Tenebre

Original movie poster.

Tenebre AKA Unsane comes packed with an amazing 80's style score, innovative camera-work, and wonderfully gory murders courtesy of a black leather gloved bookworm killer. Tenebre delivers everything you could ask for in a classic Italian giallo. Like many Italian murder mysteries, the story takes some time to develop, but if you can accept the convoluted plot, there's plenty of fun to be had.

The story focuses on Peter Neal (played by Anthony Franciosa) who is a best-selling novelist who becomes involved in real life murder mystery when the victims of some unknown killer are found with pages from his latest book Tenebre stuffed in their mouths. The unknown killer seems to be fond of Mr. Neal's work and in a way he's willing to kill his victims using the ideas from the book, so here you can predict how the police will request Neal's help to unravel the next killing.

A shame Argento's didn't use Lara Wendel's full potential.

Argento was wrong I gotta say it.

According to thousands of fans & movie reviewers like yours truly this is one of director Dario Argento's best movies, Tenebre is packed to the rafters with the kind of stuff that make good giallos such a trip to watch. As pretty girls (more nude scenes could have been great) are stalked and killed by a raspy-voiced maniac, the director offers genuine clues and red herrings aplenty, allowing the audience to have fun trying to figure out who the killer is. The movie's stunning cinematography is accompanied by one of Goblin's greatest scores, transforming what may have been mundane moments into pure works of art (in one amazing scene the camera simply prowls slowly around the outside of a building, but with Argento in control, it is simply breathtaking!).

The perils of being a horror writer.

Argento's red blood style.

A pity hot chicks like this last so little in the film.

Killer Dog after Lara Wendel hot body.

Murder has never been such a produced element in many movies but here even the most grisly deaths are stunningly captured. A particularly memorable moment has a young girl stumble into the house of the killer, before being chased through a garden; this scene is shot from the axe-wielding maniac's point of view, and is incredibly effective.

Bukkake fantasy?

Red high heels fetish anyone?

Dude where's my arm?

Finish Him!

Fans of gore are also catered for with several gruesome murders, the best of which involves bucket-loads of arterial spray decorating most of a wall. Juicy!

Finally by the end of the film Mr. Argento reveals the identity of the killer in a suitably silly finale, before offing the murderer in a fittingly gruesome manner.

Check out Tenebre and witness one of the great works from one of Italian horror's finest. Here's the trailer:

See you on the next movie review, and remember this is cinema!