We're here, peoples. It's October, which means that it's all horror, all the time for Jon Lickness. All those other genres? They just keep the virtual seats warm for these 31 days, when the TV constantly flickers the hell out of the likes of Pinhead, Jason, Freddy, Leatherface, Cropsy, Blade, Chucky, Michael...eh, you get the idea by now.
Anyway, for all of you out there in Horror Nerd land (and if that were a country, it would be the most awesome dictatorship in the history of civilization, with me as your lord and master), there's a name that you absolutely, positively NEED to know. And if you don't, for SHAME!!! I've touched on him before during the induction for "Suspiria," but in case you missed it, Dario Argento is one of the, if not THE, greatest horror film-makers of all time. While one can bitch and moan about his works not quite rising to the dazzling heights of Alfred Hitchcock, or as iconic as some of John Carpenter's opuses, there's no questioning the consistency and effectiveness of his work. Up to a certain point, that is.
Throughout much of his career, Argento has leaned heavily on the "giallo" thriller, a type of horror film made very popular in Italy by luminary Mario Bava (who himself was Argento's mentor). The giallo film is a one-of-a-kind subgenre in the great, grand world of horror; there really isn't an official description of what they entail, but when you see one, you know what you're watching. I describe the giallo genre as a kind of gory murder mystery, with a focus on the mystery. The majority of these films' running time involves a character or characters tracking down a straightforward investigative line leading to a mysterious killer, but the deaths - unlike, say, Sherlock Holmes movies - are shown onscreen, often in excruciating and graphic detail. In Argento's first film, "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage," we were shown a brutal serial killer stalking and killing beautiful young girls. The movie was more raw and savage than anything audiences had seen before, and his subsequent movies, "Four Flies on Grey Velvet" and "Cat O' Nine Tails" kept the pace going.
"Deep Red" was his fourth film, and is considered by many critics to be his finest giallo thriller. Immediately following this flick, he would delve into supernatural horror with the immortal (and AFOREMENTIONED) "Suspiria" and its sequel "Inferno" before returning to his goldmine throughout much of the '80s. The decision, I'm sure, wasn't a hard one - when it comes to crafting movies that are endlessly fascinating, as well as boasting more than a few scenes that have creeptacular power, there's no one better than my boy Dario. Because, you know, we're good friends who keep in contact and everything.THE MOVIE!
The plot description is going to be short, because one thing that you must realize about Argento is that his films are normally VERY short on plot. So how does "Deep Red" go? A psychic is murdered in the first reel in her hotel room immediately after hearing a mysterious children's song. An English jazz pianist (David Hemmings) living in Rome witnesses the death from the streets below, and becomes fascinated by the case, taking it upon himself to solve it. Along with a persistent reporter (Daria Nicolodi), he follows the trail of breadcrumbs to the killer's identity, but not before a couple more deaths crop up just for the hell of it.
There's your story, peoples.
As I have said to many people about the works of Dario Argento, his films are much less about their story than the experience that watching them takes on, almost like a killer itself. For starters, he is an absolutely brilliant director; his movies are framed with colors that are both vibrant and scary, with plenty of reds, greens and yellows jumping off the screen, jumbling your sensory inputs and taking up permanent space in your gray matter. His skill with handling murder scenes is unmatched; rather than just shuffle red food coloring at the screen, his ability to intersperse JUST the right camera angle with shots of a stabbing knife entering a body has to be commended. I know it doesn't make much sense without these scenes playing out right in front of you, but take my word for it. For all aspiring horror film-makers, the films of Argento are a must when it comes to the study of visual impact.Another thing to be commended in this film is the performance of David Hemmings, who plays the absolute best variation of the prototypical Dario Argento film hero - the foreigner living in Italy, working in a fine art field, who finds himself privy to a horrific murder case. While other versions of this archetype were a little bland and one-dimensional, the character played by Hemmings is extremely memorable. He's likable, humorous, and charismatic. Considering that Hemmings was speaking in a foreign dialect throughout his entire performance, it's quite the feat. So four gold stars for Mr. Hemmings, who also has an excellent role in the film "Blow-Up" for all film nerds to check out.
For those like myself, who watch horror films out of the enjoyment of fear, there's a couple sequences in "Deep Red" that are real doozies. One is the murder of a police investigator, and the other is the ending sequence. I'll leave that up to each individual viewer to take in.Overall, "Deep Red," while not a perfect film, definitely deserves its reputation among the upper echelon of European horror films, as well as its status as perhaps the greatest giallo movie of all time. Like all Argento movies, it makes for great viewing in October; the color scheme treats itself particularly well to the brown-and-yellow hues emanating from outside your windows. And, despite the already over-abundance of Argento's real-life girlfriend Nicolodi showing some decidedly Randy Orton-like charisma (and that's not a compliment), the characters attempting to resolve the mystery are endearing. For virgins to the giallo genre, this is the definitive introduction, as well as a very different kind of mystery film for anyone whose experience with the genre begins and ends with Sherlock Holmes.
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