TENEBRE is a film that really shows how Dario Argento earned the title “The Italian Hitchcock”. It’s to bad Hitchcock himself died two years before TENEBRE went into production as I’m sure the master would of dubbed the above title to Argento himself. However unlike Hitchcock’s films TENEBRE is a giallo film that has the suspense like atmosphere like Hitchcock’s films do, but also has plenty of scenes that involve the use of many throat slashing and other violent acts of murder.
TENEBRE is about an American writer named Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa) who wrote and published a very controversial horror/suspense novel titled TENEBRE. His novels are very popular in Europe and while traveling with his agent Bullmer (John Saxton) and his assistant Anne (Daria Nicolodi) on his book tour. He finds himself in the middle of an investigation involving a a fan of his books, in which he gets a letter from the killer letting him know that his writings have inspired him/her to commit murder. Now, along with his friends and the police they must try to track down this killer before they kill again, while using notes from the novel to try and figure out the killers next move. But they soon find themselves as part of the killers game, where it seems that the book may not help.
The script for TENEBRE is very well written, although like most of Argento’s film and giallo films in general, the plot does move a bit slow. However with TENEBRE you are treated to a lot more plot development and action than the typical giallo film. The plot is well written as well as the dialogue, and the character development, while not the strongest part of the script is still pretty decent.
The acting in this film is not half bad, but it does seem to have that typical low budget eighties acting feel to it. Where it seems that all the dialogue is said line for line from the script and at times the actors deliver their lines in a very flat tone as if they just want to get the scene over with. I see it with a lot of films from this era, but it’s something I really took notice too for some reason. Not to say the acting was bad, because some of the performances were pretty good, but overall the whole cast was just alright.
The films production value is very good for the being made in the early nineteen eighties. Sure it has eighties feel to it, and even the overall sound of the film, especially the dialogue is obviously ADR mixed the best the sound artist could for the technology of the time. Argento really shot this picture with Hitchcock in mind, as some of his shots echo that of Hitchcock’s own work. The make-up effects are very well done, and even though they were done in a time when CGI did not exist, they looked very realistic. There is plenty of bood and guts for gore fans, but not enough to the point where your grossed out. There is a lot of slit throats, and axes to the back. An arm served and very detailed throat slashing towards the end of the film.
Overall, TENEBRE is a very well made movie where as a director Argento’s shines. He truly makes a film that echo’s the brilliance of Alfred Hitchcock and gives us a film that puts the terror of movie’s like Rear Window and Psycho into it’s audience. The ending of the film is one to be remembered and in my opinion TENEBRE will go down as one of Argento’s best.
– Horror Bob
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- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
