championships...without the capital C

Since the dawn of the last decade, the Washington Capitals have not made it past the second round, and last year was as disappointing as it got.  Down years offensively across the board, as well as players not contributing forced the team to shore up those problems.  Everything begins with Alex Ovechkin, who did not break the 100 point barrier last season.  He did show some improved defensive play, but now the task will be improving upon that while not taking away from the offense.  Part of Ovechkin's dip in numbers can be attributed to a steep drop in numbers for Nicklas Backstrom.  He failed to break 70 points, and those struggles continued in the playoffs, where seemingly everyone not named Alex Ovechkin struggled.  Backstrom will be counted upon to get the offense going from the center position.  Troy Brouwer brings a championship and grit to a team that lacked it last year when it counted.  He made life easier for the likes of Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, and Jonathan Toews, and now, he will do the same for Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Alex Semin.

Prediction: 1st in East

Movie: Shock

The last movie of Mario Bava, it is one of those movies that relies on scare factor to get reactions.  The Caps' have Ovechkin to provide that for opposing teams.  Doesn't always work, in both cases, but it's worth a shot.

So Close...

The story of the 2010-11 Vancouver Canucks was one of high expectations, but was also one that fell one game short of the Stanley Cup.  Naturally, the only way to get that bad taste out is to get back to the Finals, but it will be easier said than done.  Ryan Kesler was the best player in the playoffs last year, but he will miss the first month of the season after off-season surgery.  He is the player that teams build around, and it will be interesting to see how the team comes together in his absence.  All eyes remain on Roberto Luongo after he fell apart in the Stanley Cup Finals.  Sure, he had his games, but the maddening inconsistency came to life in the Finals and before that, in the first round against Chicago.  If the pressure wasn't unbearable before, then it's about to be turned up by quite a bit.  Chris Tanev appeared in a few playoff games in Dan Hamhuis' absence, and acquitted himself nicely with a good showing.  With Christian Ehrhoff's departure, Tanev is the leading candidate to replace him, particularly if Keith Ballard doesn't find his way out of Alain Vigneault's doghouse.

Prediction: 1st in West

Movie: Suspiria

Excellent opening sequence, and good middle, but ultimately, an ending that falls short of expectations...that's the Dario Argento movie and the Canucks in a nutshell.

Rebuilding Sens Army

The 2010-11 Ottawa Senators were a disaster the likes that were matched only by the first years of the franchise.  To that end, the Senators decided to go into the youth movement head first for this coming season.  Jason Spezza will have to assume more of a leadership role since Daniel Alfredsson is nearing the end of his career and coming off of back surgery in the off-season.  Spezza is the best offensive threat on the team right now, and knows a thing or two about playoff success.  Goaltending was a problem for much of last season, and it wasn't until mid-season acquisition Craig Anderson arrived that the Sens showed signs of life.  Ottawa is notoriously tough on goaltenders, so it will be interesting to see which Anderson shows up: the one that struggled in Colorado last year or the one the Senators got to see on a daily basis.  Former first round pick Nikita Filatov didn't quite find his game in Columbus, but he has pledged to be ready when the Senators take the ice on opening night.  If he can find his offense, then the Senators will have a steal on their hands.

Prediction: 15th in East

Movie: Demons

In the Lamberto Bava movie, all hell breaks loose in a mysterious theater when the events of the movie begin to be mirrored within the theater itself.  The Senators' youth movement may be a mirror of the chaos that will undoubtedly be there this season.

Bright Lights, Not So Bright Future

The 2010-11 New York Rangers once again, rode their star goaltender to a playoff spot, but had to wait until the last day to find out.  Once there, they were promptly taken out in five games in the first round. Great goaltending can only go so far, but without a decent offensive output, the Rangers are doomed.  The goaltending in question?  Henrik Lundqvist, and on an elite team, he can put a team over the top.  On the Rangers, he has been the only reason the Rangers are even in the playoff race annually.  To fix what ails the offense, the Rangers went out and got the big fish in this year's free agent pool in Brad Richards.  If healthy, he could be a major help in that regard.  The problem?  He hasn't always been healthy, which is to say that Rangers fans will undoubtedly be rubbing rabbit's feet twice as much with Richards and Marian Gaborik.  That, more than the pressure, will be something to watch for with Richards, who does bring big game experience with him, having won a Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe in 2004.  Derek Stepan was a revelation as a rookie last year, and certainly, he will be under pressure to increase production this year.  However, with Richards on board, Stepan won't have to shoulder the load alone, which should help in furthering his development.

Prediction: 8th in East

Movie: The New York Ripper

New York is a much different place at night, and certainly, the Rangers are a much different team this year, with Richards and Michael Rupp on board, as well as (gasp) the Rangers spending wisely.

Thawing Out

The New Jersey Devils were a dysfunctional mess last season, particularly in the front office.  That's not news.  What is news is that the Devils missed the playoffs, thanks largely to a miserable start to the season in which the head coach was fired before Christmas, and an old coach was coaxed out of retirement to finish the season.  Much of the offense (or lack thereof) was missing when Zach Parise went down with an injury.  He will be motivated, as he is not only coming back from injury, but also a new contract, as it is up after this season.  The Ilya Kovalchuk saga of last year clouded the Devils for much of the year, and he put up his worst goal totals in his career.  Expect him to post closer to 40 goals, as there are fewer distractions this time around.  Adam Larsson will likely make the jump from draft stage to Devils opening night roster, as the Devils are woefully thin on the blue line.  Then again, he could spend one more year in Sweden.  Either way, he bears watching, as he could step into a second pairing, at best.

Prediction: 12th in East

Movie: Lisa and the Devil

Movies such as the Mario Bava directed Lisa and the Devil bring fright to people.  The Devils in recent years, bring fright to their fans with their play, particularly when it counts the most.

Bad Times in Big D

Last year, the Dallas Stars needed to win against the Minnesota Wild on the final day of the season to make it into the playoffs.  It didn't happen, and gone with the Stars' chances of making the playoffs was Marc Crawford as coach and Brad Richards as its star player.  This year, Dallas will rely heavily on Kari Lehtonen to keep the team in games on many nights.  He had a good year, as he managed to stay healthy for a full year and kept the team in many games.  Now, he will have to repeat that performance.  One player on the spot for the Stars this season is Sheldon Souray.  Buried in the minors last year by the Oilers, he is looking to prove that he can stay healthy and that he can still put up the numbers from the blue line.  Richards and his 77 points will sorely be missed, but one player who could take the lead on offense is Loui Eriksson.  He was an All-Star last year, but this year can be his opportunity to prove that his numbers were more than a product of having Richards as his center.

Prediction: 14th in the West

Movie: Hell of the Living Dead

Remember Dawn of the Dead?  Meet the worst knockoff of that movie.  Now, it would not be surprising if the Stars were to follow up last year with a total stinker.

Flicker of Hope

For the first half of the 2010-11 season, the Calgary Flames were in the hunt for a lottery pick in the NHL draft.  A change in GMs later, and they were on the verge of the playoffs.  Like every year, the Flames' offensive hopes rise and fall with the captain Jarome Iginla.  It's hard to dispute where the Flames would be without him, but he does need help.  That help begins with Jay Bouwmeester, who hasn't been the offensive presence from the blue line that Calgary thought they were getting when they acquired him a couple of years ago.  Mikael Backlund had a respectable rookie season, and figures to be better centering a line with Iginla and Alex Tanguay.

Prediction: 9th in the West

Movie: Inferno

Much like the Dario Argento movie, the Flames have promise, but ultimately fall short of expectations seemingly every year.

Raising the Stakes

New owner, more money, same expectations:  that is what the Buffalo Sabres are facing as the 2011-12 season begins.  For all the acquisitions this offseason, the hopes for a Stanley Cup parade all hinge on a familiar face in Ryan Miller.  He had a less than stellar year (by his standards), and will look to have a bounce back year. However, he is still the player that can steal games for the Sabres.  Of all the new players on the team, the one that could face the most pressure is Ville Leino.  He doesn't have the history that Robyn Regehr or Christian Ehrhoff have, and at the price he was signed, Leino will be under the gun to produce according to the contract.  The new arrivals, plus the return of Derek Roy, could spell a breakout season for Drew Stafford.  He showed some of what he could do last year, and with the possibility of lining up with either Leino or Roy, Stafford could hit 30 goals this season.

Prediction: 4th in the East

Movie: A Blade in the Dark

Last year, the Sabres had all of the impact of a box cutter as a murder weapon.  This year, they hope it is a lot more than that.

All Roof, No Foundation

Today begins the 2011-12 NHL Season Preview, and as a theme, all the previews will have some horror movie clip attached with each preview, in addition to the standard previews.

The story of the 2010-11 Anaheim Ducks can best be described as having the firepower up front, but nothing to back it up.  With 99 points in the regular season, the Ducks were exposed by a more balanced Nashville team in the first round.  Anaheim's scoring is spearheaded by Rocket Richard and Hart Trophy winner Corey Perry.  He always put up decent numbers, but last year saw him realize his full potential, and he will look to build on that.  Anaheim's Cup aspirations took a hit when Jonas Hiller went down with vertigo.  His loss exposed an Anaheim blue line that was mostly in the minus category of the +/- statistic.  Great goaltending tends to cover up a lot of weaknesses, and Hiller is definitely an upgrade over Ray Emery, who filled in admirably.  Cam Fowler made the team out of training camp last year, and managed to put up good numbers as a rookie, but like most of his blue line mates, he had an alarming +/- number well below the line.  He will be counted on to take a bigger role with the team.

Preditcion: 7th in the West

Movie: Don't Torture a Duckling:


Though the only thing that ties the two together is the "Duckling" in the movie title and the team name, the potential for the Anaheim team to be great could match the underrated 1972 Lucio Fulci film.

Non Ho Sonno

It's no secret that many of the great movie directors have periods in which their greatness doesn't quite show.  In the case of Dario Argento, it began in the 1990's.  Truth be told, he hasn't made any really terrible movies per se, but none of the movies made since 1990 have had the impact that his earlier works have had.  Non Ho Sonno, or Sleepless, as translated from Italian, was his 2001 movie that brought elements from his early giallo works to the forefront...perhaps too much.

The basic story of the movie is that a retired insomniac police chief and a son of one of the victims is trying to solve a murder that is being centered around a nursery rhyme that was written by a kickable (little person, in case you didn't get the idea).  Obviously, this detective work puts the loved ones in danger, and the duo has to solve the murder before it's too late.  The movie stars Max Van Sydow as the insomniac cop, and he provides the balance in the movie.  Once he's offed because of a heart attack, the movie seems to drop precipitously.  It's difficult to sympathize with the protagonist (Giacomo), as he comes across as a guy that looks like he ate some meat gone bad.  It's also difficult to sympathize with the murder victims, since they're primarily there as fodder for the killer and nothing more.  The ending is a little too much like Deep Red, and the explanation does sound a little far-fetched.  Not a bad movie, but it should have been much more.

Rural Misdeeds

It's been a while since I've done something other than hockey on this little blog, and even longer since I've done a movie review.  So, to change that a little, here is a 1972 giallo from...Lucio Fulci?  Before I go on, it should be noted that before Zombi 2, City of the Living Dead, and The Beyond, Fulci started out experimenting with the giallo subgenre.  Two of the movies that he directed can be considered solid works: New York Ripper and the subject of today's piece, Don't Torture a Duckling.

The basic premise of the movie is that a few boys in the rural village are turning up dead, and the people of the village and the police are baffled.  It is up to a reporter (sporting a 70's porn 'stache) and a sexually active woman to find out who is committing the murders.  Unlike most gialli, Fulci relies more on natural lighting to create the desired effect of fear.  The violence level isn't too much, but there are some spectacular moments, such as the Gypsy woman getting beaten with chains, and the end scene.  The overall effect of the movie is far greater than the parts that make up the movie.  Don't Torture a Duckling is a worthwhile movie that is comparable to some of the better giallo movies in that time period.

Accept the Saxon-Head

Halloween is just around the corner, and movie watching has actually been down compared to the April movie marathon.  It also means that hockey season is in full swing and rubbing rabbit's feet that the Portland Trailblazers can stay healthy for a full season.  Today's movie is from the son of Mario Bava, Lamberto, and is his signature movie Demons.

The movie is about people who get an invitation from a mysterious figure (Michele Soavi, which means you should take a shot, as per the rules of the "Spot Michele Soavi" drinking game) for an unidentified movie in a theater that no one has heard about until that evening.  The central figures in the movie are two young girls who skip class to attend, and two guys who meet up with them at the theater.  If you have seen The Church at all, then you will know where it borrows much of its story from, as Demons soon sees the people in the theater looking to not get infected and turn into a demon.  The source: a mask that somehow causes a cut on the person's face who wears it, if only for a few seconds.  As for the movie within a movie, it further illustrates this point, as the events of the movie soon get replicated within the theater.  Survival and trying to stay uninfected are the ideas for the movie, and it works to a large degree.  Demons borrows from Cat O'Nine Tails (blind man has his assistant tell him what is going on in the movie) and Suspiria (the use of color in the movie) to great effect, and it figures, since Dario Argento had a hand in this movie.  The gore in this movie is great in quantity and quality, though there are instances of the "turning into one of them" where you wonder if they grow really bad boils.  The main characters aren't too annoying, and the state of panic is done well, as the feeling of being unable to escape, with the exits concreted and bricked off, turn the movie into one LSD-induced nightmare (not that I recommend doing that kind of thing).  Of particular interest is the usherette, who stands out just for sheer beauty.

The soundtrack is heavy metal laden, which sets a template for Opera, which was Argento's next movie, and fits in with some of the movie's best scenes.  Demons takes the best parts of some of Italian horror's best movies and makes it equally, if not better.

Time...Too Much Time to Kill

Many of you who read this rag (and even those who don't) know about Lucio Fulci and some of his works.  Movies such as The Beyond ("Stop using logic, it's a B-movie"), City of the Living Dead, and Zombie are all considered essential viewing.  However, like many directors, time wasn't very kind to him (Demonia, anyone?).  The biggest piece of evidence that supports this: House of Clocks.  Originally a television movie, it was actually never aired due to excessive (in quality) violence and somehow ended up on DVD.

The basic story of the movie: three people break into a house with the intent of robbing it.  Along the way, they shoot the occupants and soon after, things get complicated, as the house is full of clocks that mysteriously turn back time, which naturally causes problems for the trio.  The movie itself is one long, boring stretch that does very little to relieve that boredom.  As for violence, there isn't a whole heck of a lot, with the maid getting poked to death (don't ask) and the standard gunshots.  Truthfully, this movie was difficult to get through, and if you can get through the movie, you deserve a pat on the back.

Voyeurism and You

It's no secret that Dario Argento has been called the Italain Alfred Hitchcock of horror.  Much of this is especially evident in his giallo films.  So, imagine the natural follow up when Argento made one in a series of movies that paid tribute to Hitchcock that was made exclusively for television.

Do You Like Hitchcock? is in many ways, Argento's take on the Hitchcock classic Rear Window, and begins with a young boy named Giulio, who follows a mysterious figure into the woods.  The figure runs into a house, where she meets her accomplice for some chicken slaughtering fun in the name of witchcraft.  They spot him and chase him away.  Fast forward to present day Torino, and Giulio is now a movie nerd who is still the same peeping tom that he was as a wee lad.  His spying eye goes across the street and the hot young woman (okay, show of hands, who wouldn't want to espy their hot young woman neighbor across the street?), who had been arguing with her mother.  Giulio just so happens to be a movie nerd of, wait for it, Alfred Hitchcock movies.  In fact, he makes references to some of his movies as certain scenes unfold.  When the neighbor's mother is murdered, the peeping tom in Giulio takes over, as does the obsession with Hitchcock, both of which infuriate his girlfriend.

The movie plays out as more of a tribute to Hitchcock, and it shows.  The visual splatter fest that usually dominates the Argento movies is absent, as there are really only two major deaths to speak of: the neighbor's mother and the creepy video store clerk.  Incidentally, one would have hoped for Giulio to bite the dust, as he fails as a protagonist in every way.  From his treatment of his girlfriend to the peeping tom syndrome, the Giulio character screams "stalker." and I don't mean the Barry Windham character that was on WWF television in the mid-90's.*  Overall, Do You Like Hitchcock? is decent for what it is, but it is far from a great movie.

* I always wanted to somehow incorporate a Wrestlecrap gimmick into a review, and I did it.  I can quit this blog now, but I won't.

Attack of the Plague

From the people that brought you Deep Red and Cemetery Man comes a movie that actually makes a religious building is the main enemy.  Yes, folks, The Church is about what happens when you build a church on some cursed ground and accidentally open the gate that keeps the spirits inside.

This movie marked the second directorial effort of Michele Soavi and he had some assistance, as Dario Argento lent a hand in the production and writing duties.  Before I continue, here's an idea for a drinking game (inspired by one Don Anderson): if you can spot Soavi in the movie, take a couple of shots.  You can also play this game in some other Italian horror movies that he appears in, too.  Back to the movie, it begins with a flashback to some time ago, when a group of Teutonic knights slaughter a village that was suspected of being Satan worshippers.  They eventually bury the dead and decide to build a church upon that site.  Now, fast forward to present day, and we meet quite possibly the creepiest bishop and librarian along with a young assistant.  The librarian opens the gate (in reality, a cross that the knights had built to seal the spirits) and gets cut.  The cut makes him go wacky, and soon, anyone he cuts gets the same affliction.  One day, a group of children with guide, an elderly couple, a young biker couple, and a newly married couple are all trapped in the church when the Sacristan lets out some blood, which triggers an automatic locking system.  The problem: there's only one door out.  It is up to Father Gus and a teenage Asia Argento to stop the spirits from escaping, which means finding a secret within the building and unlocking it.

The movie borrows from Demons (it was originally going to be called Demons 3) and Inferno.  The soundtrack is good and fits with the movie well, and the atmosphere is perfect for what Soavi is wanting to accomplish.  There's not a lot of violence, but the violence that does happen is spectacular enough to make up for it.  The ending was rather mediocre, which takes the movie down a peg.  Other than that, The Church is an above average movie that is worth the time.

Brain Drills and Michele Soavi Getting his Scalp Ripped Off

I've been slacking a bit when it comes to movie watching, so in an effort to rectify that situation, I turned on City of the Living Dead and managed to get through the entire thing after a few failed attempts.  As you can see from the picture, it is a Lucio Fulci film, which means there will be blood.

The movie opens with a medium "dying" from sheer fright after seeing in her vision a priest hanging himself.  That priest hanging himself opens the gates of Hell (please, don't ask).  Soon, the townsfolk begin to get killed off one by one, with one getting killed by what can only be best described as a "Dirty Sanchez" maneuver.  A couple in a car get killed, with one of them (see title) getting his scalp ripped off and the other having her insides leak out of her mouth courtesy of the priest's super strong stare.  Of course, the underlying story is that some guy named Bob is thought to have been involved in the killings, and at some point, he meets his demise at the hands of a deranged father and a giant drill.  You have to love Italian horror directors and their crazy ways of killing off people.  The medium that was thought to have died, well, along with a reporter and a couple of surviving townsfolk, they make their way to Dunwich, where the priest hanged himself.  They have to find a way to stop the living dead from walking the earth, which means killing the priest again.

As far as Fulci movies go, The Beyond and Zombi 2 get all of the headlines when it comes to his legacy.  However, movies like City of the Living Dead are underrated and deserve as much attention as the aforementioned titles.  Yes, it is a rather unorthodox way of portraying zombies, but it is quite effective and the ending will leave you with more questions than answers, which in a rarity, is a good thing.

Il Gatto a Nove Code

Remember when I said that I would try to get through Dario Argento's Cat O'Nine Tails?  You don't?  For the sake of this piece, let's say that you did, and for the record, I could not.  Was the movie terrible?  No, but it felt like an eternity to even try and get through the first 30 minutes.  I realize that many giallos are like this, but this movie felt like it was moving even slower than usual.

The plot of the movie is that a blind man (Karl Malden) with the assistance of his niece overhears a conversation between two men outside of a laboratory near his residence.  A few hours later, one of the guards gets killed and something important is missing from the lab.  The man finds out about this because his niece reads him the news.  Soon, the man and a snoopy journalist are on the case to determine who is behind the murders.  I say murders because like many giallos, anyone who holds key information for the main protagonists is usually killed off.

Along with Mother of Tears, I found this movie difficult to sit through, though the reasons for it are different from the most recent Argento piece.  Cat O'Nine Tails just happens to run slower than most movies feel, the production is fairly grainy, and the death scenes aren't quite spectacular (though to be fair, Argento didn't have many in the Animal trilogy, as this was part two of that).  Saying that, there is a murder mystery element that keeps the viewer in suspense until the end.

Flies and the Alps

Yesterday got me angry because the Portland Trailblazers are now looking for a new General Manager.  As you may know just by reading some of the ramblings on here, and even if you don't, if you actually talk to me, you know this, I am a Trailblazers fan.  Exactly why a team would fire a general manager that was doing a good job is beyond me, and barring the next guy coming in and doing just as good of a job, if not better, the owner will see some angry letters his way.

And tonight is the beginning of the NHL draft, for you folks interested in seeing how your team's future will look like in a few years.

Sports rants are out of the way, so on to something that I haven't done in a while: writing about horror movies.  I haven't been able to catch up on some of the movies that I had been meaning to get to, so here's one that I had seen more than once.  As you may also know just by reading this blog, I am into horror movies, especially Italian horror.  Today is another movie by Dario Argento, one of the more famous directors to come from the country shaped like a boot.  However, it isn't a classic, but rather, one of his worst efforts, though not for the lack of trying.

Phenomena was made in 1984 and was pretty much the beginning of the end in Argento's relationship with Daria Nicolodi, who is also in this movie.  The central plot of the movie is that a young girl (Jennifer Connelly) can communicate with insects.  This power is useful in trying to figure out who has been killing a few of the folks in Switzerland.  A few things to note about the movie: this was filmed in Switzerland, so everything you see in the movie is really what you would see in Switzerland in real life.  Second is the girl that gets killed in the beginning: that would be Fiore Argento, older daughter of Dario Argento and sister to Asia Argento.  Phenomena also had the distinction of being filmed with all the actors speaking in English, which proved to be a chore for the likes of Nicolodi.  The plot of the movie also had a few too many red herrings, meaning that things designed to throw you off were many to the point where one couldn't figure out what was relevant to the story.

The entire movie wasn't that great, as it was more of the normal horror movie than an Argento movie, and the soundtrack relied more on bands like Motorhead and Iron Maiden, which in some ways threw off the overall mood of the movie.  Bad, for sure, but it's still better than most of the movies released in the last decade or so.

Hotel to Hell

Mention the name Lucio Fulci and one of the very first things that someone will say is The Beyond.  Along with Zombi 2, this is one of Fulci's most famous movies.

The plot of the movie?  I did the lazy thing and looked it up on IMDB:

"The New Yorker Liza Merril inherits an old hotel in Louisiana, and invests her savings to reopen the place. While repairing the building, many people die, and local Dr. John McCabe feels close to Liza and tries to help her to solve the mystery of the hotel. Meanwhile, Emily, a blind woman, advises Liza to leave the place as soon as possible. Later they realize that the place is one gate of hell and has been opened, permitting the dead walk on Earth."

The real fun in the movie isn't just the ways in which the people die, but also the scare factor.  This is definitely not a movie that you would want to try acid on (not that I do that kind of thing) because the movie is pretty weird even without someone trying drugs.  While not nearly as gory as Zombi 2, The Beyond more than holds its own in that regard and has one of the most ambiguous endings that you will see.  In other words, it's up for open interpretation.

Lifting From Books

Because I have no idea as to what to fill this space with, here is something that I did as one of the notes on Facebook.  Today's piece is Tenebre, another classic in the Dario Argento filmography.


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.