In una sonnolenta cittadina americana, la timida signorina Allison realizza il sogno di una vita indipendente: una casetta tutta per sé, grazie ai soldi ereditati dalla zia di cui si era presa cura a lungo. Pronta ad assaporare la tanto agognata solitudine e libertà, vede ben presto andare in frantumi il suo sogno, quando bussa alla sua porta la signorina Withers, un’intrusa ostinata e…
El Techo de Cristal (The Glass Ceiling), 1971. A Hitchcockian film from Spain. A beautifully shot psychological thriller that will appeal to fans of giallo, 70s art house, and neo-noir.
Utterly preposterous — sometimes delightful so, sometimes not — Dario Argento’s TRAUMA (1993, Prime, YouTube, Tubi, Plex) is one of his most visually sumptuous films, particularly in the restored version marketed on DVD by Vinegar Syndrome (although they lose points for not supplying closed captions). Even when the plot devolves into nonsense or the script leaves out key transitions, it’s at the very least gorgeous to watch thanks to Raffaele Mertes’ widescreen cinematography and mostly great to listen to thanks to Pino Donaggio’s score (if you tune out the overly cute cues for a subplot about a boy who lives next door to a serial killer). Thematically, it’s a distant cousin of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (if you know the Elizabethans pronounced “nothing” “noting”). As in many murder mysteries, the plot hinges on leading lady Asia Argento’s being tricked into seeing something that isn’t so, and the ending comes from our on mistaken assumptions about a particular character type. The discovery of the killer by accident results from somebody’s seeing through the leading man Christopher Rydell’s ruse.
Someone is disabling and then decapitating people while they’re still conscious. Meanwhile, recovering drug addict Rydell saves Argento from a suicide attempt. Of course, she’s connected to the murders. The police take her home to her mother, phony psychic Piper Laurie, but during a séance, mama runs into the woods, followed by Argento’s father, and both are decapitated. Rydell and Argento try to solve the murders while dodging psychiatrist Frederick Forrest, who’s had Argento committed to his asylum, and Rydell’s sometime lover, news anchor Laura Johnson. Then things get really complicated.
This was Argento’s first U.S.-produced film, and he makes great use of the scenery around Minneapolis, including the Hennepin Avenue Bridge, the Five Corners Saloon and the Veterans Administration Hospital. Mertes lights the locations and sets for maximum mood and creepiness. And since all the dialog was recorded in English, you get a stronger connection between actors and dialog, not to mention the presence of solid American actors like Laurie, Forrest, Johnson (who’s so good there really should be more of her) and Brad Dourif. Although Tom Savini does the gore effects, they’re surprisingly restrained for both him and Argento (some were cut for various markets and not included in the restored version I watched). But even without the gore, the big kills are very effective. They’re queasy, suspenseful and frightening.
The plot is pure giallo. In fact, the title refers to one of the most common giallo tropes, the past trauma that motivates the killer, though in this case they’re out to get people who really couldn’t be blamed for what happened. I suppose someone who invents a special machine with which to decapitate victims (it’s a nifty little device created by Savini and dubbed the “Noose-o-matic” by the crew) probably isn’t all that reasonable. The scenes with the killer’s neighbor feel awfully drawn out. The child plays an important role in the denouement, but he’s originally so detached from the main characters his scenes feel superfluous. There are also strange plot developments. Rydell discovers that Johnson and her fellow anchor have a sideline selling drugs, but the discovery leads to nothing. And at one point Rydell [SPOILER], which leads to his [SPOILER, though it’s not that important], but there’s nothing leading up to it. He just turns up [SPOILER] and in need of [SPOILER] and then suddenly isn’t [SPOILER] anymore. But when the film works, it’s quite good, and the ending is another of Argento’s meldings of grand guignol and grand opera. You may almost wish [SPOILER] had a chance to sing their motivations.
Remembering Lucio Fulci
(June 17, 1927 - March 13, 1996).
#LucioFulci
#giallo #horror
Italian speakers out there, how accurate is the English dub of Eye in the Labyrinth? I can’t find an Italian version with English subtitles, but both the original (sans subtitles) and the dub are on YouTube
Felice di aver collaborato con Dajana Roncione per la creazione del personaggio di Giuli De Rosa anche nella seconda stagione della serie tv “Vanina: un vicequestore a Catania” diretta da Davide Marengo e prodotta da Palomar production in onda su canale 5 e MediasetInfinity
