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| Deep Red (Profondo Rosso) |
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  (6/10)
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Runtime: 126 |
| Public Rating: 9.82 (11 votes) |
Director: Dario Argento |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Horror |
Year: 1975 |
| Writer(s): Dario Argento and Bernardino Zapponi |
| Reviewed by: Goatdog |
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I don't know whether to consider this a foreign language film or not. The version I watched switched from English dubbing to Italian dubbing. Many Italian films are shot with the actors speaking their native language, and the soundtrack is dubbed into whatever language is needed in post-production. So David Hemmings spoke English, Daria Nicolodi spoke Italian, and so on. Apparently, the entire English soundtrack did not survive, and they had to switch to the Italian one during certain scenes. This led to a few laughable moments when the normally soft-spoken Hemmings suddenly switched to a macho, loud Italian voice. Not that this matters to anyone. Dario Argento is the master of the Italian horror subgenre giallo, which gets its name from the color used on the covers of pulp horror novels in Italy. Like any genre, I suppose, there are movies that transcend the conventions of the genre and movies that are great examples of it. Argento's 1977 masterwork Suspiria is the one that transcended the genre through its expressionistic use of color and music. This can be considered a great example of the genre. That does not make it a great movie, though, and will probably only be appreciated by true fans of giallo. All of the elements are there: dopey plot and garish murders. David Hemmings (of Blowup fame) plays Marcus, a jazz pianist who witnesses a horrific murder. The victim is Helga (Macha Meril), a seer who can "see" things that either have already happened or will happen (she qualifies her gift so much at the beginning of the film that it's unclear what she can actually do). She gave a demonstration earlier that day during which she had a vision of the murderer, who was present at the venue. Predictably, she doesn't do anything to protect herself and she is the next victim. On the way into the apartment, Marcus may or may not have seen a vision of the murderer. Much like in Blowup, the question of whether he has seen something that will crack the case is the central idea. He meets Gianna (Argento's wife Daria Nicolodi), a reporter who specializes in being annoying and getting tips on sensational cases. She puts his face on the front page as "the man who can identify the killer," thus guaranteeing that the killer will seek him out. He decides that he has to solve the case before the killer gets to him. Meanwhile, the killer is doing away with anyone who could remotely be of any help to Marcus, and Marcus' fumblings lead the police to think he has committed the crimes. Of course, all of the supporting characters are set up as possible perpetrators: Gianna, Marcus' friend Carlo (Gabriele Lava), even Carlo's addle-headed mother (Carla Calamai). It is a rule in films like this that the more evidence that seems to point to a particular person, the less likely they are to be the bad guy. I will let you be mildly surprised at the ending. The fact that I have a DVD player spoiled whatever surprise there would have been. On Marcus' journey into the apartment, I thought I saw a face that I assumed to be an extra caught in the frame. Turns out, upon freeze-framing, that I had seen the face of the killer. Sorry, Dario. But the movie isn't really about surprises. It's about garish, horrid, technicolor murders. This one has its share. Stabbings, shootings, stranglings, and death by front tire lead up to the grand finale, in which someone is beheaded by a necklace caught in an elevator door. Yuck. This was the first film scored by Goblin, the Italian prog-rock band that would go on to write the brilliant score to Suspiria. There are elements of greatness, but you'll have to see the superior 1977 film to really understand what's so great about them.
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