PHENOMENA
Dario Argento, 1985
Do you like insects and wish to control them? Do you also like murder mysteries? Well, have I got the movie for you. With a sporadic story telling style and some odd yet killer music choices, Phenomena is a wild movie that makes you almost want to be able to control creepy crawlies and make them do your bidding. Or maybe not. Let's get into it!
I was up late one night crocheting a mothman plushie when I decided to watch this movie on Shudder. I never heard of the movie. I never saw a lot of Dario Argento's work, outside of his odd reimagining of "The Phantom of the Opera" Maybe I'll do a review on that one. Seriously, it's... odd...
I never found myself enjoying a lot of Italian horror, but that may be due to me not being exposed to much of it. I can't say it's because of the gore. I enjoy gore quite enough. In an effort to see more, I decided to click on this film and give it a good watch.
It starts off with a murder occurring with a random tourist who missed a bus. She decides to go into a house, looking for help, since, well, her destination is assumed to far to walk. When watching, I was so confused why she was walking into the house, an obviously idiotic move. Why do that, especially when no one's there and you have a bad feeling? I guess anything needs to happen to get the plot going-- and it does, with a nice big pair of scissors slicing her head clean off. Nice 👌
The story kicks off when our main character Jennifer is brought to an all-girl's boarding school. She meets her roommate who, in my opinion, was pretty fun to watch. We learn quickly that this main character sleep walks. Like, total zombie mode, opening doors and going wherever her little sleepy heart takes her. She ends up the roof and, after jolting awake, witnesses a murder. So now, we have seen two murders and the mystery begins to get rolling. Who is murdering all these girls? Why? Why scissors? Can they use those scissors for industrial hedge chopping instead? So many questions and only about 2 hours to answer them!
Jennifer ends up meeting an entomologist who is trying to help figure out the mystery, via his monkey assistant finding her. Yes, a monkey assistant. Stay with me here! He's (the scientist) in awe of her ability to control and essentially communicate with insects, so they both decide she might be able to use her gift to figure out who the murderer is. This will be it for the basic synopsis, as I don't want to spoil the fun for you as you watch this movie. The mystery does come around eventually at the end, fret not.
Now I was expecting a lot from this film. For one, Dario Argento is a horror house-hold name. I've been told by many friends that he has some great work in the industry and has pushed boundaries with many of his films. Being that my only experience with his work is the very odd and kind of cringy "Phantom of the Opera" remake he did, I was hoping to see a lot more substance and horrific elements in this story. I'm sad to say that I didn't see his talents clearly in this film. I should have probably started with Suspiria like all the other cool kids.
I really wanted to see the different types of bugs she could control and what she could do with them. One thought I had was that she was going to use these creatures to literally do her bidding, not just investigate. I was hoping for more interactions at school with her bug powers. People do eventually figure out that she's able to control insects and make fun of her for it, and it did have a fun pay off with all of the girls freaking out as swarms of bugs come flying in. There wasn't a variety of insects for her to control either, mostly flies, larvae, bees, and beetles. Cockroaches would've been both disgusting and cool, I think. Regardless, we did get some good moments with her bug powers, but I do wish there was more to it than a few small scenes.
There were a few suprises at the end that I did enjoy. One being a deformed face (trying to be vague here) that I think was just gross enough to make your gut wrench a little bit but not too much. It's goofy looking though, when the mild shock goes away. Regardless, it's weird. Weird is good! Also, a character gets their head chopped off with a sheet of metal. I was seriously not expecting that, which did get me kind of hyped for what would happen next. I love a good head decapitation!
The music was a little odd feeling. Some metal bands were featured in this movie, which I think is really cool! Especially due to the fact that at this time, metal was not popular like what a lot of people think. In fact, it was pretty underground if it wasn't some kind of "stadium" rock or glam metal. The following songs were featured:
Phenomena - Goblin Claudio Simonetti
While I do enjoy these songs, they felt very odd in the grand scheme of the movie. The general tone of the film, musically, had synthpop/post-punk vibes: more "twinkly" with a hint of minor keys here and there. The sound gives the essence of psychic power and telekinesis, mostly through the texture of the synth's sound. So, hearing a random heavy guitar rift out of almost nowhere felt more like a jump scare than the actual jump scares of the film.
Lastly, I will say, there must be something wrong when you're favorite character ends up being the stupid monkey assistant who just wanders around the forest. The little fellow should have won an Emmy! Now, that isn't to say the acting was bad, I think it was actually quite alright. The issue I have, I think, is more in line with the writing of the characters themselves. There's only so much you can do, and many actors have wonderful talent but are given bad direction and scripts. Still though, I think there could've been a bit more effort in portraying the story.
Overall, I would give this film a 5 out of 10 bones. I think it's fun, it wasn't offensive in anyway, and there's no harm in enjoying a film that isn't amazing. I did enjoy myself and it wasn't like my night was completely ruined because I watched this movie. I had a good time, laughed at some stuff, enjoyed some of the things I've mentioned and at the very least had a good distraction as I was finishing up my crafting projects. I wouldn't suggest this to anyone new to Dario Argento or for those that are looking for major insect gross out or gore. It's pretty "meh" in those categories. But, if you like Argento's work already or you want to watch a movie with a unique concept, I say go for it!
Bone Stats:
Story: 🦴🦴🦴🦴
Acting: 🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴
Effects: 🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴
Re-watchability: 🦴🦴🦴🦴
Pacing: 🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴
Overall Skeleton: 🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴
Wool Hat ☕
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