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| A fashionably colored skull outline with a seductive woman's lips and jaws in a sea of black makes up most of this most elegant poster for Dario Argento's Inferno |
A music student pursues tracks from his sister's mysterious disappearance in New York, just after being near to an equally mysterious double homicide in Rome, his place of study.
Inferno is written and directed by Italian master filmmaker Dario Argento (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage/L'Uccello dalle Piume di Cristallo (1970)), whose 7th feature it is. Dardano Sacchetti (Turbo (2000, TV-series)) and co-writer/co-star Daria Nicolodi (Suspiria (1977)) contributed uncredited contributions, and the story is inspired by Thomas De Quincey's (Lake Reminiscences (1834-40)) Suspiria de Profundis (1845). It is the second film in Argento's Three Mothers trilogy, also consisting of Suspiria (1977) and Mother of Tears/La Terza Madre (2007).
It is a fantastical, dream-like horror. Its opening scenes in a largely deserted New York City are unforgettable, and so are several incredible scenes later on. The Verdi scene in Rome and the cat drowning scene in Central Park must be called out as among the film's highlights.
Beautifully, atmospherically lit, and designed with exemplary effects, Inferno is memorable as a surrealist, sensually dense, deeply cinematic descent into the dark hell of our subconscious. It is among Argento's best, an unavoidable, strange and wild horror classic.
Related posts:
Dario Argento: The Phantom of the Opera/Il Fantasma dell'Opera (1998) - Argento's Leroux adaptation is a kicker mostly for stout fans
Demons/Dèmoni (1985) or, Cinema of Death! (co-writer/producer)
Dawn of the Dead (1978) or, Mall of Death! (co-composer)
The Cat O'Nine Tails/Il Gatto a Nove Code (1971) - Solid genetics-themed giallo murder puzzle
Documentary about Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror (2002) - Bio. doc. of Dario Argento
Watch a modern-made trailer for the film here
Cost: 3 mil. $
Box office: In excess of 1.6 mil. $ (Italy only)
= Uncertain but likely a huge flop (projected return of 0.66 times its cost)
[Inferno was released 7 February (Italy) and runs 107 minutes. Shooting took place from May - September 1970 in Rome, Italy and in New York. Argento became ill with hepatitis during the shoot. The film was commissioned after Suspiria's success, but new Fox management saw no quality in the endeavor and the film reportedly only had a tiny release in North America. The gross numbers, except for Italy, where the film was popular, are regrettably not reported. Only 1,126 paid admission in Denmark. With a projected final gross of 2 mil. $, the film would rank as a huge flop. Argento returned with Tenebrae (1982). Eleonora Giorgi (SoloMetro (2007)) returned in Mia moglie è una Strega (1980); Leigh McCloskey (Bones (2011, TV-series)) in Hart to Hart (1981, TV-series) and theatrically in Hearts and Armour (1983); and Alida Valli (La Bocca (1991) in L'eredità della Priora (1980, miniseries)), Verso l'ora Zero (1980, TV movie) and theatrically in Aquella Casa en las Afueras (1980). Inferno is fresh at 63 % with a 5.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Inferno?
