(1990)
Dir - Dario Argento/George A. Romero
Overall: GOOD
Originally intended to feature four different filmmakers taking on an Edgar Allan Poe story ala various other such movies with a similar premise dating all the way back to the silent era, George A. Romero and Dario Argento ended up being the sole contributors to Two Evil Eyes, (Due occhi diabolici). Shot in Romero's native Pittsburgh with a handful of the director's regulars appearing, (including Tom Savini who did the special makeup effects, as usual), his opening adaptation of "The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar" is the more streamlined of the two, bringing back Adrienne Barbeau and Tom Atkins from Creepshow. Argento's "The Black Cat" has a few too many of the Italian Hitchcock's typical plotting malfunctions and unintentional goofiness, yet he also delivers another ridiculous, elaborate ending, plus Harvey Keitel seems to be in on the gag at irregular intervals. Both stories being stretched to nearly an hour each does ultimately hurt them though as they meander and could have benefited from some tightening up that the proposed four installment idea would have allowed for. Still, this is a mostly fun experiment, warts and all.
(1993)
Overall: GOOD
The second American film that Dario Argento made in the early 90s, Trauma also serves as the first to feature his daughter Asia. One of the more notorious moments in any of the director's movies involves a then seventeen year-old Asia appearing topless in a particularly gratuitous, (i.e. pointless), scene which is inadvertently creepier than anything else in the actual film. Another typical giallo with a killer wearing black gloves and using a particularly inventive murder device, (a "noose-o-matic" which was devised by special makeup effects guru Tom Savini), it has plenty of flash, violence, and absurdity. Five different people were credited with either the story or the screenplay and it rather drunkenly stumbles towards the finish line with some very half-baked plot points, all of which are as common for an Argento movie as is clever camera work and misogyny. There are some wonderfully scene-chewing supporting performances from Frederic Forrest, Brad Dourif, and Piper Laurie playing yet another hilariously disturbed mother, (this time with a fake Italian accent). It is all pure nonsense, but quite fun and masterfully done pure nonsense.
(1996)
Overall: MEH
Dario Argento returned to Italy with the topsy-turvy The Stendhal Syndrome, (La Sindrome di Stendhal), a flawed yet conceptually wacky giallo. Based off of a supposed real life experience that Argento had when he was young, it deals with concepts such as amnesia and split personalities in a typically far-fetched fashion though as was often the case for the director, the film is ultimately about violent, sexual trauma. Asia Argento turns in a pretty visceral, memorable performance as the victimized police detective and while the musical theme by Ennio Morricone is purposely repetitive, it does create the right sinister mood. Though the first act dabbles in the surreal and has a kinetic energy to it, the film quickly slogs its way though the typically poorly written script. Things appear to satisfyingly wrap up about an hour in, only to plod on for almost another full hour as if two separate movies were crammed into one. Even with several rape scenes in disturbing tow, the movie is less grandiose in its violence and plays things too straight to benefit the story's more goofy aspects, making the whole thing a bit of an overlong misstep.
(1998)
Overall: MEH
Not making the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera deformed is like not making Dracula a vampire so in this sense, Dario Argento's interpretation of Gaston Leroux' frequently adapted novel omits something rather crucial to the inherent horror aspects. Being an Argento movie, it of course makes up for the narrative tweaks with hilariously gruesome gore and weirdness like Julian Sand's romantically dashing title character being raised by rats, defying the laws of physics, viciously biting people, and being able to communicate telepathically with Asia Argento's Christine. He does still play the organ in an underground lair and is obsessively smitten with Christine's singing voice so it has not all been unrecognizably re-calibrated. When looked at as a comedy, parts of the movie work as there are several ridiculous set pieces, lines of dialog, plot points, and major narrative oversights like how is there electricity everywhere and how in the hell did the Phantom learn how to talk, read, write, and deck out his well-furnished dwellings? Sans some embarrassing CGI effects, the film looks pretty fantastic though and the director's flair for the extravagant still lets itself be known. It is certainly a messy endeavor any way one slices it, but also a fun one for "bad movie night".
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