Tenebre (1982)
Directed by Dario Argento
For this edition of Doc Reviews the Classics, I will be going to the movies. That's right, this edition will be taking a look at one of my favorite movies, and what better place to start than with a Dario Argento film. While you may think I will be taking a look at Deep Red or Suspiria, those are good choices, but I will be looking at one of his more underrated films, Tenebre.
The basic plot of Tenebre is that there is a killer that patterns his killings after a book written by the main character Peter Neal titled Tenebre. The movie begins with Neal heading to the airport to take a flight to Rome. While he is in flight, the first act of murder happens in Rome, when a woman is made to eat the pages of the book she stole a few minutes earlier before the killer slashes her throat with an open razor. Neal arrives at the Rome airport and gets to the hotel with his publicist Bullmer, personal assistant Anne, a young man named Gianni. It is when he gets to his room that he finds Detectives Germani and Altieri, who want to question him about the murder. Since the murder happened to be similar in the manner described in the book he wrote, along with a note addressed to him, the detectives ask for his assistance in the event that it happens again. Soon, a couple more women are killed in a different manner that is also described in the book and another letter is addressed to him. Eventually, another woman accidentally stumbles into the murderer's lair, but is discovered and tries to run away from the murderer, only to get hacked with an ax. The series of murders continues when Christiano Berti, a person that Peter Neal had been interviewed by a few days earlier, gets killed with an axe to the head. Eventually, the killer is discovered, but not before more murders are committed. Yes, the English doesn't match the movement of the actors' lips, but given that there were going to be multiple translations of the movie, this was to be expected. The murders themselves are set up nicely with a slick stalker element and the murders themselves are spectacular. For instance, the murder of the two women in their appartment has one woman's shirt being slashed by the open razor that shows her face as she is being killed. Another great scene happens after Neal's ex gets her hand cut off, with a stream of blood painting the walls that is followed by a repeated axe hacking. The ending will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. As is the case in every Dario Argento, the murders happen with the killer's hands being the only thing that is seen, thus keeping the identity of the killer secret until it is time to reveal him or her. Music is provided by three fourths of Goblin, who go by their last names for this movie, and add a more modern feel to the movie.
While it is argued that Deep Red is the best movie Dario Argento made, Tenebre isn't that far behind. The things that are most commonly associated with Argento are there, but are done so to incorporate new things. A murder mystery in the truest sense, the twists and turns will keep you riveted until the end, with an ending that you won't see coming.
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