Customer Reviews

Inferno

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is my own favourite Argento movie, but if you try and work out the plot it will drive you nuts. It's best viewed as a dark and incredibly gory fairytale and companion-piece to Suspiria. Irene Miracle becomes curious about the history of the old New York mansion block where she lives. Big mistake, but oh forget the logic. Just lap up the marvellous set-pieces: a swim through an underwater apartment (why is it flooded? don't even ask!), a witchy teenager and a cat who materialise during a music tutorial, a slasher murder set to the Slave's Chorus from Nabucco, a rat attack in Central Park - I could go on but see it for yourself. The soundtrack is an audacious blend of Verdi and - wait for it - Keith Emerson. Sheer bliss.

The soundtrack - it's Nabucco by Verdi alternating with Keith Emerson, who at one point does a twangy modern rock version of the famous Slave's Chorus, Va Pensiero! This is a film of magical, atmospheric and occasionally very gory set-pieces rather than any logical narrative, so anyone looking for a pacy plot where everything is explained at the end will be severely disappointed. The story deals with the second of the Three Mothers first mentioned in Suspiria and flits between New York, where a young woman discovers that the Art Deco apartment block where she lives harbours a deep, dark secret, and Rome, where her brother is a music student who is blissfully unaware that he and his friends are about to enter a world of pain. Watching it is like being immersed in a deliciously scary nightmare where you never quite understand what's going on.

Dario Argento has made some of the most captivating, brilliant horror movies I have ever seen, and I absolutely love and devour horror movies, old and new. "Inferno" is no exception; it holds your attention from start to finish, and if you weren't fascinated by it, you have to be a pretty dull person. So the plot is not crystal clear,who cares? Argento has never specialized in the plot department. But, contrary to what many people think, Argento's movies DO have substance are not just fanciful exercises in style. Argento, more than any horror director I've ever seen, evokes a sense of the marvelous and otherworldly:his films point away from the commonplace, the ordinary, and push us in the direction of the unknown. Half the people who bash this movie probably couldn't take their eyes off it while it was actually playing. True, some of the dialogue is ludicrous and the scene at the end with the 'grim reaper' was absurd, but the sheer magic and intrigue of the movie make its flaws unimportant. Argento is to horror cinema what Lovecraft, Poe or Kafka are to horror literature. I find it hard to believe that the 'fans' who dismiss this movie because of qualms they have over it 'not making sense' or the incomprehensible nature of the plot were Argento fans to begin with: the premise of the movie is neither more nor less ludicrous than the plots of his other movies. Argento's work is not meant to be logically coherent or rational, but to penetrate the mystical, shadowy side of existence. You will never see a more visually stunning or visionary horror movie. Don't just rent this movie, buy it.

In the wake of "Suspiria", where Dario Argento fully committed to the visual and aesthetic possibilities of the horror genre, narrative took a back seat. Gone were the days of the tightly plotted whodunits such as "Bird with the Crystal Plumage" and "Deep Red". "Inferno" is symptomatic of a cinematic approach in which narrative is subservient to and in service to increasingly grand visual set pieces. "Inferno" more so than any horror film marked the eventual path the genre would take in the 1980's. "Inferno" isn't however devoid of narrative, but making sense of it is not the paramount concern of the spectator. The theme of alchemy acts as an effective metaphor for the film as whole, as Argento throws in tried and tested ingredients to create something that is startlingly dark and baroque. "Inferno's" narrative problems however are not it's undoing, it's as if Argento realises by the very nature of the genre that his major concern is the realisation of another world; in this case a gloomy and gothic netherworld in which the forces of evil are much closer than one expects. Full of spectacular and senseless violence "Inferno" reconstitutes the gothic form (made quaint and redundant by Hammer) and gives it a unique Italian sensibility.

Inferno is the second film of Dario Argento's unfinished "The Three Mothers" trilogy (while Suspiria is the first film). This film is classic Argento with its brilliant cinematography, abrasive yet eerie soundtrack (which seems out of place in certain scenes), brutal/bizarre deaths and sub par acting. Argento has stated that the actors aren't the focus of his films; rather the environment, mood, story and technical aspects are the potent force behind his masterpieces.

One thing about this movie that I found totally surreal and almost fantasy like was the lighting. The illumination in this giallo creates an ambient and nebulous setting, which is very unique. The light gels and/or set design in Inferno paint a mood in just about every scene. These moods vary from precarious (yellow) to foreboding (blue) then tranquil (green) to wrath (red) and back to enigmatic (purple). This type of movie making magic really plays a huge part in the film. I've shown Inferno to people before and they might not have liked the movie, but were impressed with the lighting and cinematography.

As for the plot, well it is somewhat lackluster. Mark, who is schooling in Europe, receives a letter from his sister Rose, who lives in New York. Rose's letter has a sense of bereavement to it, in regards to the apartment she is living. Rose believes that there are some clairvoyant or supernatural forces at work. Therefore, this sends Mark to The Big Apple to console his sister. However, this is the beginning of Mark's disconsolate hardships. He seems to be putting a puzzle together that doesn't want to solved.

Inferno might have to be witnessed more than once to fully digest what has transpired. However, I have seen it about a dozen times and I still don't know if I fully "get it". In other words, the movie can be a bit confusing. There are also some parts of the film that "drag on", but it doesn't take away from the overall effect of the movie. One of the best scenes is the underwater sequence, which is just plain eerie. There is one scene that involves cats. I love cats and having them as pets, might make this scene a bit hard to watch. Nevertheless, many aspects of Argento's films have a "pseudo-fake" quality about them, so you always know in the back of your head that what is happening on the screen isn't real.

As formally noted, Dario Argento's "The Three Mothers" trilogy is currently uncompleted. However, the third film is supposed to be completed and released by October 2007. The name of the movie is "The Third Mother". I do hope this is fact and not a rumor.

Dario Argento's elaborate follow-up to "Suspiria" is a brilliant and deranged and utterly surreal ride. The narrative is intentionally disjointed--like the supernatural text the characters search for, the deeper you follow the more dream-like it becomes. And the the whole thing is awash in wild colors and stylized sets and characters that act and react like marionettes controlled by some mad puppeteer. If the narrative frustrates you then my advice is to suspend disbelief, sit back enjoy the visuals. Loads of fun and well worth repeated viewings to search out hidden meanings and connections--not too many films you can say that about.

Don't analyse this film or admire it's fine acting talents (the film is dubbed) - you won't get anywhere. Instead admire the skillful direction by the virtuoso director, Dario Argento. This film, like Suspiria, are truly ingenious as they don't quite seem like this world. The sets are all fractured and watered with vibrant colours of red and blue. The most effective part of the film is the soundtrack. Most of the film, including one great and graphic murder scene, are (if I remember correctily) set to Beethoven.Enjoy!

Well as most of you already know, you don't watch Dario Argento's movies for substance. You watch them for style. This movie delivers with bright vibrant colors and imagery, hooded figures, devils, beautiful women, and a really mean hot dog vendor. I find myself drawn to watch this movie over and over again, if only for the neon lit rooms and underwater lairs,Argento has displayed throughout.

The plot, involving a brothers search for his missing sister in a house of evil, is a follow up to Argento's Suspiria(another much lauded film) that follows the tale of the three sisters( a witch cult or something even more sinister-of course never fully explained)

If it's explanation your looking for, go elsewhere, but if your looking to be entertained by vivid kills and unusual set pieces,you might just want to set up shop in the House of Inferno.

A collaboration between Dario Argento, Lamberto Bava and Mario Bava. "Inferno" Dario Agrento's semi-sequel to "Suspiria" has everything Argento fans have come to expect in his movies. Lavishly, saturated with color, gruesome, gory deaths and fallacious plot points.

Ulike his previous films, "Suspiria" and "Deep Red", where there was one straight forward storyline, "Inferno" is an assortment of set pieces that are cast aside, only to be concluded later with a prodigious, or not so prodigious death. New characters introduced, were only for the purpose of having them killed off.

Argento movies are an acquired taste. His stylistic elements, use of color and angles put him in a class all by himself. However, if this isn't your cup of tea you may be left with insipid plots. "Inferno" is no different. As I've stated before, if your more into a "Scream" type of movie then you most likely will not be impressed with this movie, however, if your fan of the stylish Argento type Italian Giallo movies then "Inferno" should be right up your alley. While it's not Argento's best effort it's well worth a look!

People often criticise this film, complaining about the lack of drama and story. These people do not truly understand what this film is. It isn't the regular teen fodder to give you laughs and cheap thrills. Like Fulci's THE BEYOND, it's an exercise in pure cinema. It's a film about the images, symbols, shifting patterns of light and music. All these elements are placed together to pose certain cryptic riddles that are seemingly never revealed. Interspersed between these enigmas are moments of cinematic lyricism. We are constantly surprised by amazing shapes, colours, patterns of light. Because the enigmas regarding the truth of the legend of the 3 mothers are indecipherable, and because the clues are foregrounded to an extent in the film style, we are constantly forced to try and work things out which cannot be answered. This futility of the film's truth takes us to a meta-cinematic truth. We find out through this why the actual film was made. The reason being that the language of cinema isn't sufficient to spell out truths, it is primal. It is ultimately beyond language, and beyond time and space. Argento's film is oneiric, and is an exercise in poetic sensation. This film evokes feelings in me that are sensational, overwhelming, feelings that cannot be explained. Maybe they mean nothing, or everything. But INFERNO shows that the mechanics of cinema evoke a purer, non-language, profound sensory expression.