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Phenomena (1985)
Director Dario Argento had changed the face of horror in the mid to late 70s with films like "Deep Red" aka "Profondo Rosso" and "Suspiria". He had already been crowned the king of the "giallo" at that point and would continue making those types of films well into the 1980s. But in 1985 Argento took on a film that would not only be a departure from his prior "giallo" films but it was something totally different altogether.
"Phenomena" is about a young girl named Jennifer (played by Jennifer Connelly) who has a issue with sleepwalking as well as some sort of telepathic communication with insects. When she arrives at a boarding school in Switzerland she starts having issues with sleepwalking almost immediately upon her arrival. She befriends a young girl named Sophie who tells her of a madman on the loose that's killing young girls in the area. One night during a sleepwalking spell she ends up at Professor John McGregor's (Donald Pleasence) doorstep. The two become friends and Jennifer actually helps in his investigation to find the serial killer in the area. But will they be killing in the process or will they be able to stop the killer in his tracks?
Personally I really enjoy this movie because it's a departure for Argento to do a film like this. Although from the sound of things it probably sounds like a typical Argento "giallo" film but that couldn't be further from the truth. The film is more about the supernatural and the fact that young Jennifer can communicate with the insects than it is about police procedure or black gloved killers. It's a surprising effort from Argento because he manages to pull it off here effectively.
The acting in the film is up to par as well especially with a very young Jennifer Connelly being able to pull off a role in which there was actually a lot asked of her. She handles it well and pulls off the role very well, especially in the scenes where she was being upstaged by Donald Pleasence as the Professor.
Also of interest is the fact that although this movie isn't really comedic at all there are a few things in it that fall under the unintentionally funny category. First off is the pet monkey of the professor that not only seems to have a liking to sharp knives and the fact that the monkey can be a pretty vengeful son of a bitch. Then again I'm sure that's the type of monkey I'd want too if I was confined to a wheelchair like the Professor in this one.
Something else that really made this film interesting to me was the soundtrack. With metal bands like Motorhead and Iron Maiden along with Goblin and Bill Wyman it certainly makes a mark as one of the oddest soundtracks ever for a horror film. With that said it's surprisingly competent as I didn't really remember it being as good as it was when I had seen it years ago.
Anchor Bay did a great job with this release as it includes commentary from Dario Argento, Effects artist Sergio Stivaletti, music composer Claudio Simonetti and journalist Loris Curei. There's also a featurette called "A Dark Fairy Tale", Luigi Cossi & The Art of Macrophotography, an appearance of director Dario Argento on The Joe Frankin Show, Claudio Simonetti music video for "Jennifer", the Bill Wyman music video "Valley" as well as a trailer and Argento bio.
Overall I really enjoyed the movie and I would certainly recommend it for horror fans. If you are already an Argento fan then this is a must have for you to add to your DVD collection. The film looks great and has a great array of special features that fans will enjoy a few times over. This one is definitely worth the purchase and I have to give credit where credit is due as Anchor Bay released a great disc for this movie.
Rating - ***
-Ed Demko
