Directed by Dario Argento with Asia Argento and Thomas Kretschmann. Music by Ennio Morricone. Special Effects by Sergio Stivaletti. The Stendhal Syndrome is a return of Dario Argento to the themes of his earlier movies. Again his daughter (Asia) stars as a police woman after a serial killer (Kretschmann). She suffers from Stendhal syndrome, named after writer Marie Henri Bayle (his pen name was Stendhal). He was an officer in Napoleon's army before he became a writer. He toured the Santa Croce church and was overwhelmed by the architecture and art, he fainted when he saw a Giatto painting. This syndrome can cause split personalities, self inflicted injuries, hallucinations, physical strength and a wish for death. The killer plays with her mind while she is under the influence of the syndrome.
