4 out of 5

Director: Dario Argento

So being a “horror fan” I should’ve seen this a long time ago, but I never did. And now that I have…? Well. It’s interesting. I think this film suffers from the “it’s a classic” syndrome in the sense that I’d ask those who love it to define why, and I’d be curious as to what my impressions would have been without any build-up. Anyhow, Argento’s “masterpiece” is a very interesting piece of cinema. My main criticism is that part of it – namely the beginning – felt sloppy. Poor editing, choppy narrative switching, and seemingly un-purposeful violations of the 180 degree rule make it difficult to really sink into the film. I understand that he was going more for surreal than horror, but this was easily achieved through the wandering, dream-like plot and color choices, whereas the beginning felt more like uncertainty on how to introduce the themes. The soundtrack, also, has gotten much acclaim, but I felt like the Goblins awesome theme was over-used. Instead of having three or four different variations, the main bit is just pumped up on repeat for any spooky scene. And the sound mixing on the copy I was sent was awful, making the music blaring when it maybe should have been background. Again – surreal or just sloppy? So what makes this four stars? Well, honestly, this movie succeeds greatly once it gets the direction of its story. The lead actress makes awesome faces, and as soon as she is “caught” by the school, the film really catches up with its style – the music and colors work, the pacing works, and the over-the-top giallo-gore works. And the ending? Whew, honestly, the last fifteen minutes or so of this movie gave it an extra star. So be patient with this one. It’s an interesting study.