Why so much hype?

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

My first Argento experience and the my first film within the giallo horror sub-genre, a specific Italian production that excels in body horror. And oh my, what a bizarre experience this was. I've heard about Argento's filmography through the grapevine on various occasions, so naturally my expectations somewhat exceeded the actual result. Surrealism at its most grotesque. An exchange student travels to Switzerland where she soon discovers, with the help of a local entomologist, that she is able to communicate with insects. She partners up with a fly (hang in there) to try and solve a case where her school friends are being murdered. I mean, I've seen some unusual buddy cop films in my time, but this may just be the most unusual pairing. Her psychic ability with insects allows her to tame, control and summon them. Surprisingly the entomologist, a professor of science might I add, is absolutely fine with this concept and in fact assists her as opposed to oh I don't know...conducting experiments on her? An incredibly bizarre plot, yet seems utterly fitting given the 80s aesthetic tone and heavy metal soundtrack. B-Movie galore, and that includes the mostly horrific acting. From maniacal villainous laughs to horrifically monotonous lines of dialogue, the majority of performances were more lifeless than a dead fly. Cheap visual effects are kept to minimum here, only decapitated heads and melting faces are on show. That's all part of the Argento charm, his stylised techniques accompanied with Albani's cinematography make for some visually charged scenes. The story is rather unfocused, with only the third act really captivating me. And, let's be honest, it's not really a horror film. More of a fantasy mystery. Perhaps I'm not well acquainted with the B-Movie charm just yet. So whilst this may not be the excellent terrifying film I was promised by many, due to borderline terrible acting and inconsistent pacing, it has prolonged my intrigue to view Argento's other films.

22:30 into the movie and I am mind-blown that this movie has received such a high rating on IMDB. HOW?!??! The scripting is horrible, the acting is horrible, the soundtrack is horrible.... UGH. Someone gets stabbed in their hand for 5 seconds straight with absolutely NO BLOOD? Wtfe. This movie is definitely one of the worst movies I have ever seen, and that was a good 20 minutes ago. It is an insult to every horror movie before 1985 to say that this movie is good. An absolute insult.

"Phenomena" has Jennifer Connelly, (in her first film after working on Sergio Leone's 'Once Upon A Time In America'), as a teenager who arrives at a Swiss boarding school where the students are being stalked by a serial killer. She discovers she has special psychic powers, and uses them to pursue the killer. 'Phenomena' is Argento returning to 'Suspiria' and 'Inferno', yet infusing it with 'Giallo,' and coming up with one of his more unusual pieces. While the Swiss setting is devoid of any cultural markers (no hint of Hitchcock in use of locale), Argento presents one of his finest opening set-pieces. In a country setting a girl misses her bus and seeks refuge inside a mysterious home, there she collides with the film's faceless chained-up killer. Fleeing through a waterfall she is ultimately stabbed and decapitated by the killer. It's a vicious sequence from an unusually tranquil film that dabbles with the idea of nature having more power over us than we realise. Jennifer loves insects and is a somnambulist, and whilst sleepwalking witnesses a murder and therefore becomes a target of the film's faceless killer. While lost in the woods, she meets John and his monkey and connects with insects near and far. Like a wayward Gretel she is led into Argento's fairy-tale forest by a glowing insect; Argento cuts to an insect's POV, splitting the frame into segments, showcasing his obsession with the eye, sight and sightlessness. There may be no logical connection between the film's killings and Jennifer's gift, but that does not detract from the fact that this is one very unique film. 'Phenomena' was released in the United States in an edited version under the title of 'Creepers', continuing Argento's lack of any meaningful success in the United States since 'Suspiria'.

31 Days Of Horror: Day 3Ahh, Dario Argento. Never has a director been such a genius at setting atmosphere, picking perfect music and visually drawing the viewer in, and so tragically challenged with pacing, story beats and especially directing actors. His films always look and sound like something from a surreal nightmare, and always have some level of ineptitude in other areas. If you go in knowing this your first time with an Argento flick, it lessens the blow of shock. Phenomena isn't AS extreme of an example, but there's still some...moments. That being said, it's got a musical and visual element unlike any other, and is downright intoxicating. Youthful Jennifer Connelly plays Jennifer Corvino, an American girl arriving at a remote boarding school in the picturesque Swiss Alps. As per usual in Argento's films, there's an unseen murderer on the loose, killing girls from a relentless POV perspective. The opening sequence is a stunning ride through the countryside, set to the warbling, eerie tones of Goblin and Claudio Simonetti's time capsule worthy soundtrack. It soon turns violent and we see where the film intends to take us. It's a startling opening sequence to rival Argento's classic opening murder in Suspiria. Jennifer fits in well enough at the school, but starts having hypnotic sleepwalking episodes (again set to the striking soundtrack) that put her dangerously close to the path of the killer. She meets charming entomologist McGregor in town, played by the incomparable Donald Pleasence, and his pet chimpanzee🙉. Together they attempt to find the killer, aided by a local cop (Patrick Bachau) and Jennifer's strange, random ability to communicate with insects via telekinesis. Weird enough for you yet? There's a trick I use to get past the semi real, often detaching nature of some of the acting and fractured, bizarre storyline in his work: Let the experience wash over you in an almost subconscious way, and don't take everything at face value. It's more of an emotional state, a tone poem rather than a logical, rational narrative. Don't watch the movie, dream it. And what a dream this one is. Moments of stark, sheer ugliness are woven together with interludes of hazy passages of fairytale storytelling and music. Not everyone's thing, but one of my favourites.