Linus Meets John Saxon! (17 Aug 2013)

When I was nine years old, my father was into two things: M*A*S*H and martial arts films. I can remember vividly that he loved USA’s Kung Fu Theater (click here for the memorable intro) and he watched it as much as he could. One day, he brought over the videocassette for this little movie called Enter the Dragon that starred Bruce Lee. In that film, there was a man who from the moment I laid eyes on him was one of the most beautiful men in the entire world (Yes, I know what you’re thinking: You had those thoughts at nine years old?) and I was immediately fascinated by a gentleman going by the name of John Saxon. I didn’t know his name back then and I wouldn’t see him again in another film until I would sit down in front of Nightmare on Elm Street for the first time many years later. I remembered his eyes, his voice….that physique and instantly became a fan. Over time (especially once after I’d become the budding horror fan during my formative years), I found out that though he’d been a mainstream success in Enter the Dragon, he was a huge horror/B-film name and I started watching all his films one-by-one beginning with Blood Beach and sitting though Black Christmas, Zombie Death House and his small but fantastic role in Dario Argento’s Tenebre. Little by little I was falling for the man (in a cinematic sense, of course) and as I was watching him one day (in Blood Beach nonetheless), I knew one day I would welcome the opportunity to meet him.

About a year and a half ago (ish), it was announced that he would be appearing at the Time Tunnel Toy Show in San Jose, California to meet, greet and sign autographs. I usually frequent that show so I was immediately dead-set on attending. I mean, I wasn't going to miss out on the chance to finally meet Señor Saxon face to face. As the day drew nearer, I was disappointed to find out that because of work and other circumstances way beyond my control, I wasn’t going to be able to attend the show, thus meeting him was now forever out of my reach. I was very overjoyed to hear through the grapevine later on that he ended up not being able to attend due to professional commitments and had plans to reschedule. What?! I was thrilled to hear that I hadn’t missed my chance after all and that he’d be coming back to make up for his absence. Several shows passed (as they happen at or about every three months or so) and no news had surfaced about him coming back. So, I slowly gave up hope and let the fantasy go.

 

Then, to my surprise, a postcard came in the mail announcing the show that took place this past Saturday, August 18 and I was psyched to see that John Saxon himself was returning! Immediately, I cleared my schedule for that date and made sure there’d be nothing to keep me from going. Before I knew it, the date came and my cousin and I were on our way to the San Jose Fairgrounds to check this off my bucket list.

He ended up appearing after 11am, once the early bird period was over and I was overwhelmed when I saw him sitting at his table smiling. It was actually going to happen! When I approached him and when he threw me that smile of his, I was charmed. I shook his hand and uttered to him that I’d been waiting to meet him since I was nine years old, when my father first brought home Enter the Dragon. His response? How old are you now?  I chuckled and answered, I’ll be forty years old next year, sir to which he immediately replied, Oh geez! And yes, folks, that was how my meeting with Mr. John Saxon began.

I had brought my laserdisc of the original Nightmare on Elm Street for him to sign and he made a point to tell me that everyone else at the toy show had come to see him for his portrayal of Roper from Enter the Dragon and here I was coming to see Lt. Don Thompson. Duh! He was very handsome in person and he was very nice and cordial and was happy to sign my laserdisc and a photo of him as Thompson in NOES. Oh yes, and by the way, this appearance was officially his last as it was announced on the show’s website so I was very relieved and very happy that I was able to see him before retiring from the convention circuit. It was one of the people on my bucket list that I hoped to meet before either of us passed, and I was thrilled to have been able to meet him face to face. Hats off to you, Mr. Saxon. You will forever be amazing.

 

The Neighbor (Il Vicino Di Casa) (Dario Argento's "Door Into Darkness" Episode 1) (1973)

So if you don’t know that I’m a Dario Argento fan, let’s throw that card out on the table right now and get it over with: Ever since I first laid eyes on Suspiria back in the mid-nineties, it was true love from that moment on. I now own the majority of his films ranging from The Bird with the Crystal Plumage all the way to Trauma and Sleepless and everything in between- save for some of the ones that really didn’t end up floating my boat, which were only a few. Without going into the details of the how and why – because we could be here all night – for me, the man is fantastic and a true influential innovator when it comes to the horror genre. Up until a few weeks ago, I had no idea that in the early 1970’s he had done a made-for-television series in Italy. I knew that Lucio Fulci had done his House Of…series – in which I own two entries, The Sweet House of Horrors and The House of Clocks, so of course, I was immediately interested. I wasn’t able to find it for a decent prince over the internet – and by “decent” I mean “a price I was willing to pay” - so I consider myself very lucky to have found it by accident last night at the Fresno Rasputin’s for the low price of $11.99. Without even thinking, I yanked it off the shelf and made a dash for the cash register. Well, actually, I spent about an hour and half with it under my arm before I actually left the store - which always happens when I make a Rasputin’s stop - but I made sure that it went home with me. Mya Communications – who, conversely, released Argento’s own Four Flies on Grey Velvet – is the company that put this out. Solely on the merits of how great of a job they did with FFOGV, I knew that this 2-disc set was going to be just as good. 

With every episode being just under an hour in length, I immediately decided that I would do a separate review for each of the four episodes, as doing them all in one entry here wouldn’t be such a great idea. Most film reviews, especially in this genre and on a blog like this, shouldn’t take more than ten to fifteen minutes to read, if that. Plus, by the time I got home and popped this into the player, it was after midnight and I didn’t have the strength or the energy to sit through the entire set in one night. So I sat back in bed, grabbed a pillow and selected the first episode, “Il Vicino di Casa (The Neighbor)”:

If you’re even thinking of getting your hands on this set, let me immediately warn you that if you’re expecting something digitally re-mastered and fancy, you’re facing major disappointment. According to the opening screen, the original film elements of this series no longer exist leaving Maya no choice but to use old television tapes from RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana) and use them as masters. I’m going to be honest and say that normally, I would be just a wee bit frustrated with that but for this series, it works. I will explain why later on. The episode begins with Argento himself hosting the show and giving a little overview of the idea of fear and how differently it affects us. And let me tell you, Sir Dario looks as chilling as he ever did, does, or ever will. It then cuts to the director himself (or his doppelganger) looking into the hood of his car that’s just broken down in the middle of the highway. He is picked up by a young couple, Luca (a very handsome actor by the name of Aldo Reggiani) and Stefania (a beautiful actress named Laura Belli) and their infant son who will become the main characters of this episode.

We cut to the interior of an apartment to an older, spectacled man (Mimmo Palmara) standing in front of a coatrack as his wife, who is bathing, asks him for her bathrobe…more than once. He appears distraught and irritated, to the point to where he slowly takes the belt off the bathrobe and proceeds to the bathroom with the idea now in his head that maybe getting rid of her once in for all will be a good idea. But will he do it?

Luca and Stefania arrive late that night and by a stroke of bad luck, get their car stuck in the sand and are unable to get it out. Frustrated and too tired to do anything else, they come to the lovely beachside apartment building they are moving into and try to find a place to put their son down for the night. After lighting a solitary candle and scoping out their new surroundings, they settle down for the night and watch television together: an airing of Frankenstein that Luca has been looking forward to. As they sit together and bask in the light of the candle – that is slowly burning out – Stefania looks up at the ceiling and sees a huge water spot in the corner of the room, coming from the apartment above them, where the older spectacled man and his now possibly deceased wife reside. Not knowing if the above neighbors know what’s going on with their water pipes, Luca makes his way upstairs to knock on the door and make sure everything is OK. With no answer, he goes back downstairs only to come back later as the water spot grows and grows. Stefania now becomes worried and when Luca buzzes the door with no answer the second time, he takes it upon himself to turn the doorknob, and walks inside.

I’m really torn between telling you the entire story and letting you find out on your own what transpires from this point.  And I’m being serious when I’m telling you that I’m fighting with myself as I write this because from this point on, the tension rises rather quickly, and effectively. Though Argento himself produced the entire series, this episode was directed by fellow italo-director Luigi Cozzi (Contamination) and it looks and feels like he took great notes from the Master himself. It shifts suddenly from a soft expository piece (it takes a while to “get going” because we’re given some time to really get to know the two main characters)  to a semi-claustrophobic piece of terror. And it’s a great piece overall, and I’m surprised that something this terrifying and great was allowed on television back in the 70’s...in Italy. From the homework I’ve done on this series, it was the first to break the ground rules of how much terror could be shown on Italian television. The entire episode screams of influences from Hitchcock, mirroring Rear Window in many ways (even reminding me of more modern fare such as Disturbia) and director Cozzi manages to transition from tranquility to intensity quickly and almost seamlessly. 

The set pieces are absolutely gorgeous. The apartment building is painted stark white from the inside, totally foreshadowing, in my opinion, the way the color scheme will be for Tenebre. The house and its surroundings remind me of my childhood/teenage summers in Mexico. The doors are simply hinged and lined with wood paneling. I felt like I was back at my grandmother’s again back in the late 80’s. Immediately, I made a connection with the house and how it is deceitfully warm and welcoming. The atmosphere was too familiar for me so you know that the film had me in its grip just with that. The house itself and everything within it can also be seen as symbolism. The apartment is empty when they arrive, just as their new lives are and everything they own is coming later (which will be shown in the episode’s conclusion). The choppy and active sea next to where they live foreshadows the rough terrain they are about to go through - and most importantly, the candle itself that is next to them. It starts off brand new – just like their new lives in the new apartment. Slowly, but surely, it burns shorter and shorter and just as it slowly melts away and dies out, showing just how much time they have left and if you pay attention closely enough, it’s almost like a clock, giving the climax just after its gone out. So when Luca goes back upstairs after realizing that he left his lighter in the bathroom next to what they’ve discovered, all hell quickly breaks loose.

I may just have to post a link here so you can watch this because the final act is fantastic (Update: Only the introduction by Argento to this episode is online). Even for television in the mid-70’s, it packs a wallop and I don’t know how this would even pass today by network standards. I honestly wasn’t expecting much since this was an Italian horror television series – and if you’ve seen Fulci’s The Sweet House of Horrors, you know exactly what I’m referring to – but this was a great surprise and is now going into the ranks of top television horror for me. When the neighbor comes back and finds that Luca was walking around in his apartment, the game changes to a hostage situation which is destined to end in a deadly fashion. But pay close attention, because while Luca and Stefania are bound and held by the villain, and while he’s is out digging up holes in the sand to bury not only the evidence of the crime he’s committed, but Luca and Stefania as well,  there’s a piece of the original puzzle that disappears for a while. And the emotions and terror are so well executed, leaving you so involved in what’s happened to them, that you actually don’t notice that piece of the puzzle is missing. And it’s a very important one because it comes up at the close of the third act…and you completely don’t see it coming, or can you? The final scene is chilling and effectively done in a manner that left me pondering on its ambiguousness. Why did it end the way it did? Was it written that way and why weren’t we able to find out what ultimately transpired? Why was I left to make my own conclusion? Why was there no denouement?? Even 24 hours later, I’m still thinking about it. And that’s what I love about some Italian films, that some end in the most bizarre, sudden and absurd manner that you can’t help but hurl expletives at the television. You toss the remote to one side and swear to yourself that you’ll never lay eyes on one again. Yeah, I say that each time. Yet, here I am.

Get this one if you can locate it. I’m not sure if it’s out of print yet or had a limited print run, but the set has 2 discs with all four episodes and the classic documentary Dario Argento: Master of Horror (also directed by Cozzi), which you already know is essential viewing if you’re even a remote Argento aficionado. I’m glad that the set was not re-mastered and was presented in the manner in which it is. With the lights off, it actually feels like you’re watching it during its first run airing, resembling that you’re watching it secretly in your parent’s living room way after bedtime. And any horror fan my age remembers doing that. You feel cozy, secure and young again. For a little while, it’s 1973 and let me say that I miss the simplicity that some films can bring, especially thrillers like this one. I’ve learned with films such as this that gore is never necessary to achieve a good scare, and let me say that there is not a drop of blood in this film. But it wasn’t needed at all. It is well-deserving of multiple viewings, by far.  

Allow me to conclude by saying that with the film’s closing moments, you will never hear the sound of a baby’s cry the same ever again. Shit. I’ve said too much. 

Godetevi il filmato!

Stage Fright (Deliria) (1987)

I don't care what anyone says, I love Italian giallo films and will defend them tooth and nail. I don't know why, but I will. Since the very first time I sat in front of a little film known as Suspiria, my taste for giallo only grown more and more and the years went by. There's just something about the way they are crafted, the way they are executed, and there's something about how bizarre and out of left field they can sometimes be. The Italian giallo holds no bars when it comes to gore and suspense and just on that factor alone, they can completely redeem themselves for the inane and generally strange story lines that they can sometimes present.

I heard of this film for the very first time through a friend who was also a horror collector. He was surprised that I'd never heard of it and told me that it was one of the best Italian horror films he would ever lay eyes on. Of course, I don't take confessions like that too seriously. I've been duped into watching what turns out to be celluloid shit just because someone recommended it to me. With my peaking curiosity of Italian films - at this particular time, I hadn't seen too many and wasn't educated as I am now - I decided to look this one up and see how it would match up with my tastes. When it comes to Italian horror cinema, I always give the film in question the benefit of the doubt and make my own decisions, trying hard to rely on the advice of anyone or the advice of anything I read on line.

I finally came across this film in DVD form about three years ago at a local mom and pop where I was living at the time and instantly wasted no time in picking it up and taking it home with me. I loved the cover artwork and when I read that Anchor Bay had released it, I knew instantly that this was going to be something I'd never forget. And boy was I right.

Young, nubile thespians are rehearsing a play about a owl-masked killer on the loose when one of the leading ladies hurts herself and has to be driven to the local hospital. But, the local hospital isn't your run-of-the-mill hospital, it's a mental hospital. A very prominent and famous killer is being held there and he escapes and hides in the girls' car. As they go back to the auditorium, he sneaks in, locks them all in and picks them off one by one. And what a ride! I don't usually gush about horror like this but this one is a total diamond amongst all the trash you and I have learned to watch and love. On it's own, it stands out. It's stylized, it's gritty, and it's downright gorgeous. I don't want to give much of the action away, not because I don't think it's worthy to be mentioned, but if you haven't seen this, please go out and look for it. There is a real style to the whole thing that Michele Soavi (the Dario Argento progote who would go on to direct Cemetery Man) impressively brings to the screen. Camera shots, panning, lighting, angles, it all works in this film. And don't get me started on the brilliance of the actors.

Usually in these types of films, the acting is either sub-par or just absent altogether. Sometimes it's so out there that it goes over your head. But the cast in this film bring about an honesty that can't be ignored. From David Brandon's performance as Peter, the director, to the most random performance by Italian horror-character-actor Giovanni Lombardo Radice - as a homosexual. Enough said. The atmosphere of the film is also pretty darn creepy and it works on a variety of levels. Everything is set up in a manner that it falls into place when it needs to, leaving no plot holes and leaving nothing unexplained. The film does contain some legitimate scares and some moments are enough to make you jump out of your seat. With it being sometimes cookie-cutter as far as the methods that the killer stalks the victims, there is a way that Soavi presents them that surpass most slasher moments. Once the killer finds his way into the building and locks the group inside, hiding the key, and once the director (and his promoter/producer) find out that one of their own has been murdered, everything is fair game. The lewdness of the two as they use the murder of a fellow crew member to capitalize on the play's potential success is a plot twist that ultimately backfires on them, but just the idea of it is pretty messed up. The director makes the work overtime, pushing them to their limits, telling them how much money they can make and how famous and popular they will be. But once they begin to disappear, the plans fall through.

I'm having a hard time trying not to give some of the best moments of the film away. This is one that should be sought out at all costs. The version I first viewed was the Anchor Bay uncut DVD which was later re-released by Blue Underground (which I own). Both versions are exactly the same, menus, disc and all. I also own the very-heavily edited U.S. VHS version released by Imperial Entertainment. I purchased the BU DVD for less than ten dollars so please do yourself the favor and go out and get this one. The film's haunting scene where the "final girl" has to re-count the victims who have been gorily placed on stage is one of the best ever. The film's final moment is a bit tacky and everyone has done it before, but I was able to look past it and this film instantly became one of my top favorites of all time. I can watch it again and again and never get tired of it - that's how great it is. You will have a great time being scared by this one. I guarantee it.

I apologize that I didn't go into detail much about this one. It's that good that I want everyone to go out and look for it and make up your own mind about it. Here is the trailer if you haven't seen it already - This is one of all time faves. and for good reason.

Kill Her! Kill Her!!!!!!!!

Demons (1985)

During the horror boom of the 1980's, many film makers and producers tried to out-do each other by coming up with the most interesting and original concepts to present to the movie-going public. Because of this, there are many different sub-classes in the horror genre, ranging from the basic slasher, to the zombie epic, to the holiday-themed scare fest. All in all, the 80's produced some of the strangest, best, and worst films that to this day, cannot be matched.

This first time I heard of this film, it was 1985. I was running around in my parent's living room playing with my brother and the advert for this suddenly appears on the television screen. I instantly stop in my tracks and become glued to the set, unbeknown st to what was to follow. I can still remember it clearly, the scene with the helicopter, the scene with Rosemary in the bathroom, and the announcer's stern warning that no one under 17 will be admitted! I'd heard that warning before, but this time, it sounded real. There was a real tone in the announcer's voice that was pleading with me to heed the words coming through the television set. I stood there for a few seconds after the screen faded out to black. My heart was racing. Those mere 30 seconds had infiltrated my mind more than I would have ever imagined. It took a few days, but I got it out of my system and forgot about it.

That was, until 2002 when I rented this from a small mom and pop store in Knob Noster, Missouri one day and snuck it home to my sister's house. I put it on when everyone was finally down for the night and sat down with a couple of Pepsi's and a plate of barbecue chicken in front of me and proceeded, with caution, mind you. I remembered that TV commercial as the opening scene began and I'll be honest and say that I was a bit nervous. First I have to say that this ended up being one the most entertaining horror films I'd ever set eyes on. Sure, I was frightened and even shocked by some of the fantastic gore scenes, but I loved every second of it. The plot is one of the most simple and straight-forward in the Italian-Shock group: A mysterious man in a silver mask approaches a young girl named Cheryl (Natasha Hovey) and silently slips her a pass for the local movie theater, she convinces her best friend Kathy (Paola Cozzo) to ditch that day's classes and sneak off to the Metropol. Let me stop and say that the building that houses the Metropol is just phenomenal to look at and it was photographed in such a loving way that I'm surprised no one has written a book on just the theater itself. It stands hovering above the Berlin skyline and its blue neon letters are so beautifully painted across the face of the building that you have to pause the film and just marvel for a while at this piece of architecture. Inside, the white fluorescent-lights hum as the poster for Dario Argento's "Four Flies on Grey Velvet" hangs in the lobby (which was a hilarious tongue-in-cheek reference as he is the producer of this entry) while a silver demon mask dangles from a strategically placed (and very much random) motorcycle. In the group of patrons all there to see the film's premiere is a group of three street-savvy individuals: Ruth (Nicole Tessier), the rebel and free spirit Rosemary (Geretta Giancarlo), both led by the ultra-smooth talking Tony (Bobby Rhodes). Horse playing in the foyer, Rosemary picks up the mask and tries it on for shits and gigs and cuts her face in the process. Exasperated, Tony takes the girls and leads them into the theater.

A word on the inside of the theatre: If you've read my review of Nightmare, I mention how I imagined the grindhouses and theatres of Monterrey, Mexico would have maybe looked back in the 80's and the images of the inside of the Metropol gives life to those musings. The concrete floors, the wooden seats in rows of ten or twenty, the dirty and simple lavatories with cinder block as partitions, the dark corridors and stairways. It gives me chills just thinking about it.

As Cheryl and Kathy try to grab a quick snack from a non-functioning vending machine, they are approached by a pair of friends, George (the ultra-gorgeous Urbano Barberini) and Ken (Karl Zinny) who try to swoop in and woo the girls. The lights go down and the film begins, which, much to Kathy's vocal disapproval, ends up being a horror film about a group of kids who stumble upon the tomb of Nostrodamous. As this happens, Tony and his girls come walking in and sit toward the back of the theater, lighting cigarettes and causing trouble. As the movie continues and the boys try to put the move on the now-vulnerable girls, one of the guys on-screen finds a silver mask in the tomb much resembling both the one in the lobby and the one worn by the mysterious ticket-man (who, by the way is played by Argento protege and future Stage Fright director Michele Soavi). When the guy tries to scare the others, he, too, cuts his face on the mask, just as Rosemary had before. She immediately notices that her wound is still bleeding and excuses herself to the ladies room.

I don't want to give the entire plot away but all I will say is that as the guy on screen begins to turn into a demon, so does poor Rosemary. And when Ruth goes looking for her, the spreading of the evil begins. And so does the action! 


This film is so dated, it's almost laughable but, surprisingly, that's one of its charms. The decor, the set pieces, the soundtrack, the costumes, it all screams, no, it howls mid 1980's. The gore is amazing and it's no wonder this film is so held and cherished by horror fans all over the world. And when you really focus on the center core of the plot, that it's a horror film within a horror film and you imagine yourself in that scenario, it's quite terrifying. Take just one quick moment and close your eyes. Imagine yourself at your local movie theater and you're sitting with your boy/girlfriend and the most recent horror film is playing in front of you. Now, imagine that someone in the theater with you is actually possessed and you are trapped in the theater with no way out. How would you react? How would you really handle a situation like that? Imagine what you would hear, what you'd feel, and the thoughts that would be running through your mind. If you think about it long enough, it should run a chill up and down your spine. That's something that this film portrays, although in a very hyperbolic fashion, but it's something to think about. Imagine having to kill your own best friend because they were slowly becoming one of them? Imagine your past, everything you've been through, every moment you've ever shared and having to end their lives. It's pretty macabre, but hey, if there is one thing I've learned in this life is that anything can happen.

With that said, this film is a fun entry in the list of films from Italy and Europe. It seriously provided an entertaining look at a concept that has never been duplicated since. It is as original today as it was when it premiered and it still packs the horror punch the film makers wanted to present. Anchor Bay just re-released this on DVD and I've seen it for a really good price. I own the special edition double-bill set of Demons and Demons 2 released as an entry in the "Dario Argento Collection" series from AB and from what I hear, the set is now really hard to come by. It sill remains in my top 5 only because I can't resist a film that reeks of 80's like this one does. From the outright gorgeous camera shots of downtown Berlin to the fantastic make up, this is one you can't pass up. You'll thank me the first time Bobby Rhodes screams out, "What the hell happened to Rosemary?!" and you'll watch it again and again.


P.S. Did I mention that I'm completely head-over-heels for Urbano Barberini? 

Suspiria (1977)

Take a good look at the tag line that reads on the top of the poster on the left. How can any horror fan resist a line like that? The first time I ever read that wonderful sentence, it was 1990. I was a sophomore in high school, in the library of South Texas High School for Health Professions, sitting next to Julio, a guy from my English class and reading the The Psychotronik Encyclopedia of Film. It was an odd entry in our library's roster, but there it was in front of me and I was reading about this film about a girl who attends a high school that's actually a front for a coven of witches and how it was one of the most terrifying films ever made. The film was summed up in less than five sentences and it would be five sentences that would change my life forever.

Three years later, I would lay eyes on a Laserdisc copy of this film at the local Hastings. That same year, I held the Magnum version VHS of this film for the first time at that same store. Reading the back of the box and staring at the picture of a young girl in a room surrounded by flowers on the walls, this was the film I itched to see, but couldn't rent. There was something about it that just pulled me to it, those promises of how terrifying it was and how I would never feel safe in the dark once I'd laid eyes on it. Little did I know what was about to invade my life.

In 1996 while living in California, I ran into that same Magnum VHS version at Adventure Video in Selma. Being over 21, I remember grabbing it and not even thinking twice about renting it. My cousin was with me at the time and he was a newbie at the whole horror thing and this was the perfect film to get him started. And in my own mind, I was thinking that this would be just another horror film. Wow, was I wrong.

This was the film that introduced me to director Dario Argento and the genre of film known as the Italian giallo. Horror fans everywhere know the premise to this film: An American ballet student, Susy Banyon (played by Jessica Harper) comes to the Tanz Akadamie to further her studies. She is welcomed at the school's front door by an unknown voice telling her to go away, just after a young girl flees from the school out into the raging storm outside. The girl ends up at an apartment building in the city with a friend and both are brutally murdered by an unknown assailant in a way can only be described as "breathtaking". This particular double murder is so powerful that even Entertainment Weekly had to give it props in a Halloween issue back in 2001. Susy returns to the school the next morning to be received by the creepy Miss Tanner (Alida Valli) and the school's vice-directress, Madame Blanc (Joan Bennett, in her final cinematic role) and what follows is one of the most unique and amazing horror films in the history of cinema. I won't get into all the details of the film because this is one of those films I consider "essential viewing" if you're a horror fan so I already assume that if you're reading this, you've seen it. And I'm assuming that you know that this was the first film in a proposed trilogy exploring "The Three Mothers": Mater Suspirioum - the mother of sighs (dealt with in this film), Mater Tenebraeum - the mother of darkness (dealt with in Inferno), and Mater Lacrymaum - the mother of tears (dealt with in Argento's recent film, La Terza Madre), which was finally completed just last year.

The film was a milestone for me. I had no idea that a horror film could be presented with such beauty to where it could be considered a work of art. Everything from set pieces to the use of vibrant color to the use of pulsating electronic music is combined here to give the viewer a one-of-a-kind experience. From the moment Susy is shown walking through the airport and the automatic doors open to let her through, you know that this isn't going to be your typical horror film. Argento's use of colors, his use of placement and camera angles all add to the mystery of the film itself. Look at everything from the color combinations in the airport to the blood red hue of the school itself, it all has a purpose in the film. He even uses colors for names of the different rooms the girls take their lessons in. The murder sequences are fantastic and so over the top that they seem surreal, almost dreamlike. They are presented with such force and such panache that you have no choice but to see them as brilliant, almost beautiful. Knives plunging through hearts, giant shards of glass piercing through human skin, barbed wire used as a torture tool, it's all handed to the viewer in a way never presented on screen before. And it all works. That's what Argento is known for and it's the legacy he's left behind to the world of horror and the macabre.

You can't watch an Argento film and expect it to make sense. Look at it this way: Think about the last nightmare you had. Think about how terrified you were. Did your surroundings make sense? Did things seem as they were in front of you? Did everything appear to sound coherent? That's how it is when you watch one of his films. You can't expect it to all match. You can't expect things to always make sense. You have to take bits and pieces and allow your mind to come to its own conclusion as you absorb every image and every sound. That's why many horror fans who don't think this film is everything it is feel the way they do. Some don't understand that a film presented in this fashion can't be viewed the way others are viewed. Especially with the ending when Susy escapes the burning academy. Look at her expressions as she pushes her hair back and smiles. It's like she awoke from a bad nightmare. She is calm. She is relieved. She is smiling because she's awake now and nothing can hurt her. Not any of the teachers, not even Helena Markos herself. You can't take Argento's work at face value. You have to look deeper within the film's layers to see just what the director is trying to portray. And that's the beauty of his films. They not make sense up front, but once you pull apart the various themes and elements, it begins to piece itself together.

This film cemented my love for Italian horror and it still remains my favorite sub-genre to this day. Argento is one of my favorite horror directors and I've almost been able to screen his entire catalogue. He's gone on to inspire and mentor so many other directors with his sense of style and direction and his films remain the favorites of millions. I also love the back story behind the conception of this film: Daria Nicolodi's grandmother told a story once of her fleeing a German academy of music because witchcraft was being practiced within its walls. On the Anchor Bay special 3-disc edition, you'll find her telling that story on the 25th anniversary interview disc. It's fantastic and is a must see for any fan of this film. This is a film that though she is given writing credit for, she does not appear in the film as a character (although she appears in the film's opening airport sequence for a brief moment). The film was originally intended to have young girls play the roles but when producers didn't allow it, adult actresses were cast. But notice how the dialogue between the girls in the film is almost child-like (i.e., when Olga teases Sara by saying, "I one heard that names that begin with "S" are the names of snakes!") and little things like the doorknobs on the doors being higher than normal still give off the illusion that the ladies are still playing the parts of young children. It's fascinating when you think about it. Especially to know that Argento used "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" as a model for the use of set and color.

If you're not a fan of the whole of Italian films, this still needs to be in your collection. I own the Magnum VHS version, the Quality Video re-release, the single-disc Anchor Bay edition, and the 3-disc Anchor Bay special edition. I have yet to stumble across the Laserdisc version (also by Magnum?) which is the holy grail for my ever-growing horror collection. If you see it or come across it, let me know. Nevertheless, this film is a remarkable piece of film making that has never been matched in the history of celluloid. Whether you love this film as I do, or you hate it, it still holds up, thirty one years later and packs the punch it did when it was first released. Each time I see it, it reminds me of why I love this genre the way I do and why I love the Italian films of the seventies and eighties.

Click here for the international trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB4u6qC_ORE. And click here for a cool drive in TV spot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdO_n-0oZVA&feature=related/ Below, enjoy the U.S. Trailer: