Argento's most well-crafted mystery. In Tenebrae (Ten-Eh-Bray), famed mystery-horror novelist Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa) stops in Rome during a press tour for his newest novel, named Tenebrae. Unfortunately, a crazed killer obsessed with Neal and his book commences a killing spree while he's there, targeting beautiful, young women. Naturally, Neal is brought on by the police to help investigate and soon both him and the police are trapped in an ever-spiraling web of murder, obsession, and madness.
Tenebrae's score (by Claudio Simonetti, Fabio Pignatelli, and Massimo Morante) is just about perfection. It's very synth-y, and very rock-and-roll. The directing and script by Dario Argento are masterful. The story is very twisty, and the end reveal is just about impossible to predict. The cinematography by Luciano Tovoli is perfect as well (Some gorgeous tracking shots, and impressive camera movements and angles).
Tenebrae might be Argento's bloodiest film (the amount of blood on display here was honestly, shocking.), and it's definitely the one that most enjoys playing mind games with its viewers. There's some creative, cool kills, and a decent amount of beautiful, naked women (mostly in the first act). The film also features a nice twist where it's not so much our protagonist who becomes obsessed with solving the case, but the killer who is obsessed with our protagonist. It's also refreshing that Tenebrae isn't afraid to delve into the psyche's of both our "hero" and the killer.
Tenebrae is a film that is purposefully confusing and dizzying (It also has some fun silliness at times, Argento was definitely enjoying himself here). It's filled with ambiguity, and even when the film ends viewers might still be left with some questions. Tenebrae is easily one of Argento's finest, most memorable, and most impressive films (It's also one of his most complex). It doesn't hurt that it's an absolute blast as well!
5 STARS
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