Deep Red 2022 Revisit

 I remember going through a little bit of a "Daria mourning phase" after Nicolodi's death in 2020. I had watched Bava's Shock, Argento's Tenebre and Phenomenon, etc. I sort of found myself watching "Shock" (Beyond the Door II), and this desire to just watch our beloved Daria came to the fore. I just enjoy the hell out of her in "Deep Red". She's this spirited, aggressive reporter, while Hemmings' pianist and conservatory teacher is a bit intimidated and miffed by her. I always enjoyed that dynamic. Marc seemed frustrated by how Gianna is so take charge, so blunt and on the nose in everything. She really has an interest in solving the murder of Helga, the German visiting psychic who has "immediate telepathy", sensing thoughts (memories) as they happen from others. So in the giant opera house where a lecture is open to the public interested, Helga visualizes the murder of a man in a room, later tied to The House of the Screaming Child. Key piece of information later brought up, seemingly minor at the time, is when Marc is able to trace the whereabouts of his friend and fellow musician, Carlo, to Carlo's lover's house, Massimo. Massimo (a young man dressed as a woman, but an actual actress hired by Dario to be a young man dressed as a woman; this is a bit of what makes Dario so unique among his peers working in Italian giallo/horror at the time) tells Marc that Carlo came to his home extremely depressed, drunk, and later while sleeping he screamed. 

Any evidence tied to the murder in that room, where the killer could be uncovered by Marc, must be removed violently. The novelist of the book Marc wants to talk to about The House of the Screaming Child, a psychiatrist who happens to realize the murdered novelist left behind a clue before her death by finger on the wall before steam leaves the bathroom, the psychic who saw through her mind's eye the murder; the killer must make sure what they know isn't revealed. Even Marc isn't beyond danger, especially since he keeps investigating. 

When novelist Amanda Righetti (Calandra) has her face buried in a bathtub of scalding water, it is hard not to think about "Halloween II" (1981) later on. And that masterful little mechanical doll in a suit on the bicycle just brings the Jigsaw vibes.

The little girl named Olga with a violent impulse towards lizards and an attraction for gory children's art (taken from an art school named after Leonardo da Vinci) being a means to an end for Marc is pure Argento. I love these wacky characters he plugs into his films. When her father smacks her for the pin in the lizard, Olga just bites her lip and tastes the blood. And leave it to Argento to make sure Carlo can't just get shot. That would be too easy on him. He has to be drug by a garbage truck, his head slammed into a concrete curb and later squashed under a motorcar tire!

Joe Bob's presentation of the film is fascinating to watch as he points out Argento's eccentricities, curious about them, with his own way of describing scenes that bewilder him along with his trivia details. While I love watching this film on its own, Joe Bob talking about Argento is a blast to me. His interpretation of Argento: how could I not love that?!

Darcy, Joe Bob's teammate and "mail girl", being such a giallo fan, and seen Goblin in concert twice, is the perfect colleague for his Shudder show, The Last Drive-In.