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Inferno

Inferno

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good, but a few noticable flaws bring it down
Review: I am a huge fan of Suspiria and Dario Argento so naturally after seeing Suspiria I rushed out and bought this. I knew this installment couldn't really match up to Suspiria but to tell you the truth I couldn't help but be a little dissapointed. Here are some of my likes/dislikes with the film.

LIKES:
Dario's direction and sense of style have not changed and the set pieces and shots in the film are top notch.

The kill count nearly doubles in this installment which leads to some very good moments, and some not as good. But nothing horrible (I mean you gotta love that hot dog vendor scene). And although the music may not be as creepy the suspense is still very much there.

The elaboration on the plot (although still a little confusing) is always nice.

DISLIKES:
The music bugged me a lot and is by far my number 1 compaint with this film and basically why I gave a 3 instead of a 4. This may seem trivial but the heart pumping masterwork in Suspiria gripped you and kept you on the edge of your seat for the rest of the film. The score in Inferno just fails to do this and is mostly just a soft piano score which loosens the tension and atmosphere for a lot of the film.

The only other thing that bugged me enough to mention was a few of the killings. I mean as I stated earlier I like most of them but they failed to match up to the grandiose masterpieces in Suspiria. More deaths are always good but it seems in some cases they exchanged quality for quantity. Moreover the back on the DVD says it's uncut but particularily in one of the scenes it fades out rather abruptly which bugged me because it was probably the best death in the film (I speaking of the window scene where Rose is killed).


OVERALL:
Despite a few areas most of the aspects of this movie are quite enjoyable and I highly reccomend this, especially to fans of Suspiria and Dario Argento.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent movie but some weird dubbing
Review: I have not much to comment on the movie itself. It'll be excellent for those ready to accept a surrealistic film and be poor for those looking for hight tech effects & true plot. I have to admit that I personally very much enjoyed it. I saw this movie first when I was some 14 and it had a considerable effect on me. Actually I could never forget the scene with the rotting body at the "basement" (and was careful enough to avoid stepping on any sewer top for years...). Since than a good 15 years has passed so I was a bit sceptic whether the movie could still have the same effect on me. It almost could. But there was something completely disturbing: the dubbing. During the whole movie I saw the guys standing next to their microphones, with pages in their hands, reading a text. As if it was a kind of a penalty for them. This never happened to me before but it almost ruined the whole atmosphere of the film. I'll switch to Italien the next time I watch it -not understanding a word- only to see if there's a difference. I won't lose much anyway since the movie is more built on visuals/sound rather than on conversations. I frankly don't understand how come a dubbing like that gets released.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Sequel to Susperia
Review: If you are looking for deep insight to what Dario Argento's "Inferno" means, I'm afraid you're going to have to look else where. I think I have the basics of the of the plot down, though. It seems that there is a book, "The Three Sisters", that tells about three witches who built three houses, one in Rome, one in Germany, and one in New York City. Since I heard that this was part two of a trilogy, I think that the one in Germany was the focus of Argento's "Susperia", but that is only a guess. Anyway, this one is about the New York house, which is actually a hotel, or an apartment building, or something like that. Everyone seems to be looking for a key, especially Mark and his sister (the latter whom gets brutally murdered). And the centrel figure of the myths (from these movies) also comes into sharper figure. The end gets very surreal, though. "Inferno" is full of strange happeneings; strange as in they make no sense. A man is being eaten alive by rats, then a man comes from out of nowhere and kills the rat victom. There are passageways that go everywhere for no appearent reason. We are never exactly clear who is commiting the murders. There are a lot of mysteries that are never really explined. In that respect Dario Argento reminds me a little bit of David Lynch; both of them make the movies they want to make, no matter what the audiences think. I have immence respect for that, even if I don't understand the material. The music is loud and jarring, very distracting. The side characters are unlikeable (like the bookstore owner) and the main character is just bland. I really liked the cinematography and lighting; it had a comic book brightness and sharp colors to it, very cool, if not really realistic. The sets were very Seventies, neo-modernist, and that was a bit distracting, but not too severe. This is a good movie for Argento fans, but I am afraid that mainstream audiences aren't going to get it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Emerson - Good/Movie - Bad
Review: If you purchase this movie because you are a fan of Keith Emerson (as I did), the only part you will enjoy is the music. This movie is typical of the nonsense that Europeans call film. It seems its only goal from a visual aspect is to present wild, un-connected poorly acted scenes. The story was almost non-existent. The lighting and set design looked like that of a college film student. The dubbing was almost unbearable to listen to. If you want to support Keith Emerson - buy his CD's.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Dario's Masterpiece in atmospherics
Review: If you're into the atmosphere of the world of horror, this is the flick for you. The music...the set designs...the premise..everything takes you into the most dreamy of the genre. This film is even more fairy tale-like than Suspiria, which of course is another great Dario flick. This is the most dreamy, ambient, vibey, gothic, colour cascaded, trippy, at times shocking, and yes possibly, esoteric film I have ever seen. I am torn between deciding if the world of inferno is the perfect version of Hell, or of Heaven. And Emerson's score tossed in with some Verdi....simply brilliant.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 6th film of Argento's. This one was amazing!
Review: In my review for Suspiria I put that it was my 4th film of Argento's I watched but it was my 5th...just wanted to fix that first.
Inferno is one hot movie. I cannot believe how scary this movie is. It is very dark, gothic. This is one erie story fimilar to Suspiria. This time, there is less time to get to know the characters because they don't stay alive long. What I am trying to say is..there seems to be a huge difference between this and Suspiria. Suspiria had a less complex story, you got to know the characters well, it made sense. Inferno, the story is far more bizarre, you don't really see the witch often (more in 1st person views during murders..seeing gloves). This film leaves me with an uneasy feeling. It sort of makes you wonder about life. I'm not saying I believe in witches, but this opens up your mind and makes you wonder about things. The hot dog vendor was freaky. I heard about this part before I saw this movie so when I saw him running..I knew what he was going to do. This film is one of the scariest I have ever viewed. It is so dark that I am left with unsetteling feelings.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It's Hot
Review: Inferno is another one of Argento's stabs at the supernatural. It's kind of a semi-sequel to Suspiria. Basically we got the three evil mothers that rule the world from their homes. One's in Italy, one's in New York(of course) and one's in Germany. A couple of characters stumble upon this fact through a rare book and look to figure it out. But basically anyone who gets nosy or near that damn book is slaughtered. That's the bare bones plot for the film, but it's not so much the plot that makes this so fun to watch, but the style, and we all know how good Argento is with style. Alot of people claim this film makes no sense, but I don't see why they think that. Hell, I just told you the plot. I think people find it confusing coz of the bizarre characters and situations that arise(the hotdog vendor thing is one of the funniest things I've ever seen in a film. I hope Dario wanted that to be funny). But all these you can put down to witchy hocus pocus. I'd strongly suggest watching this if you liked Suspiria. It's gory, very colorful, bizarre and downright trippy. And lets not forget that funky soundtrack by Keith Emerson(Da Da Do Dee Do Dee Do Dee Suspiriorum! Da Da Lachrymarum! Da Da Tenebrarum! Da Da Do Dee Do Dee Do Dee Do Dee Da Da Watch Your Step! Watch Your Step! Watch Your Step!). Watch it if you know what's good for you

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Argento's masterpiece.
Review: Inferno is more than just a series of brilliantly lit and executed septieces. Many claim it is dramatically inert and short on logic. Well, yes and no. Inferno achieves what many horror films attempt unsuccessfully: it moves with the pace of a dream, and its narrative is suffused with the texture and sense of a dream. These qualities, along with its technical virtuosity, combine to make Inferno a sublime example of Italian horror cinema. For sheer technical virtuosity alone, Suspiria still holds the prize. But as an overall horror film experience, Argento has rarely if ever been better than he is in Inferno. The common claim that it is "empty" surprises me, because I think that there is more depth to the Inferno experience than to the Suspiria experience; the former leaves you with an emotion that lingers on, while the latter's effect is more superficial.

Granted, it is one of Argento's less accessible films. And those who love Phenomena, a movie I consider to be an undigested, disappointing hodgepodge, are probably fated to hate Inferno. Make no mistake, though: Inferno is an Italian horror masterpiece on the same level as Bava's Lisa and the Devil.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Inferno- Long on style, short on logic and substance.
Review: Let me first say my actual star rating is 3 and a half. Now, after Dario's success with his masterpiece SUSPIRIA he began writing the script for INFERNO. But when i first saw the movie i wondered to myself "what script?!". While this is certainly not one of Dario's worst it is certainly not his best but it's good enough to keep from being just a mediocre movie. What little plot there is concerns a young woman named Rose (Irene Miracle) who is doing some research on the building she lives in and she disocovers it was built by a man who had some associations with a trio of witches for whom he built three buildings. In the first SUSPIRIA you see the first building which is the dancing academy and in this one the building we are in now is in New York City. Each building for each witch. They are called The Three Mothers. When she begins to suspect something unusual in the building she lives in she writes to her brother in Rome to come and visit her (when the movie switches over to Rome we briefly see the third witch, she is the one holding the cat). Soon after her brother Mark ( a bland Leigh McClosky) goes to New York City only to find out she has dissappeared. Soon after the movie becomes a series of situations that don't really mean anything. While the movie's cinematography and use of primary colors are very beautiful and the sets and special effects are very impressive the movie suffers from two things: a script that does not make any sense (this script is filled with too much nonsense, even for Dario to whom the plot never really makes much difference) and a bland leading man. Leigh McClosky is one of the blandest actors i have ever seen and therefore it is hard for the auddience to really care about him. The supporitng cast is pretty good though. Alida Valli (SUSPIRIA,THE THIRD MAN) returns but to play another role as the building's landlord. And Dario's girlfriend Daria Nicolodi works with him for the second time. She plays a sick Countess who lives in the building. And the musical score by Keith Emerson is very good. But like my title says, Inferno is long on style but not on logic and subtance. But compared to Argento's other dogs (TRAUMA, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA) this seems like a masterpiece. Dario has yet to finish his trilogy about The Three Mothers. Here's hoping the third one is better.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An Argento Near-Miss Still Superior to 99% American Horror
Review: Many reviewers have already pointed out strengths and weaknesses of this one-of-a-kind film, so let me stop at adding a few points. First, it is true that INFERNO dispenses with the murder-mystery angle and therefore can be potentially confusing and frustrating for a viewer looking for any dramatic logic in the character behavior. However, if one comes right down to it, Hitchcock's VERTIGO is also full of plot holes, its characters do not act sensibly or rationally, and the film ends in a bizarre, "that's all?!" manner as well. But no serious connoisseur of modern cinema would accuse VERTIGO of making no sense, right? From the very first frame of the film INFERNO announces that it is a largely soundstage-bound, expressionist cinema where color schemes of a composition shot could be far more important than the dialogues. I do not mean to suggest that the narrative of INFERNO is not confusing. It is, but other strengths outweigh its shortcomings in acting, characterization and dramaturgy. The "Three Mothers" premise I think also works quite well; it adds interesting dimensions to the gory killings and supernatural goings-on, without explaining away the "motivations" of the culprits as in an ordinary giallo thriller. There is a genuine sense of mystery and foreboding to the entire proceedings. All in all, INFERNO could have been easily superior to SUSPIRIA, BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE and even DEEP RED,(It is still, in my opinion, in an altogether different class from TENEBRAE or PHENOMENA) but there are a few glaring false steps taken by Argento that prevent it from being his true masterpiece. I will just mention one of them: the whole bit involving Kazanian (wonderfully played by Sacha Pitoeff, to be sure), cats and rats. Now don't get me wrong, I am NOT objecting to this out of any politically-correct animal-rights sensibility. But the entire sequence is simply out of sync with the rest of the film, its tone is completely off, and is pointlessly (as opposed to effectively) nasty. And as one reviewer mentioned, what's with the hotdog vendor?! Can Three Mothers assume male forms as well? Okay, so TOO MUCH confusion is not good after all...


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