Tenebrae

Gonçalo Rosas

9 - Dario Argento goes "meta", in more ways than one (I especially loved the diegetic soundtrack), in what is, pound for pound, his strongest feature film overall. The fact that it builds upon all his previous tricks could have made this a mere incremental upgrade, but the script is such a massive improvement over his past endeavors that it almost makes you look at his entire oeuvre with brand new eyes.

Sister Sledge

Probably Argento's finest film, yet not in the eyes of many but the few. Sure, Suspiria had delirious technicolour gothic and Deep Red had the fantastical intrigue and charming chemistry between its leads, but Tenebrae has the darkest, cruelest heart.

hastapura

Argento's playing a clever fucking game here. Deceptively simple, with its muted colors and straightforward plot: but it's absolutely rich with subtext. Take it as a rebuttal of misogyny, take it as the history of giallo distilled into ninety ironclad minutes, take it as a comment on artifice, take it as a fuck you to anyone who wanted Suspiria 2 (and I don't mean Deep Red, JAPAN), but don't dismiss it. Brilliant.

Henri de Corinth

Rewatch. I've always loved its futurist-brutalist vision of Rome, but the most striking thing about it is how 'cruel' it is in that the characters are all nice (and always dressed in pastels vis-a-vis the concrete), which makes the bloody finale all the more potent and disturbing.

msmichel

Argento after 2 films rooted in the supernatural returned to the giallo film with this tightly scripted thriller. Well designed and shot with inventive murders and bloodletting this stands as a strong entry in the director's oeuvre.

josé neves

re-rating. Like in "Le Plaisir", by Ophüls, in a particular scene, the camera floats around a house from outside to take advantage of a dramatic moment, in this case the double murder of a couple of women. This scene is, by far, what is more accomplished in this late giallo, always triumphant in its suspenseful choreographic moments but too disjointed and fictionally clumsy to sustain its dependency on De Palma.

Palmat

For my money this is Argento's finest hour. Plot, direction, set design, acting and music score come together beautifully making this a perfect giallo. I also like the fact that there is a more modern aesthetic to Tenebre than Argento's other giallos. There is something icy and detached about the architecture and set details that I love. And the ending is bat shit crazy which also is awesome.

Scottie Ferguson

A very enjoyable exploitation thriller; I love Argento's style and the way it straddles the line between art and trash. I even think the Goblin score for this one is better than Deep Red's.