Inferno

Rating:
Summary: Opera Horror that burns you to a crisp!
Review: This flick IS Argento's masterpiece, nuff sad. Most claim either Deep Red or Suspiria is his classic, actually THIS is. The story of witches and suspended animation is dazzling! Much superior to Suspiria, and I ADORE Suspiria!!! The ending of this film when Madame Tenebrarum turns into death is a masterpiece!!! See this film, it will blow you away!!!

Rating:
Summary: Argento at his most barking mad!
Review: This is my own favourite Argento movie, but if you try and work out the plot it will drive you nuts. It's best viewed as a dark and incredibly gory fairytale and companion-piece to Suspiria. Irene Miracle becomes curious about the history of the old New York mansion block where she lives. Big mistake, but oh forget the logic. Just lap up the marvellous set-pieces: a swim through an underwater apartment (why is it flooded? don't even ask!), a witchy teenager and a cat who materialise during a music tutorial, a slasher murder set to the Slave's Chorus from Nabucco, a rat attack in Central Park - I could go on but see it for yourself. The soundtrack is an audacious blend of Verdi and - wait for it - Keith Emerson. Sheer bliss.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but missing something...
Review: This so-called sequel to Suspiria, which focuses on another one of the "three mothers" is a surprising disappointment. The story is severely flawed, and some of Argento's murder sequences are a bit lame. This film probably deserves 3 stars, but after viewing the film I realized that it wasn't really that bad. After all, it features a great score by Keith Emerson, has some very eye-catching parts (mainly the under water room and the alchemist in the library). It also features the wonderful Daria Nicolodi (also in Deep Red and Tenebre).

I suggest first time viewers try renting this film first, as you may find yourself highly disappointed. Although, for Argento fans it's a must, and over time you will probably find yourself appreciating the over all artistic expression that was put into the film.

Rating:
Summary: Grade-A DVD treatment for Argento misfire
Review: Though prized by many Dario Argento fans as one of the director's major works, "Inferno" (1980) emerges as a real disappointment. Stripped of the necessity to construct a cohesive plot (which distinguished the giallo epics that made his name), Argento relishes the opportunity to strip "Inferno" down to the bare essentials: Leigh McCloskey is an American music student in Rome who returns home to New York to look for his sister (Irene Miracle) who's gone missing in a neo-Gothic apartment building where deadly supernatural forces hold sway. This 'bare bones' scenario allows Argento to concentrate exclusively on a series of loosely-connected set-pieces, each self-contained and virtually independent of the main thematic framework. For reasons which will delight some and mystify others, characters react to extraordinary events in completely unrealistic ways: Miracle discovers a rotting corpse in a hidden room in the basement and fails to contact the police. Likewise, McCloskey is drugged into unconsciousness while searching the building and dismisses the experience as though it were nothing. A ghostly Ania Pieroni turns up in the middle of McCloskey's music class, completely unobserved by anyone else, whispering something unintelligible before drifting away on a gust of supernatural wind. And so on.

With characterisations, plot and - most importantly - drama sacrificed in favor of dream-like set-pieces, it's virtually impossible to get a handle on the proceedings, and for all its mayhem and visual beauty, it simply lies there and dies there. Perversely, the film's refusal to operate in a conventional narrative manner and to supply concrete answers to most of its mysteries has provided plenty of ammunition for intellectual movie students over the years (Maitland McDonagh provides a good account of "Inferno's" subtextual concerns in her book 'Broken Mirrors Broken Minds The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento'). But anyone simply looking for a good story, well told, are best advised to look elsewhere.

But don't despair! When "Inferno" works, it sings. There's a genuinely terrifying moment when a supernatural presence makes itself known in the apartment of Eleonora Giorgi, one of McCloskey's fellow music students - Argento's use of sound and vision during this sequence is extraordinarily effective, particularly his use of 'Va Pensiero' from Verdi's 'Nabucco' as an aural counterpoint to the on-screen horrors. The subsequent assault on Giorgi and Gabriele Lavia (a helpful neighbor who comforts Giorgi following her hair-raising encounter with a spectral killer at the local library!) is brilliantly ochestrated, and so is the pay-off when McCloskey stumbles on the gruesome aftermath. "Inferno" achieves greatness during moments like this, but it can't sustain itself over feature length, and the result is probably Argento's least memorable achievement.

That said, anyone who loves this movie will find themselves well-served by Anchor Bay's definitive DVD version (running time: 106m 7s). Presented anamorphically at 1.85:1, this is the only home video print to date which accurately reproduces the beautiful color scheme employed on this production. Recalling "Suspiria" at its most vivid, the DVD is completely unblemished. And anyone lucky enough to have 5.1 audio playback capabilities are advised to turn the volume up to the max (warn the neighbors beforehand, though!) and allow the awesome soundscape to scare you witless. It doesn't have the same frightening intensity as "Suspiria", but you won't be disappointed. Add to this a trailer, brief interviews with the film's chief collaborators and a handful of biographies/filmographies, this adds up to an impressive achievement. Whatever you think of the movie itself, there's no denying Anchor Bay's superb reproduction on DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Ambiguity is not incoherence
Review: When I read the other reviews for Inferno, I was lead to believe that it would be a hard to understand, but stylish, mess. I have heard the term "style over substance" so many times in reference to Argento's films that it has become a cliche'. Inferno is one of Dario's most bizzare and unconventional narratives, but it is not incoherent. A good horror film should always be aloof or ambiguos (take Kubrick's "The Shinning"). Horror becomes cheesy if over-explained. The scene in Suspiria when the dog rips out the blind guys throat would not have been as effective if we knew exactly why it happened, this is the difference between a great horror film and your average episode of "Charmed".
I personally found Inferno very unnerving and creepy. I won't spoil the plot, but in the first scene in the cellar, I sat bolt upright in anticipation.
Technically speaking, Argento is at his stylish best on this one. The lighting is great (even thought the saturated red/blue does get a little over used), the building and set pieces used were fabulous and (much to my surprise) I really enjoyed Keith Emerson's score.

Rating:
Summary: "Suspiria" Sequel Satisfies
Review: With better overall cinematography, and more sinister music, I think I actually like "Inferno" better than "Suspiria." I know someone is going to have a death warrant out on me now, but I have to say that the Goblin soundtracks for "Deep Red" and "Suspiria" sometimes JUST DIDN'T WORK. They are interesting, true, but never really help scare me. I am a very traditional as far as soundtracks go (among my faves are the soundtracks of Danny Elfman, and Worjech Kelar's soundtrack to "Bram Stoker's Dracula"), so the piano-and-string scary music Keith Emerson arranged for "Inferno" is just right. Also, the story in "Inferno" also actually explains the Three Mothers, which "Suspiria" did not. In addition, there were more scares in "Inferno" than in "Suspiria". There were actually scenes that made me catch my breath. On the other hand, the main characters, for the most part, are very boring and shallow. But isn't that the case in most Argento films? I loved the story concept, lighting, the camera shots, the surreal situations, and outrageous murders. See this movie.

Rating:
Summary: What the %$#!
Review: WOW! What the heck was going on with this flick? The film had a true sense of Argento's style with flash, bizzare murders set to the creepiest music and lighting, but unlike Deep Red, this movie made no sense whatsoever! Even with seeing Suspiria before Inferno, this movie made no sense. I'm not saying the movie was bad, because the muders were shot in such a true Argento style, that you had to like them. So many questions of this flick were left unanswered. What was up with the hot dog vendor? What was up with the ending? Who knows...maybe we'll find out when Argento finishes the trilogy up. I reccommend this flick to seasoned Argento fans, or those who have seen Suspiria, but don't make this your first Argento film, start with Deep Red.