "Suspiria" and "Deep Red," which kept the gore relatively sporadic.

This is one of the best Argento films I've seen so far. If you're looking for something similar to "Tenebrae," I'd highly recommend Lucio Fulci's "The New York Ripper."

Rating:
Summary: Oh, The HORRORS!
Review: This is easily one of Argento's best works here. Although it is not as artistic and "hallucinatory" as his film "Suspiria", Tenebre itself is a film which every horror lover must have on their shelves. The reasoning?

For the murders alone it is worth watching. Us Americans rarely see such graphic violence, or shall I say, we don't say the graphic violence ANYMORE, and watching this movie is definitely a treat. The brutal ax murders are aimed at the chest, the arms, the head, etc. There is one scene, which is just almost breathtaking. An arm gets chopped off and the white wall is sprayed, like in a wave form, of blood. The image right there is wonderfully displayed, with the blood red against the pure white.

The dreamlike sequences in the killer's brain are also wonderfully filmed. Watching them, you do not know who it is about, who is dreaming this, what is going on? All you know, you are watching a girl (actually a transgender in real life, if I'm not mistaken...)in a white dress and red high heel shoes doing things. What is happening though I won't spoil. All I will say is that Argento is sly and clever with this film.

The camera, as always, tells the story great. Rather than just focus on the girls' in their rooms listening to Goblin's music, Argento uses the camera to crawl up the walls, the ceilings, look through the windows, creep through stairways, for over two minutes. Sound stupid, and annoying? It's not. YOu have to see it to appreciate it.

Rating:
Summary: visually well done but hurting in other places
Review: I liked moments of Tenebre. I liked some of the well photographed individual shots, like the straight razor killing the light bulb, and the ending was indeed effective. However, I thought that the rock music detracted a lot from the film and unfortunately I saw it in the dubbed version which really took away a lot of the film's effectiveness, I think. Way too many killer POV shots as well. Effective scenes marred by okay pacing, bad music, shaky narrative make Tenebre a film that makes me want to see more Argento, but not this one again.

Rating:
Summary: A masterpeice - oh, actually it kind of sucks
Review: It's strange to see this called Argento's masterpeice - terms like masterpeice suggest that Argento might be a talented filmmaker, or that he's even made a good movie. About the best thing I can say about Argento is that he's better than Lucio Fulci - not really glowing praise. Argento's films are incoherent and terribly plotted, but are stylish enough to convince some people that they have worth beyond their true purpose as showcases for Argento's famous misogynistic gore. Do want to see a scene where a woman gets her arm cut off and the spurting blood from the stump colors the walls red, but feel smarter than you would if you were watching "Friday the 13th"? Then here you go - this peice... was made for you. There's also the matter of Argento's "technique" to discuss. The celebrated tracking shot is probably the emptiest and least justified use of the device outside of a De Palma movie (who is kind of like the American equivalent of Argento, except for more people have caught on to the fact that his films suck) - two minutes of looking at roof tiles while listening to... synth rock is hardly gripping or interesting. "Tenebre" is more ambitious and better looking than your average splatter movie, but scattered stylistic flourishes can't hide Argento's general incompetence as a filmmaker or a storyteller. Not profound, suspenseful, or particularly intelligent - just standard exploitation tricked up to be vaguely "artistic."

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Women and Well Staged Killings
Review: Tenebre is the kind of movie that will keep you guessing until the very end.The killings are done with style and gore and unlike the horror movies of today, the plot is not an afterthought.So if you like a slasher movie that will actually make sense of the violence then see Tenebre.