The Stendhal Syndrome (1996)

This is definitely Dario Argento's sickest movie yet, and definitely most depraved, but to be honest I just didn't feel this movie at all and not in my opinion one of Dario Argento's finest moments and further proved that he started losing his creative touch after the 1980's and what was he thinking casting his own daughter in this role. I'm not saying that Asia Argento was bad or anything in fact she played the role really well, it's just the fact that the things that happen to her in this, like getting graphically raped was unsettling and way too stylized in my opinion.The first half of the movie was okay, and we get some of Argento's classic touches with a plot cantering around a serial rapist/killer, and the main female character drifting off into a fantasy world when she sees paintings, which were beautifully shot, but then falls completely apart in the second half where it just failed to hold my interest once the killer was gone, and thrown in a completely unbelievable stupid twist ending that I saw coming a mile off.Asia Argento as I said before plays her role strongly and carry the entire film really well and Thomas Kretschmann (Alfredo) is chilling as the handsome-looking psycho, and really unsettling at the same time.All in all this just wasn't my cup of tea.

Firstly, I saw this on The Horror Channel and it was dubbed into 'American', which spoiled the authenticity of it all and cheapened it. I saw Argento's "Opera", which I loved and that was in its original Italian and was superb.Others have generally written lengthy reviews but I'm keeping it short, partly as I'm not really a fan of horror and not an expert on the subject. Therefore, I take as I find.I didn't mind the blood, or the body injury details but I did object to the sexual violence. Anybody who has any sense of human sensitivity would object too and whilst this is a part of the story, as it involves a serial rapist who then murders, watching it is near impossible. I don't know whether I'm saying Argento shouldn't have included those scenes, or not, but for me, they cloud the rest of the film and I find I cannot judge it fairly.I do like the creepiness that hovers around much of it, though the syndrome that causes Asia Argento debilitating hallucinations, with the works of art probably goes too far. I admire Argento's bold and vivid visuals as a whole, in both this and others of his I've seen - these are his major assets. However, the CSI type CGI'd visuals look out of place but of course we now compare them with CGI technology 15 years later.The film then moves into murder mystery zone rather than horror but I'm afraid that I'd lost concentration and interest by then. With the dodgy dubbing and stilted action it had lost its pace - and appeal. After the excellent 'Opera', this later Argento is disappointing, despite some interesting directorial flourishes.

Dario Argent is one of the finest directors of horror worldwide and has many fine films under his belt. Unfortunately The Stendhal Syndrome is not one of them. The 90's are seen as a weak era for Argento, personally I have only seen this and The Phantom of the Opera from this time, and I actually enjoyed the widely lambasted Phantom. Phantom, although far from perfect, was still an enjoyable movie with plenty of whacked out Argento touches. The Stendhal Syndrome, starring Dario's daughter Asia, has a promising story that ultimately goes nowhere, and with horrible CGI effects and slow pacing the movie fizzles out into nothing.The story centres on Detective Anna Manni (Argento) who is tracking down an elusive serial killer/rapist in Florence. To Anna's disadvantage she suffers from Stendhal's syndrome in which she gets bouts of dizziness and hallucinations when she is exposed to the sight of paintings and artistic masterpieces. The killer begins to target Anna, using her illness to his advantage.Argento creates an unsettling atmosphere throughout, this is definitely one of his darkest movies. Camera-work has always been one of Argento's strongest points, and this movie is no different. There are some fantastic shots here, the streets of Florence are dark and menacing, and there is a excellent sequence where a victim is stalked through a room of marble statues. Ennio Morricone's score is perfect, creating a suitably unsettling atmosphere.But these cannot save the movie from being generally uneven. The structure of the story is it's weakest point, with 2/3 of the movie dedicated to the serial killer and the last 1/3 to Anna. There are many points where nothing really happens in a movie that is character-driven. This, and shocking CGI in certain scenes where it really wasn't needed detract from what could have been really good.2/5

For those that don't know I'm in the process of discovering Argento's films for the first time, THE STENDHAL SYNDROME is my third endeavor following OPERA which I didn't like and MOTHER OF TEARS better than OPERA but its no masterpiece and has a lousy ending.THE STENDHAL SYNDROME wasn't as much a horror film for me as it was more of a psychological thriller, it follows assistant police inspector Anna Manni (Asia Argento) who is on the trail of a sadistic serial killer/rapist (Thomas Kretschmann) who stalks, rapes and then murders his female victims, but Anna also has to content with the fact that she has a condition called the Stendhal syndrome, a condition that causes her to lose herself in powerful works of art.In a way I liked the film, more than both OPERA and MOTHER OF TEARS, it was more unconventional than a lot of other thrillers I've seen, the acting is actually good, the best performances in the film are given by Asia Argento and Thomas Kretschmann, the storyline is well thought out despite having the tendency to drag at times.So far things are looking interesting, I can clearly tell that Argento's films are not everyone's cup of tea but for me, this is the best Argento film I've seen so far but I still feel that I have yet to be impressed by Argento's films, STENDHAL SYNDROME was a good movie sure but it doesn't mean I haven't seen better, although there are still so many to see, so who knows.Overall, STENDHAL SYNDROME is a good psychological thriller, its clearly not for everyone but if you're also not familiar with Argento and you may or may not be a little curious give it a shot, see what you think.