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33 out of 38 people found the following review useful: One of Argento's best., 28 January 2002 Author: capkronos (capkronos00@hotmail.com) from Ohio, USA
I first saw Tenebr(a)e under the moniker "Unsane" (which is supposedly missing ten minutes of gore and some extensive camera-work). I really enjoyed the film, so I bought the rerelease print from Anchor Bay, and I must say, the restored, uncut, letterboxed print looks and sounds wonderful.There's no need to go into the plot other than to say Anthony Franciosa stars as American horror novelist Peter Neal and, while he's in Rome on a book tour, murders are being committed by one of his crazed fans. I read somewhere that Argento is king of stringing together a plot and cheating audiences just so they can't guess the identity of the killer, and with this as evidence, I agree 100%. It's nearly impossible to figure out this plot before it's fully explained.Luciano Tovoli's camera-work/cinematography is brilliant, especially the luma crane shot (which goes up one side of a building, over the roof and down the other side in one unbroken taken). There's also an extremely well-photographed and directed sequence featuring a girl being pursued by a rabid Doberman. Now they would do those two scenes with computers, and I think that obliterates the charm of the hands-on film-making process.In short, this film puts Hollywood thrillers like "Copycat" "The Bone Collector," and "Se7en" to shame, and it's apparent all three films stole ideas from this one (and from other films in Argento's oeuvre).
31 out of 35 people found the following review useful: Easily Argento's most violent giallo., 7 March 2001 Author: HumanoidOfFlesh from Chyby, Poland
"Tenebre" stars Anthony Franciosa as a novelist Peter Neal who finds himself embroiled in a series of grisly murders,as one of his readers starts to imitate the killings in his latest novel Tenebrae.This Dario Argento's bloody thriller is full of startling plot twists and shocking bursts of gory violence.Plenty of serious shocks and a wonderful musical score by Goblin as well as incredibly gory finale that is among Argento's greatest sequences.As usual,there are some stylish killings,particularly a gruesome arm chopping near the end-definitely one of the bloodiest murder scenes I have ever seen.Argento uses some of the most vivid colors imaginable and like his 1977 effort "Suspiria",he uses these colors to enhance the atmosphere of the film.I'll end this review by saying that "Tenebre" is indeed excellent,thrilling,scary,well-acted and anything else I can think of-simply amazing if I have to say the least!Highly recommended.
19 out of 24 people found the following review useful: A cold, sterile and bloody film from Argento., 25 November 2003 Author: Captain_Couth (sirjosephu@aol.com) from Sacramento, CA
Tenebre (1982) is a cold, dark and sterile film from Dario Argento. In sterile I mean the clinical and septic surroundings that the city dwellers live in. Some of the sets are painted bright white and lighted in cool hues. The film is about a murder mystery writer named Peter Neal who comes to Rome on a business trip/vacation. During this trip, some murders are committed by a strange demented killer who's a big fan of Peter Neal. The film's translated title Shadow describes the film perfectly. To say how it relates to the film would be all too telling.Some of the set pieces in this film are some of the most graphic and violent ones that Argento has ever concieved. They fit neatly within the confines of this tightly shot and directed thriller. One of Argento's best films (besides his opus Suspiria). I strongly recommend this picture. My favorite of the set pieces takes place in the final third of the movie. It's well worth the wait. Believe me.A+
15 out of 21 people found the following review useful: Contains two of Argento's most incredible moments!, 20 June 2001 Author: troy-32 from Chicago, Illinois
Well, I was rather pleased with "Tenebre", especially after not really thinking too much about "Inferno". Dario Argento seems to try something new with each film. This one does not have the wonderful, rich palette used in some of his earlier films - "Tenebre" is somehow both sunny-looking and flat, and as unappealing as it may look, it works to the overall advantage of this movie because, thematically, "Tenebre" is an ugly film. Of course, there are some lovely flourishes - the razor slicing the bulb like dry ice, the first three murders have some panache, and the slow, steady pan around the house is breathtaking! That bit has to rank with Argento's best. I don't care if it's self-indulgent and does nothing to further the plot, this is what Dario loves to do and you can tell! It completely catches you off guard and it's supremely sensual, its feeling is close to flying when you're asleep. And the music's solid disco rhythm is the best compliment for the scene's visual sense. I loved it. After the first half, the movie became a little generic, though this can be explained by the time the film has finished. Still, the ax-murder at the end is relentlessly disturbing. I had read about the movie before I saw it and my imagination really was not able to do justice to the horrific-ness of this one scene. You can tell that Dario was really waiting to let it all go here!!! I guess it makes sense in that this victim generated more hatred and hostility from the killer than the other victims did. The amazed look on her face as she watches her blood paint the pristine white wall behind her is startling. It seems to go on forever... It's not an image you immediately can shake. Then there's a really nifty bit near the end, which DePalma used in "Raising Cain"... I liked "Tenebre" a lot and thought it was clearly the work of talent, but the style was dark enough for me to maybe not have the same affection as I feel for "Suspiria" or some of the others.
12 out of 16 people found the following review useful: Enjoyable murder mystery thriller., 28 October 2004 Author: Paul Andrews (poolandrews@hotmail.com) from UK
After the opening credits the film starts in New York, as American author Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa) cycles to JFK airport. He flies to Rome so he can promote his new murder mystery novel 'tenebrae'. Meanwhile in Rome a woman tries to steal a copy of the book from some shop and is caught. She convinces the security guard to let her off. But someone in the store is watching her and has seen whats happened. Back at her flat she is attacked, pages of the book 'tenebrae' are forced into her mouth and her throat is slashed with a straight razor, just like the one the killer uses in the book. The police head straight for Neal to question him, while there Neal receives a letter and phone call from the killer, from then on Neal is thrown in a complex mystery and plunged into the centre of a number of senseless, violent murders. Written and directed by the overrated Dario Argento this is definitely one of his best films. Stylishly filmed with visually pleasing photography, the stand out sequence being the murder of the two lesbians, the camera starts outside of a window looking in at one of the victims, it then moves up a level to another window, it moves across the side of the house to yet another window in which the second victim can be seen playing a record, then the camera moves up toward the roof, glides along it and back down the opposite side of the house from which it started to rest on the killers gloved hand breaking into the house. All in one smooth flowing shot, very impressive. Add to this lots of close ups, strange angles, free flowing camera movements and a nice color scheme, and we have a very good looking film. Acting is OK, most of the lead characters are a little bit bland. While the film does contain a nice amount of nudity, violence and gore it is perhaps a little more restrained than you might expect, except for a scene towards the end of the film where a woman has her arm chopped off with an axe, how much blood?! Having said that the murders are very well done, and Dario films them with style, like the rest of the film. Script wise, I liked the twists and turns but the reasons for some of them didn't make much sense. And one or two bits stray into silly horror film cliché, like the dog attacking the girl, my least favorite sequence in the film. Overall a very good horror mystery. Make sure you listen and pay attention otherwise you may miss some vital plot points, like it appears some of the people who have reviewed it on the IMDb did. One negative would be that once you have watch tenebrae once I don't think many people would be interested in watching it again, as once all the twists are revealed it loses its mystery and impact a little. Certainly worth a rent, recommended.
7 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Perhaps Argento's boldest giallo film!, 5 January 2006 Author: SickBoySimon from Brentwood, USA
Excellent giallo thriller from Italian horror master Dario Argento is a favorite of many Argento fans and for good reason.Mystery author becomes the inspiration (or is he the target?) for a serial killer who has been murdering various women.Stylishly done all around and with a gripping story, Tenebre is a fine example of a perfect giallo film. Argento flairs his usual lavish style, with some impressive camera work and some highly intense (and bloody) murder sequences. No director can make cold-blooded murder has artistically appealing as the great Argento! With this film the violence and gore are pretty high, and so is the suspense. Many of the murder scenes are unforgettably brutal too! Argento even gives this film a kind of erotic edginess that few of his other works ever possess. Also contributing to the film is the great electronic rock score from Marante, Pignatelli, and Simonetti.Star Anthony Franciosa does a good performance, while Daria Nicolodi is charming as usual. Veteran actor John Saxon is good as always playing Franciosa's agent. Christian Borromeo is also solid as a young man who joins the mission to solve the murders. Twisted and shocking all the way, Tenebre is a stunning horror film that had a hand in inspiring a number of films since its release. Fans of Argento and the giallo genre simply must see it!**** out of ****
10 out of 15 people found the following review useful: Argento's Masterpiece, 1 March 2008 Author: Michael_Elliott from Louisville, KY
Tenebre (1982) **** (out of 4) Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa), an American writer, travels to Rome to promote his latest book and then a string a murders begin to target Peter as well as those around him. It seems the killer is using the book to commit copycat murders and it's up to Peter and the police to find out who's doing it. FOr my money this is Dario Argento's greatest film and it's also one of the greatest and most shocking mysteries in the history of cinema. I've seen the movie countless times now but the ending never loses its punch and the final fifteen minutes are downright thrilling, shocking and extremely violent. The violence level here is a lot higher than any of the previous Argento's films combined and I think it works very well with the film. The giallo genre was full of violent murders but none of them hit home as hard as the ones here do. The sound effects add a lot of drama to the murders but Argento also does the murders in such a poetic style that they come off even more violent. I think the screenplay is very strong offering up plenty of suspects but it keeps the mystery all the way to end the. I know very few people who predicted who the killer was and even when you do know the ending still comes as a shock. The performances by Franciosa, John Saxon and Daria Nicolodi are very good as well. There's some terrific camera work as well as one of the greatest scores for any Argento film.
14 out of 23 people found the following review useful: The essence of giallo, 17 August 2004 Author: ruediger_vienna from Vienna, Austria
The Story: An American bestseller-author comes to Rome to promote his new book, "Tenebrae". Shortly before he arrives in Fiumicino, a murder series starts, young girls are slashed with an old rasor blade - their mouths stuffed with pages of "Tenebrae".Police starts investigation (Giuliano "I only drink on duty" Gemma), with little luck - murdering continues. In fact, hardly anybody survives - but the characters don't die in vain: All murders are directed excellent - especially the one with the current Mrs. Silvio Berlusconi, Veronica Lario, who plays "painting" Jane.Tenebre is pure giallo. A cold movie, shot almost entirely in daylight, in E.U.R. - a district in the south of Rome; modernistic, cool - and very stylish. There are about 10 very well directed, esthetic murder scenes, which manage to fit a logical plot, well, at least for giallo-standards.11 black gloves out of 10 - Tenebre is a must see, if you want to explore the Genre Giallo - start nowhere but here. And two thumbs up for the great ABE DVD Version!
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: A top-notch giallo from the master of Italian horror, Dario Argento., 23 August 2006 Author: BA_Harrison from Hampshire, England
With its leather-gloved killer, amazing score, spectacular and innovative camera-work, and wonderfully gory murders, Tenebre delivers everything you could ask for in a giallo. Like many Italian murder mysteries, the story takes some swallowing, but if you can accept the convoluted plot, there's plenty of fun to be had.Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa) is a best-selling novelist who becomes involved in real life murder mystery when the victims of a razor-wielding killer are found with pages from his latest book stuffed in their mouths.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 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 in the hands of a lesser director 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!).Murder has never been so stylish, and 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.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!Argento reveals the identity of the killer in a suitably silly finale (all gialli have them), 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.
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: An Argento must-see!, 11 April 2008 Author: kakihara83 from Canada
Italian horror master Dario Argento (Suspiria, Inferno) signed in 1982 this bloody puzzle about a deranged killer who appears to be obsessed by a novel called Tenebrae. Here again all the ingredients that make Argento's work so unique are brilliantly used to get the best out of an average giallo story line. Though it's mostly an experience in style and atmosphere, it still has a better plot than most Argento films. The dialogs are rather weird for most parts but it sounds great because of the intentional overacting performances. Daria Nicolodi (Deep Red) really shines. John Saxon (Black Christmas), who plays the writer's agent, is more than welcome as usual. Anthony Franciosa (Death Wish 2), who plays the main character, gives a very solid performance. I don't know if it comes from the writing or the actor himself, but there's something very cool, very laid-back and sometimes funny about Franciosa's character. Of course Dario Argento's direction is mostly flawless. Tenebre is undeniably one of his best movies. The death scenes are outstanding, especially the one in which a girl is chased by a furious dog through a park in the middle of the night. The gore effects are very well executed. For the people who are unfamiliar with his work, Tenebre might be a good place to start, even though I would recommend Suspiria in the first place. Argento's vision of horror is brutally and beautifully demonstrated one more time. It was first intended to be the third chapter of the Three Mothers trilogy. I don't know how it ended up being a stand-alone film. So anyone interested in Italian horror, gialli and 80s slasher films as well as any Argento fan should at least watch this movie once. Tenebre is a must-see!
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