Phenomena (1985)

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.

I had, probably still have somewhere, an ex-rental video of a much truncated version of this under the title, Creepers, and a chimp on the cover. The tape was in a wretched state and whenever I peeped at it, it always seemed to catch Donald Pleasance chatting in a vaguely Scottish accent. It would seems I was put off watching the film because a Blu-ray viewing now had me completely blown away. It is similar in tone to Suspiria and if not quite as rounded and utterly convincing there are compensations. For a start, here Argento has the young girls he wasn't allowed to use in the earlier film and a big difference it makes is that the 14 year old Jennifer Connelly is believably naive and worried yet aware of her affinity with insects. It makes the bullying aspect of the school more realistic as well. If the film doesn't always flow perfectly, move it certainly doe. As before there are terrifying chases to the sound of Goblin, but here other heavy metal outfits and I certainly heard the voice of Lemmy. All in all this is a great to look at thrilling film with a thunderously good soundtrack and a wonderful performance from young Connelly.

Argento has over the years made some bizarre horror movies (Deep Red, Suspiria and Inferno), but 'Phenomena' might be his most bizarre yet. The movie being a mix of both Giallo and Supernatural horror it might leave most people with a bad taste in their mouth. But this hybrid horror movie is phenomenally made. From its bizarre story and plot, to the macabre special-effects and settings, to Argento's direction and the strange mix of facts and fairy tale logic it somehow manages to blend movies such as 'Deep Red' and 'Suspiria' into one movie. Mixing genres is risky, since there is no guarantee to make the movie coherent and will probably alienate most of the audience. But I must say that Argento succeeded in making a brilliant movie. His bravery of mixing the genres he has had success in was nothing short of phenomenal and it makes 'Phenomena' stand out among the many bizarre 80's horror movies. First of all, the plot is the typical "whodunnit" plot. But it has a supernatural twist: our main character Jennifer Corvino can communicate with insects. Anyone remember when Argento refused - at first - to use the "image caught in the retina" plot device since he thought it would be too fantastic for the Giallo genre?Well, making the Giallo story and plot too supernatural is a no-no. That's why 'Suspiria' is not a Giallo, but a supernatural horror movie. A misconception many genre fans often commit. So our main character has the supernatural ability to communicate with insects. But it is not completely based on hokum, because, the main inspiration for the movie is Forensic Entomology. But the idea behind insects being able to communicate through telepathy is pure hokum. That is why I am saying 'Phenomena' is a hybrid, a mix of Giallo and Supernatural horror. It was a brave move by the Maestro of Horror. Another strange fact mixed in the movie is the Patau Syndrome, in which the killer's child has Patau Syndrome. It goes back to the Freudian psychology of bad people's behavior can be traced back to the childhood or trauma. Frau Brückner was raped by an institutionalized criminal and, it led to her giving birth to a child with Patau Syndrome. She hated her child and he is the reminder of her trauma, but her motherly instinct was strong enough to want to care for her child. Her repressed emotions of trauma and her child led to her becoming insane and murdering girls for the sake of making her child feel good. This behavior leads back to mankind's possessive nature and jealousy, in which people we hold dearly must be protected at all cost.Anyway, I'm making the review too long. Let's wrap it up: Jennifer Connelly, Daria Nicolodi and Donald Pleasence gave good performances. Dario's direction was spot on. The plot and story was a great mix Giallo and Supernatural. The special effects and sets were macabre but eerily beautiful. The ending was a mix of black humor and horror. 8/10

In her youth, Jennifer Connelly made a name for being a young actress. In Phenomena, aka "Creepers" she plays a student in Switzerland learning abroad. While learning, she discovers that she has the ability to communicate with insects. It comes in handy when a killer is on the loose killing the young ladies. Months earlier, one student is beheaded by a mysterious killer. A wheelchair bound doctor(Donald Pleasence) is determined to help find the killer with Jennifer's help. Her power of telepathy to insects makes her a outcast to the school. The rest of the girls insult her so bad, she wants to go back to the States. That happens right after her French roommate gets killed. Her sleepwalking gets the attention of the doctor. But when he gets murdered, Jennifer takes action. The chimpanzee assistant has her ways of getting into trouble, but even she has her connection with Jennifer. A great movie it is. Bizarre as well. A major keeper in the horror vault. Rating 4 out of 5 stars.