The Film (5/5)

Jennifer Corvino (Jennifer Connelly), the daughter of a famous actor, is sent to a fancy girl’s school in Switzerland. Her first night there is a rough one after she goes sleepwalking and witnesses a murder. The faculty and students think she’s crazy but Jennifer is going through some changes that neither they nor she can understand. In what may not be a typical hormonal change, she has found that she can communicate with insects! A famous entomologist (Donald Pleasence) employs her to help find the killer. There’s also a chimpanzee involved.

Dario Argento proved over and over again throughout the 1970s that he was the master of the giallo. Then in the early 80s, with Tenebre, he proved it all over again. With Phenomena, he would attempt to turn the giallo on its ear and make a completely bonkers film in the process. This tour de force of special effects and gore is fueled by a zany script. If this had had a bunch of witches as the villains, this easily could have been the third film in his Three Mothers trilogy that started with Suspiria and Inferno. It’s just that weird. Some folks complain that this film is too crazy but in my experience, it’s a total crowd-pleaser. There’s no such thing as trying too hard in horror movies.

As usual, an Argento film is packed with an international cast to target the American and European markets. While Jennifer Connelly has pretty much disowned this film, she is very charming in Phenomena and she’s great in her scenes with the always reliable Donald Pleasence. Speaking of reliable, Daria Nicolodi is in this and as usual, does not disappoint. Argento’s daughter Fiore Argento makes her debut in this film as a very unlucky Danish tourist. Belgian actor Patrick Bauchau plays the detective who is rewarded for his keen detective work with… well, you’ll just have to see the film. Keep an eye out for other Italian genre regulars like Michele Soavi, Dalila Di Lazzaro, and Mario Donatone.

On the writing side of things, Franco Ferrini helped Argento get all this craziness on paper, presumably. This seems more like it was typed on sheets of LSD. Cinematographer Romano Albani is firing on all cylinders here with a film that’s as breathtakingly beautiful as it is grotesque. I’ve never seen anything quite like Phenomena; an overwhelming experience the first time and every consecutive time I’ve watched it.

The score for this film is all over the place and that can be a very good thing or a very bad thing depending on your taste. I find some of it utterly hilarious at times. For instance, Argento’s taste in heavy metal music endears him to many, many fans but I always take umbrage with his lack of understanding or total disinterest of the lyrical content of the songs he chooses for the film. “Flash of the Blade” by Iron Maiden is used twice in this film and it’s about duelists or a badass fencing dude. If you want to make the argument that Jennifer and the killer are dueling each other in the movie then I will scream into a pillow. No wait, Iron Maiden has a song called “The Duelists” from the same album. Where was I going with this? I’m not entirely sure. Simon Boswell, Goblin, Andi Sex Gang, and even Motörhead also contribute to this wild score and I love it.

Audio/Video (4.5/5)

I can’t find anything to complain about here in terms of video and audio quality. This image is as sharp as a straight razor and gorgeous to behold. Other reviewers are going on about DNR and stuff but I truly can’t see anything wrong here. If y’all want to chip in and get me a bigger TV, I’ll ask Scott to post a link to my crowdfunding page right here. The audio on all the different versions is very clear and the mix is great throughout. Each version has its own version of the audio mix and some of them even have different music queues and even different dialog.

Extras (4/5)

I love how this version has not one, not two, but three versions of the film on two discs! Phenomena has had quite an interesting history on home video so it’s really cool to see these cuts on here. The longest version contains scenes in Italian because they were likely never dubbed in English. The audio commentary with author Derek Botelho, moderated by film historian David Del Valle, is very informative but gets a little weird when they postulate theories on Argento’s personal life. It’s a good listen nonetheless. My favorite extra is the directorial debut of Michele Soavi called Dario Argento’s World of Horror. It’s an essential documentary on the director which Synapse put out on DVD ages ago. There are trailers for the film under its Phenomena and Creepers titles. The weirdest thing on here is an interview with Andi Sex Gang shot with an old video camera at night with very poor sound. He’s supposed to be talking about how he got involved with Simon Boswell and this film’s score but I didn’t get very far into it.

Overall

Phenomena AKA Creepers was my introduction to Dario Argento as well as my introduction to Italian horror and giallo. It was my favorite film of all time for a long time until Lucio Fulci’s The House by the Cemetery won my heart. I swear I’m not fickle. A lot of fans often cite either Phenomena or his follow-up Opera as the beginning of his downfall as a director. I definitely don’t see that. His excesses, tangents, and odd stylistic choices are what makes Argento’s filmography so richly rewarding for those willing to return to these films over and over again.