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The book by the fireplace bears the film's title, the murderer runs his gloved hand over the pages in a preamble that would have impressed Neruda. "He had broken the most deep-rooted taboo and found not guilt, not anxiety or fear, but freedom," cf. Ensayo de un Crimen. The New York writer (Anthony Franciosa) in Rome, lambasted ("Why do you despise women?") and misread ("Tenebrae is about human perversion and its effects on society") and stalked by a maniac. A shoplifter is made to eat the stolen words, the feminist journalist and her roommate are slaughtered and arranged into gruesome tableau for photographs. The protagonist's publicist (John Saxon) enjoys a fling with the ex-wife (Veronica Lario) almost as much as he enjoys his new hat, the assistant (Daria Nicolodi) collects threatening letters. Meanwhile, the police detective (Giuliano Gemma) has crucial matters in mind: "I guessed who the killer was on page 30!" Dario Argento's riposte to critics, more than that, a meticulous splaying of the monstrous-artistic psyche. Crimson heels at the beach, a warping memory filmed with reference to Suddenly, Last Summer. Run from the hound and find yourself in the culprit's studio, such is the surrealism at play, nothing scarier than a busy plaza at noon. Dilating pupils like silent-film irises, a fine shot has the switchblade tapping a light bulb until it cracks with a puff of smoke. "The Great Corruptor" and his tribute, the old Holmesian logic at work, Hitchcock's definition of cinema applied to literature ("If you cut out the boring bits and keep the rest, you've got a best-seller"). The Antonioni white wall is painted red, the piercing line of thought builds to a stinger out of Welles' The Stranger. Carpenter takes his own stab with In the Mouth of Madness. Cinematography by Luciano Tovoli. With Christian Borromeo, Carola Stagnaro, Ania Pieroni, Lara Wendel, Mirella D'Angelo, Mirella Banti, John Steiner, and Eva Robins.
--- Fernando F. Croce |