Phenomena

This movie seems to be either loved or hated. Those that love it seems to be Argento fans that have succumbed to the style and imagination. Those that hate it seems to get annoyed at script flaws, soundtrack, actors etc.

Most of the criticizers seems to have missed the point. Dario Argentos movies is supposed to be watched and experienced, not dissected looking for flaws etc. which is true for most movies. I have the ability to turn the criticizer off when I watch movies, especially when it comes to horror/fantasy/scifi. They're movies, not documentaries, and they're not supposed to reflect your reality. Think of them as dreams, and we all know that dreams are most often illogical, strange and wonderful. That's the frame of mind I have when I watch Argento movies. And Phenomena is great in that aspect since it builds upon imagination.

Phenomena was the first Argento movie I watched, and it turned me into a big fan of his work. Donald Pleasance is great as useful, and Jennifer Connelly made many of us aware of how much we all want to meet her (at least the male audience). I watch this movie in much the same way as I did Suspiria (masterpiece), as a fantasy horror, a sweet nightmare. The first scene, where the Danish girl misses the bus and looks for help is unforgettable. The fact that the rest of the cast is a bunch of young and inexperienced teenagers is something most of the viewers familiar with Italian horror are used to.

Would I recommend this? Absolutely, it's one of the better Argento movies. Who would like it? Anybody with an open mind and interested in prime italian fantasy/horror.

Dario Argento is a genius... this is a fact. The film starts off with a beautifully gory scene, then somewhat mellows out for a while. Some great scenes of night walking/dreaming/etc stand out, but it's not until about 2/3 of the way through the movie that it becomes a classic.

Beheadings, stabbings, and a pool of body parts ensue. But by far the creepiest thing of the movie is when the son who is left alone "with his crazy thoughts" turns around from his corner, revealing his face. This is possibly the scariest thing I have EVER seen on film... even scarier than the robot-butler-doll from Deep Red. And that's saying something.

An amazingly spooky and incredibly gory battle follows, leading up to the gorgeous, bloody end.

Dario Argento can do no wrong.

No pun intended - also way too young to make any jokes about her. But maybe also the reason she was fearless in some aspects - especially considering the animals she had to deal with. Apparently she did have some issues with a scene or two (and her character motivation), but you can either say she was totally committed or way too young to understand certain things. I actually would go with the former - she is amazing in every respect.

All that being said, she is not alone in this movie. Though she is being left alone when it comes to story and logic points (like falling while sleepwalking and still going on - pretty strong sleepwalking power I assume). But you usually do not watch Argento movies for the logic ... and this is no different.

There are two versions of this, the longer italian cut and the shorter international cut (also released as "Creepers" in America apparently). While I understand that some might want a something shorter (no pun intended), it is better to go with the longer ... version. Even if it has a couple of fillers. It also has all the deaths in all their gruesome glory ... just saying.

Acting is quite decent - which also is not something that happens always in an Argento movie. Maybe it had to do with the fact that this had a mostly englsih speaking cast - so not much dubbing that had to be done - or speaking phonetically.

Watch this if you want to know why people think so highly of Argento - while you may have only seen his newer work and don't get it at all (not blaming or shaming you - those movies are horrible - but can be entertaining for all the wrong reasons)! Music and editing again is helping - though I wonder if anyone has called a psychiatrist - considering what Argento is doing to his own daughters ... well one of them here. But Asia will be getting a lot more "pain" and "suffering" later on too (later works/movies that is) ... but it is a movie and I am half kidding ... if you see a crime thriller in this or even a slight Hitchcock vibe (I don't see that particularly - but you may feel different)

Memorable and different to modern horror An eerie film with a good cast, some fun practical effects and a nice premise. The soundtrack was also very memorable and different.

The film is basically an 80s slasher, however with teenagers who are actually played by actors the right age which makes a nice change.

Of course there's not much character development but the film does have some scary bits. There's some rather bad ADR and dubbing too.

Jennifer C is really good in this film I thought, there's one really memorable scene involving a lot of insects. Another scene too is utterly horrifying and gave me a terrible shock. I do recommend this film actually but you will need to bare with it a bit.

Dario Argento is very good at lining up nice shots. If only he could hire someone to review the screenplays and point out all the errors. Any idiot of the street could do it for $10 an hour. Yes, yes, I know the whole "My movies are like a dream" crap, but it's hard to get absorbed in the dream when you keep being smacked over the head with plot inconsistencies and intensely moronic characters. Credit to Phenomena, Jennifer Connelly made one of the few appealing Argento protagonists, and generally didn't behave like a complete nitwit (with several exceptions). David Lynch's movies feel like dreams also, but don't pull you out of your suspension of disbelief with patent stupidity. If you don't know Argento, don't start here. If you've never liked Argento, this won't change your mind. There are some effective moments and nice shots that make the movie not a complete wash, but nothing to really justify it's existence.