Phenomena - The Film Debate
 

So, what do you think of Phenomena? How good is the writing, direction, acting and where does it rank in your favourite Dario Argento films?

Again, please keep this thread to discussions about the film itself and not the artwork or, when it is released, the disc itself.

As far as I'm concerned, this is my second or third favourite Argento film after Suspiria and Tenebrae and on a par with Inferno and Deep Red. I love the performances by Donald Pleasence, Daria Nicolodi and Jennifer Connelly, the heavy metal soundtrack and the great camerawork by Argento who makes full use of the Swiss locations.

I adore Phenomena. It's totally barmy with an amazing score. I must of watched this about twenty times over the years and have never got jaded. One thing is for sure, it's never boring.

I love the dream sequences - just wished they were a bit longer - it's where you're wanting some great Dario camerawork and it's all coming together from the bannister to the corridor of doors but then cuts off a bit too soon for me.

Love it, have always loved it, love it more each time I watch it.

It's not primo Argento, but it's boss nonetheless. As good as Tenebrae or Opera, I reckon.

He even manages to make the awful Iron Maiden sound cool by clever juxtaposition of music and image!

Yeah I agree it's on the Opera level.

The opening murder, starting with the camera going over the tops of the trees to reveal the house right upto the waterfall death. Sheer quality. It's not all heavy metal music too, as Goblin and Simon Boswell do some of their best work on the film.

I would put it just below Tenebrae and slightly above Opera though that could change if I were to watch the three as a triple Bill!

What have you got against Iron Maiden? I love their contribution to the score as it really ramps up the sense of lunacy in the middle of all this stuff by Claudio Simonetti and Goblin!

Phenomena is quite an oddity, even for Argento. A lot of it takes place during the day, the plot is completely nonsensical, the music score is eclectic and some of the acting/dubbing is best described as dubious but it’s a film that I have a lot of love for. It’s not even one of those films that’s good because it’s bad – it’s just “is”. It’s really hard to describe the reasons I like it and why I rate it among my favourite Italian horror films, but it’s definitely something that should be seen by those that like their Eurocult films.

Good point - some nice camerawork there indeed. What happened to Boswell - he was all over this and Stage Fright and Hardware...