Dark Glasses

Music - awesome. Photography - decent.

Everything else - lame.

Still better then Argento's Dracula, though.

All in all - for diehard Argento fans only.

I have seen Occhiali neri last night at FEST - International Film Festival, Belgrade . It's a very strange Iittle thriller, very bizarre and very low budget. The plot is extremely silly, with water snakes and other over-the-top decisions, but that's Argento for you. We don't expect logic in his films. Do we? There is warmth in it as well, it's very character driven. It feels rushed in places and acting is so-so, but overall you should definitely see if you're Argento fan. It's his best since Nonhosonno, fast paced and never boring. And yes... it's very gory. The third act reminded me of the begining of Rob Zombie's Halloween 2, because it's basically a long chase scene in the countryside. The OST is great.

I found the film a little bit lacking. This is a slasher film and not Citizen Kane! Dario has done some great innovative stuff over the years and while this not being one of them I found it entertaining.

Americans like to say they like Giallo, mainly because they know what an influence on the slasher film those films had. But really, other than a sampling of Bava, Argento, and Fulci, and only them because they saw their other work, it hasn't been a huge sell in the states.

But if you've watched enough of it, Dark Glasses fits right in with say Knife of Ice, or the Killer Reserved Nine Seats.

Is it Argento's finest hour? If you expected an 82-year-old man to make a film partially funded by the Italian public broadcasting system and with only an hour and 25 minutes to work with that would top Suspiria...... I just don't know what to tell you.

If you wanted to watch a master filmmaker make a relatively safe and standard enjoyable Giallo film, this has got you covered.

It's safe to say this is far from argento's best work but certainly not his worst. One or two good kills and some decent cinematography. Plus the soundtrack is a good listen. Overall no classic but worth tracking down.