Without a shadow of a doubt, this is the worst Dario Argento movie of all, even beating such stilted offerings as "The Stendhal Syndrome" and "The Phantom of the Opera". Claiming to modernize the giallo, Argento has reduced this once great genre to a bad - and utterly laughable - episode of a TV cop show. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING works. Here is a brief summary of the film's MANY faults: 1) The dialogue is embarrassingly bad: for example, at the end of the film, the heroine fires a gun and someone in the distance asks, "Signorina, tutto va bene?" ("Is everything ok, miss?"). 2) The photography has that flat, ugly look that German police serials seem to specialize in. 3) Simonetti's bargain basement Euro-House score is annoying in the extreme. 4) The acting is ATROCIOUS from all concerned. Even the usually reliable Claudio Santamaria comes out of this film badly, but given the material the actors had to work with, it's no surprise. 5) The killer's identity is blindingly obvious from the opening minutes of the film. 6)The effects are particularly unconvincing (and there's none of Argento's trademark stylized violence). 7) There is a COMPLETE LACK of tension and suspense.
No one expects Argento to rehash "Deep Red" or "Tenebrae" in continuation, but his films used to be special events. His fans (and I've been a staunch supporter for years) expect more than a perfunctory, half-baked TV episode.
No one expects Argento to rehash "Deep Red" or "Tenebrae" in continuation, but his films used to be special events. His fans (and I've been a staunch supporter for years) expect more than a perfunctory, half-baked TV episode.