Tenebrae (1982) / Dario Argento / Old Write-Up

 

Long-winded user comments from April 2010. I was inspired, to say the least:

Dario Argento's savage giallo(his last being 1975's Deep Red)Tenebrae deals with an American horror novelist's trip to Rome on a global book tour as his new paperback(also titled Tenebrae)becomes a success. His celebration is tainted when upon entering Rome, an obsessed fan begins murdering women in the city, using a straight razor like in the novel Tenebrae. But, when the weapon becomes an ax, and certain victims killed by this different instrument of execution do not fit the modus operandi, it beckons to question if there might be more than one psychopath on the streets stabbing folks.

As with the very best giallo thrillers, there's a list of suspects to choose from, and even better Argento's screenplay dotes on the effects of created horror, gore fiction, on society, perhaps purposely questioning the open critique on filmmakers and novelists who present stories featuring "abberant behavior", "perversion", and acts of violence towards helpless victims. Interesting how a lesbian critic and homosexual television show host both challenge our hero's work, what his books truly mean, the ill treatment of certain types of individuals whose lifestyles are might be considered "outside the realm of decency". Look at the choice of initial victims. A prostitute, a luscious shoplifter, and the aforementioned lesbian critic who scolds Franciosa who how his books doom certain people, in essence, condemning who he might find "unfit to live" due to his strict Catholic upbringing.

I also found it interesting that certain characters stumble upon clues implicating the murderer(s), such as the daughter of a hotel proprietor(who was running from a vicious, enraged dog which never lets up trying to rip her apart, even leaping over fences!)who actually accidentally finds the killer's lair where he keeps his photographs of victims, and a young man striving to be an agent, an apprentice working for Franciosa while he's in Rome, who sees a murder, soon recognizing an important puzzle piece he may never inform to the proper authorities.

John Saxon is Franciosa's hotshot agent who sees dollar signs and a major book deal, also keeping a secret from his boss. The wonderfully convoluted plot also includes a former lover of Franciosa's from New York City in Rome, and a series of memories(obviously in the mind of the killer)involving an incident on a beach with a slut and her boyfriends tormenting someone who disagreed with her amoral state of affairs.

What I love about the giallo genre is represented here, beautiful Italian women, stylish set pieces such as a fantastic camera pan around an entire condo showing how a killer is able to enter it without the occupants noticing him, potent outbursts of violence which befall unsuspecting victims caught off-guard, and odd little touches Dario always adds to his films(such as a vile hobo coming after one of the victims walking home, the mentioned dog who is relentless in it's pursuit of the girl running for her life, bickering people on the streets of Rome whose inaudible conversations are established, but never elaborated, etc). But it's the celebrated ending which gives Argento's movie it's reputation, a veritable blood bath with some of the greatest ax violence your ever likely to see..that is if you are an aficionado looking for the effects of an ax blasting bodies with a furious thud, chopping off an arm with a geyser of blood spraying in a stream across the wall, or the deep gash splitting open a chest. For once, which is a surprise for Argento's fans, his then girlfriend Daria Nicolodi actually doesn't get killed brutally. The ending, I imagine, will pack a wallop for those who are new to Tenebrae..maybe it won't come as a surprise, the revelation, but I figure the outburst of violence unleashed will be certain to leave a lasting impact. Of course, the condo murders, where the killer gets in as Argento shows through an upper window, is, for this fanboy, his masterwork, how the assassin must open a slit in the first victim's shirt(she is putting on a shirt as the killer attacks her!), her frightened eyes fixed on the one about to strike her down. The killer soon moving to the second woman barely dressed, slashing her throat, the victim's head smashing through a plate of glass, a deep wound bleeding out, her wet hair dangling. This is where, for better or worse depending on your tolerance for graphic ultra-violence, Argento is at his best, assaulting our senses, beautifully presenting mankind at it's most primal. But, I especially enjoyed Tenebrae for how Argento toys with the way giallo thrillers traditionally work. At this point, slasher movies were out in abundance, and I was amused at how Argento's film bested those in both artistic merit and savagery. Since I love Rome, most of film's being shot there also enhanced my viewing experience personally. Shot by the great Luciano Tovoli. The members of Goblin returned at Argento's request reluctantly to perform the superb electronic score for Tenebrae. Again, to reiterate, prepare yourself for a vast number of stabbings by knives and axes..many victims fall to the sword, so to speak. The extended sequence involving sexy "jailbait"(as Franciosa's character calls her when prodded by secretary Nicolodi after finding the girl in his room(she was tending to his matter regarding no hot water)) Lara Wendel, the girl running from the dog and into the residence of the killer, is one of my favorite protracted giallo set-ups because it follows someone to their impending doom and we must see her fall into a trap never to escape.