Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Nick Duguay Deep Red is probably my favourite Argento films for several reasons 1. The characterization here surpasses that of any of his other films. 2. The fluid camera work (notable in the next few of his films but absolutely beautifully done here). 3. The fantastic score. That theme song is just my personal favourite of all the soundtracks Goblin has done for Argento. 4. That house!!!! I don't know if they really burned that house down for this film or not but every time I see those flames I get so sad. That house really is one of the most beautiful I've seen out of any Argento film and he has featured several other gorgeous buildings. The windows, the baroque and elegant design, the outside staircase, the yard.. the whole abandoned yet stately atmosphere. That house makes the second half of the film. Besides all of this, Deep Red really has a more coherent plot than some of his earlier films such as The Cat O' Nine Tails or Four Flies on Grey Velvet, both of which have a much sloppier story-line; and definitely moreso than his later films. Suspiria, Inferno (especially Inferno), Tenebre, Phenomena- all are magnificent, but certainly much less coherent in terms of plot. Deep Red holds it's own among his oeuvre with wonderfully fleshed out and fun characters, a tight plot-line, gorgeous cinematography, an amazing soundtrack, and breath taking sets, not to mention atmosphere, scares, and great kills. On the first watch I didn't really get what was so great about this movie but after several rewatches I've gotten more into and I'm starting to understand why this film is so praised by his fan base. If you do enjoy giallo but don't love this the first time you see it then my advice would be to stick it out and give it time to digest and then watch it again, maybe 3 or 4 times giving it space of several months in between each watch. If at that point you don't become obsessed just toss it in trash or pawn it.

FleshlightDestroyer Dario Argento's 'Deep Red' from 1975, gave me the chills. It's rare that a piece of art brings such primordial fear to the surface, with flair to match.The opening scene sets the tone masterfully. A static shot of a living room adorned with eccentric wallpaper and a modest Christmas tree, contrasted by a happy melody sung by a child, instantly sent me through memories of my childhood. After just enough time is given for this image to hit home, shadows appear on the wall of one figure stabbing another repeatedly with a large blade. This is followed by the blade thrown onto the floor in the center of the shot. What appears to be a child, enters the shot and stands over the blade. The images of my childhood were quickly slashed and twisted, replaced by ones of horror. Most of the scary scenes in this movie are equally as disturbing, on a visual and psychological level.Argento is known for this kind of work; Tones conveyed through imagery. This turns some people away from his work as not all of his stories are told by conventional means. I assure you, if this has been an issue of yours, this is the Argento movie for you.The plot follows a musician named Marc (David Hemming). After witnessing a murder, he believes he's seen a clue at the scene of the crime, but can't put his finger on it. An overzealous journalist; Gianna (Daria Nicolodi), arrives at the crime scene and suggests the two team up to find the killer. The plot thickens from there as more and more clues are presented, but not explained, forcing the viewer to become a detective as well. This all leads to a genuinely surprising and satisfying conclusion.Argento's imagery, camera-work, and lighting are as good as ever here. The difference with this movie is that the plot is told in a linear way, developed primarily through narrative. This is all complimented by great performances from every single actor (uncharacteristic of Argento's prior films).The only issue I have with this movie is the score. It is well composed and memorable, but does not match the context of the film. For example: A character will be slowly walking down a dimly lit hallway, tension being created by the camera-work, lighting, and pacing. All of the sudden a fast paced rock motif cuts in. I found this very distracting, especially considering how loud the mix is; however, the score was nominated for the Italian 'Silver Ribbon' award, so this is entirely subjective. Take my opinion with a grain of salt.All in all, Deep Red would be a masterpiece in my eyes, if I could get past its downright aggravating score. A classic in almost every respect.Verdict: 8.5/10

GL84 Following the brutal murder of a renowned psychic, a pianist witness teams up with a reporter to investigate the psychic's death but the twisting case provides plenty of clues with no connection to each other and they race to stop the killer before he strikes again.This here was one of the better gialli's ever made and one of Argento's strongest efforts. What really stands out here is that, like most gialli's of the time-period there's a great deal of effort paid to the strong story as it's one of the finest ever concocted in the genre. This is set-up from the beginning with the fantastic murder scene committed in shadows on a living room wall while an eerie lullaby plays out in the background, and then once the killings proper start this draws out plenty more to like within this. Following up the lullabye, they find the connection with the house and the shattered memories locked up in there and that leads to the connection with the children's drawings found at the elementary school and the struggle to piece all these together with the lone puzzle piece that he can remember from the initial attack he he witnessed. As always, we're given a clue to who the killer is, but the killer is always seen with such an item that using it as the definitive piece to prove the identity would be impossible. Giving only the traditional pair of black gloves, a brown jacket and blond hair, which are very common items or traits, are nearly impossible to use as evidence to name a killer, is a very rare and even completely refreshing thing to use as a manner of identification rather than either hardly seeing who it is or by not even showing them at all. All of this works incredibly well in leaving the film with a strong and engaging central mystery that comes across really well here and setting the stage for the centerpiece kill scenes that are known for the visually-creative methods of killing people. There's plenty to like about these graphic, brutal kills that manage to look stunningly beautiful as well as horribly graphic and brutal, which makes for a much better time here, and given that there's a slew of strong suspenseful stalking scenes scattered along the way there's plenty of stylish and impressive work here. Even the score is pretty creepy, and is one of Goblin's best, all making for a good time to hold out over the film's very few negatives. The one main thing negatively about this is it has a tendency to simply stop the plot altogether and concentrate on a particular character trait that doesn't need to be in the story. Here, it's at for having a middle act that is completely devoid of any activity. He really does nothing except simply have play the piano at odd intervals which has no tension, no suspense, hardly anything other than the typical penchant for filming boring scenes with odd shots and angles. Likewise, the one thing about the soundtrack was that it was used as a sound effect, popping out occasionally to surprise the viewer. It works well the first time, but grows repetitive and doesn't work as time goes on. Otherwise, this here is one of the genre's best efforts.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Brief Nudity, and Language.

jadavix "Deep Red" is regarded in many circles as the best giallo, and certainly Dario Argento's best movie as director. It is easy to see why when you consider the movie has several brilliant, even terrifying sequences you won't soon forget. Those who like gialli for there violence will also not be disappointed, though the extreme gore in this one led to a variety of faux-"uncut" versions being released on the market. To my knowledge the only true uncut version is a composite of the English and Italian tracks, and seeing very-English David Hemmings suddenly adopt the Italian language, with a much more macho accent to boot, couldn't be any more jarring if they had gotten Pavarotti to do Hemmings' voice instead.That aside, it is the fear - and the violence - that you will remember in this one. At times the violence seems too gratuitous - the bearded gent having his teeth bashed out springs to mind, and the gay guy getting his head ran over. Why did gay men always have to die in these movies?As usual for giallo fare, the final act seems to lose its way a bit, but the scene where Hemmings finally pieces together who the real killer was is chilling and masterful. This is one giallo where you can always remember that final twist; it's a truly disturbing revelation.