Wonderfully offbeat film!

One of my all time favorites.

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Listening to music from co-writer/(along with Franco Ferrini & Carlo Lucarelli) director Dario Argento's movies,I stumbled across an excellent Rock track,which I was surprised to discover was from one of his more recent films.After having seen all of his other feature films, (with the exception of Argento's "live opera" Macbeth)I decided that for my 29th birthday that I would go to sleep.The plot:Leaving a clients place,a prostitute trips over a folder that the client has left out, (woops!)which contains clippings on a serial killers reign 17 years ago.Grabbing the folder,the prostitute rushes out with the folder and jumps on a train.Sitting on the train,the prostitute gets a call from the client,who tells her that he is going to track her down.Finding herself on her own,the prostitute is suddenly gripped by a strangers hands,who kills her.Making sure that there is no chance of getting identified,the murderer kills the prostitute's friend and takes the folder back into safe hiding.Learning about the killings,retired detective Ulisse Moretti notices that the killings look eerily similar to a "nursery rhyme/Dwarf Killer" serial killer (who was found dead via "suicide" bullet in the head) case that he solved 20 years ago.As the bodies start to pile up and the nursery rhyme lyrics return, Giacomo Gallo (whose mum was one of the original victims) reminds Morettthat that he promised him that he would get his mothers killer,as Moretti begins to fear that he read the wrong rhyme 20 years ago.View on the film:Backed by a thunderous score from Goblin, (who joined after original composer Goran Bregovich asked for more cash!)Dario Argento builds an excellent halfway house,with references to his past work being spread across a tense millennial Giallo chiller.From the blood- splatted opening Argento reveals a rejuvenated energy, as dazzlingly stylised whip pans and jagged tracking shots give each of the murder set pieces a blazing atmosphere. Reuniting with cinematographer Ronnie Taylor,Argento & Taylor smoke the Giallo in Film Noir red,by scattering needles of rain and bursts of smoke in decaying buildings,which creates an excellent bleak canvas for the reign of terror.Whilst the final twist does take the title into a deranged comedic direction,Argento & Franco Ferrini collaboration with novelist Carlo Lucarelli makes the change one that is easy to forgive.For the opening 30 minutes,the writers hit a perfect note of keeping the murders moving at a lightning speed,whilst making sure to drop clues to future revelations.Sinking into the Film Noir side of the Giallo,the writers smartly give Moretti & Giacomo partnership space to breath,which gives the uncovering of the truth a tense mood,and also leads to a fantastic twist in the last 30 minutes hitting an unexpectedly tragic note.Looking rather fetching in bra & panties,the very pretty Chiara Caselli gives a terrific performance as Giacomo's girlfriend Gloria,whose uncompromising,determined attitude tightens Moretti and Giacomo's desire to solve the case.Giving the title a warm sense of gravitas, Max von Sydow pulls up the Film Noir roots of the Giallo in his superb performance as Moretti.Looking worn down to the bone, Sydow paints Moretti as a Film Noir loner whose fading memory is unable to block Moretti's doubt over solving the case decades ago,as Argento's Giallo gloves start to make Moretti sleepless.

I'm still sort of new to Argento's films but I found this film of his to be one very solid effort. The first half has this very unusual tone and atmosphere that makes you feel both uncomfortable and creeped out at the same time. The death scenes in my opinion are more tense here than in some of his older films.The acting is very good although the occasional dubbed voice causes some actors to look like their facial expressions almost don't match their voices.One outstanding feature is the cinematography. The camera constantly moves around and many of the settings are lit up just right enough to create it's atmosphere.Overall, it's a very well made and solid gaillo from Argento and is well worth the effort even for fans of the genre and not necessarily Argento.

When you watch a Dario Argento flick, you know what to expect. Still, being a sucker for a good slasher pic, I still give these movies a chance. You get the gore, you get ... Well, that's about it. The acting, of course, is awful. The script? Well, I wonder if there ever was one. Seems like they improvised this one over some good pot. Thrills? Not really. Even the killings are fake as hell. I know, that's what Argento stands for, but one has to wonder: why has this guy gathered such a reputation? Is it because "it's so bad it must be good"? I read someone's comment here that if you don't like this film, you know nothing about movie making. No kidding?

Dario Argento returns to the form that made him famous, that of the giallo. The results are certainly decent although not quite up to the highs of his earlier works like Cat O'Nine Tails and Deep Red. As in previous films, there are red herrings galore and Argento fills the screen with his trademark camera shots and ultra violence. One scene in which a victim has their face smashed against a wall is particularly gruesome, complete with teeth falling out of the ruined mouth and face. Like many of Argento's films, the dubbing is truly horrific. I can't speak Italian so I'm assuming that the dialogue sounded much better in its native tongue than the overacted and pulpy English dub that I viewed. Max Von Sydow is great as the detective who worked on the case 17 years ago and now must return to the one that got away and try and solve it. The film is certainly well done and better than the director's last few films, but the only real problem that I had with it was it overstays its welcome. Shorn of perhaps 20-30 minutes, the film would have been much tighter and worked a bit better.