A Ballet-School-Teacher. A hundred-year old witch. Dead Girls. Mirrors. Scissors. An old dark house. A girl heroine. Insects.
Well. We are right here in Argento-Fairytale-Giallo Wonderland. And for anyone not old or literate enough to know Suspiria and Inferno, it must be a strange viewing experience. But here we are and the directors actually put it right in front of your nose: They show the certificates the witch/vampire got form the Freiburg Ballet Schule (yes and it is exactly the one out of Suspiria). Even more, you got the Scissors-in-the neck scene (Suspiria), Hidden Rooms (Inferno), Mirrors (Suspiria), Moths (ah.. Phenomena), a nonsensical Plot (of course Inferno) a complete reluctance to explain things (inferno) and a dream-like structure (Inferno). Basically this should have been the perfect conclusion to the Three-Mothers-Trilogy (Cozzi's and Argentos efforts don't count due to their lack of determination). But it only comes close as there are no memorable set-pieces and most of the film is handed in the Lamberto Bava (Graveyard Disturbance or Demoni (the film-in-film)) style of "Hey we're 3 youngsters, and there is a treasure in an old house, so let's go and get killed by that vampirelady".
So it's a mixed blessing. To Argento-followers this is a must. Everyone else should check it out. But sadly no masterpiece. And coming from the guys who did inside it actually is a disappointment.
Well. We are right here in Argento-Fairytale-Giallo Wonderland. And for anyone not old or literate enough to know Suspiria and Inferno, it must be a strange viewing experience. But here we are and the directors actually put it right in front of your nose: They show the certificates the witch/vampire got form the Freiburg Ballet Schule (yes and it is exactly the one out of Suspiria). Even more, you got the Scissors-in-the neck scene (Suspiria), Hidden Rooms (Inferno), Mirrors (Suspiria), Moths (ah.. Phenomena), a nonsensical Plot (of course Inferno) a complete reluctance to explain things (inferno) and a dream-like structure (Inferno). Basically this should have been the perfect conclusion to the Three-Mothers-Trilogy (Cozzi's and Argentos efforts don't count due to their lack of determination). But it only comes close as there are no memorable set-pieces and most of the film is handed in the Lamberto Bava (Graveyard Disturbance or Demoni (the film-in-film)) style of "Hey we're 3 youngsters, and there is a treasure in an old house, so let's go and get killed by that vampirelady".
So it's a mixed blessing. To Argento-followers this is a must. Everyone else should check it out. But sadly no masterpiece. And coming from the guys who did inside it actually is a disappointment.