Dario Argento's Phenomena (1985):

Maybe it should be stated somewhere that I am no lover of the 80's. Actually, more often than not I despise the 80's. Perhaps that's why I'm often so desperate to find important films from this period; it can't all be crap like E.T. and Back to the Future, and of course it isn't. There's also Robocop, The Thing, Conan and even Raiders of the Lost Ark... Yet that's about where my list drops off, and of course the same applies to horror; my list of faves can be counted on one hand. Well add one more to the list, and it scores for both categories, which is perhaps why I'm jumping up and down. It also scores a possible third point--namely, a breakthrough film for the Italian horror directors, who I don't always end up appreciating as much as I should.

It is amazing in a way that I have no problem stomaching the Italian westerns, yet Italian horror has been a completely different experience (though I'll admit that Django was not exactly 'easy going'). Films like Suspiria (1977) left me cold. Strange use of lighting, completely ineffective acting and a go-nowhere plot spelled out lush style but nothing else. Perhaps the one and only real clue that there was something more came from the soundtrack--Goblin (or sometimes The Goblin) pounding out throbbing keyboard symphonies that in this case suggested a far more effective film than the one I ended up getting. Suspiria remains my one 'bummer' experience with the director, and I still miss that soundtrack. By the time I saw Tenebre (1982) it was clear that something was up with Argento. Maybe it just took a few years for him to perfect his style. Tenebre is a slasher masterpiece with a punk aesthetic; dirty, short, abrupt cuts and one hell of a Goblin soundtrack. I'm not even sure I'd say it was scary, but it sure loves to kill, and kill, and kill. All that fooling around with weird lighting from Suspiria is gone, and the film seems better for it; but it wasn't enough to make me a fan. That took Phenomena.

Okay, so what the hell is Phenomena? First off, it stars Jennifer Connelly (Labyrinth--yeah, I could pick a more respectable movie, but why?) and Donald Pleasance (Fantastic Voyage, You Only Live Twice, etc.) which make for a relatively strong English speaking cast, cutting down on the 'I can't understand the overdub' problem. In fact, the whole overdub factor isn't an issue; unlike Fulchi's Zombie (yeah, I watched these back to back) in which I couldn't understand what was being said half the time. I'm not saying anything good or bad about Connelly and Pleasance beyond their effectiveness in the film which is outstanding. I'm starting to get a sense of the Argento "regulars" and I don't think they could have pulled it off. Man, it's gonna start sounding like I don't think Italians can act, but I think something is really lost in the overdub and you start feeling like your watching a porno. I just don't think the dub does them justice. American actors (or wherever the hell Donald Pleasance comes from) solves the problem.

Okay, so I've beat around the bush long enough. The real star of Phenomena is a chimpanzee. You probably saw this coming. I like monkeys, and this chimp plays a major role in the film. The film itself is ludicrous, part slasher, part psychic-girl (she can talk with insects), part weird-fantasy, all chimp action! Oh, and don't forget the soundtrack; this time Goblin is joined by Metallica (Flash of the Blade from PowerSlave), Bill Wyman from the Rolling Stones and probably other people I'm missing. The main theme by Goblin is quite haunting and does the job in suspending disbelieve as Jennifer Corvino (yes, she plays a character with virtually the same name--just like all those movies where Jacky Chan plays characters named Jacky) tracks down a killer with the use of her insect friends. The joy in the film is knowing that what you are watching is both completely ridiculous, yet knowing that for some inexplicable reason, the film is actually working. Several fantastic scenes have Jennifer led around by insects to various clues, but instead of feeling like B movie cheese, they actually work and are in fact quite powerful. How does Argento do it? One bug swarming scene around the half-way mark does everything that Boorman's Exorcist 2 failed to do.

Of course, Maiden's Flash of the Blade is the 'murder' theme, and while others may think the soundtrack is often inappropriate, I think it does a lot to carry the film. One of my strongest impressions of Italian cinema is a willingness to really drench their films in strong music. Would The Good, The Bad and The Ugly be any good at all without Morricone's score? I really doubt it. While there might be a moment or two in Phenomena where the songs don't quite fall into place, for the most part they hit dead on; and for some reason that feels even more appropriate for an 80's film. The thing really comes off like a time-capsule; I mean, no one would dare attempt a film like this now (other than Argento) and the soundtrack is utterly unique to this period.

So where the hell am I going with this review? Phenomena makes brilliant use of a pastoral but often surreal landscape, it bounces between genres so often you feel like you're watching about 4 different films, the contrast between Hollywood and 'spaghetti' actors is both jarring and utterly weird, there's one heck of a soundtrack and there's a chimpanzee running around with a razor blade. That's either gonna be one of the worst films ever or one of the best. Given that I enjoyed the film tremendously and found myself not forgiving but rather totally accepting if not indulging in the faults of the film, I most vote for the latter. Phenomena probably is one of the best (if not goofiest) horror films of the 80's and a real treasure. If nothing else, the film is so iconic in its execution (both visually and musically) that you're not due to forget it anytime soon.

Thanks for the review Chris! If you would like to submit a review, drop me a line at gleep9@hotmail.com and your razor wielding monkey can talk to my razor wielding monkey. Swing on out of here to either the Third Movie or Main page.