Ancient Cult Files #8 -- Dario Argento's Phenomena

   Dario Argento is one of horror's finest and most inventive directors from the latter twentieth century, specializing in the film subgenre of giallo (thriller murder-mysteries) as well as dabbling in the supernatural world with his The Three Mothers trilogy, among them the surrealist masterpiece Suspiria. During the seventies, eighties, and first half of the nineties, he was hailed as a modern Alfred Hitchcock for his unique visuals and story-telling techniques. It was hard to choose just one of his films to first share here, given that each one carries its own style and unforgettable moments. After much consideration, I have decided to start with the film that has stuck out to me the most out of Argento's work, and has since become one of my favorite films period.
   Phenomena (Creepers in the United States) was released in 1985, and was the first leading role of cult darling and mainstream beauty Jennifer Connelly. It also starred Argento's frequent collaborator Daria Nicolodi and Donald Pleasence, known famously from the Halloween series and as a James Bond villain.

   The film is set in the beautiful region of Switzerland known as the Swiss-Transylvania, where mountains and lush forests seem to flow like water. It begins with a young tourist named Vera Brandt (played by Argento's daughter Fiore) missing the bus that tours through the valley. She attempts to chase after the bus but is unsuccessful, and

A house tucked into the valley

then stays on the now empty road as the wind picks up, vexed by her situation. She spots a house nearby, which she goes to for help. She enters the house, which seems to be empty. The girl is then attacked with a chain by an unseen person, stabbed with a pair

of scissors through her hand, and flees. The killer corners her at the glass viewing area behind a waterfall (which was most likely why the bus stopped there) and kills her, then throws her decapitated head into the water while dragging the rest of the body away.
   Eight months later, Inspector Rudolf Geiger and his assistant Kurt are consulting the entomologist John McGregor (Pleasence) for clues after finding Vera's decapitated head in a lake, having finally been found and now significantly decomposed by insects. McGregor explains that given by the progression of the number of generations of maggots which have lived and then reproduced there suggests the date the girl died. It is also revealed that multiple other girls have disappeared since, including McGregor's young assistant Greeta.
   Meanwhile, the fifteen-year-old daughter of the famed actor Paul Corvino, Jennifer (played by Jennifer Connelly) arrives from the United States to attend the Richard Wagner International School for Girls while her father works on a film in the Philippians. En-route to the school, a bee gets into the taxi, which causes the school official sent to collect her, Frau Brückner (Nicolodi), and the driver much distress. But Jennifer calmly catching the winged insect, which does not sting her, much to the surprise of the older woman. The girl simply explains that insects never sting or bite her, furthering Brückner's bewilderment.

Jennifer and a new friend

   Jennifer arrives at the school and meets her new roommate Sophie and the headmistress, who seems to be extremely wary of her. The girls spend the evening bonding, mostly talking about Jennifer's father who Sophie founds very attractive. Sophie admits that she is happy to not have to sleep alone any longer, revealing to the newcomer that a murderer has been on the loose taking girls around their age and hiding the bodies. 
   Later that night on the school grounds, another young girl is being apprehended by the unseen killer. She attempts to take shelter in the abandoned wing of the school, but is only chased further. At the same time, Jennifer begins to sleepwalk through the academy and out onto the roof, where she then sees the killer murder the girl by stabbing her through the back of the head and through her mouth. 
   She flees the school, still in the trance of her sleepwalking, and wanders into town, ultimately ending up alone in the forest. She then encounters McGregor's pet chimp Inga, who takes her back to the professor. He helps her recover from her journey from the school, which she remembers nothing about, and notices her gifted ability with insects.

A sleepwalking nightmare

   The next day at the school, the headmistress believes Jennifer's behavior is a sign of a serious medical problem and forces her to take a EEG test, which brings back flashes of the murder. Frightened that the killer will now come after her, she attempts to get in touch with her father's agent to come and remove her from the school, but is unsuccessful. She asks Sophie to keep an eye on her the following night so she won't sleepwalk again.
   However, Sophie herself sneaks out to meet her boyfriend and is ultimately caught and killed by the murderer. After awaking from a failed attempt at sleepwalking, Jennifer goes to look for her friend and is lead to the only thing left behind of Sophie by a firefly; a glove infested with maggots, which cause Jennifer to see flashes of her roommate dead.
   Following Sophie's disappearance (since the headmistress convinced the police that Jennifer was unreliable for information), she again goes to McGregor for support. He examines the glove and confirms that it indeed belonged to the killer since it has been obvious throughout the case that they keep in physical contact with

Jennifer and the firefly

the corpses. She divulges the truth about how she found the glove and explains that she has always had an odd effect on insects and vice versa.
   McGregor comforts her and explains since insects are telepathic in their communication methods that she must also be telepathic in some capacity and is able to communicate with them as well. He encourages her to think of it as a gift instead a curse. When she returns to her room at the school, the headmistress along with Brückner and several other teachers and students have raided Jennifer's belongings and have found a letter she was writing to her father detailing what she has discovered about her abilities with insects.
   The students then all torment Jennifer, calling her insane, with the administrators doing little to stop it since they all agree. Jennifer pulls away in tears, and then using her powers, summons a swarm of insects which surround the school. She then passes out from the experience and is set to be taken away to a mental hospital as ordered by the headmistress, but manages to escape back to the

The swarm of Jennifer's friends

professor.
   McGregor then explains that Jennifer could help stop the murders forever with her powers and gives her a fly that can sense dead bodies over expansive areas, which won't be afraid of her and will lead her to the area where the killer is hiding their victims. She then takes the bus route that Vera took in the opening and the rest of the film concerns Jennifer trying to discover the identity of the killer but also stay alive.
   Phenomena was released in January of 1985 in Italy and was a financial success. For its U.S. release, it was re-titled Creepers, heavily edited and was sent to the drive-in market. It was shot in English, but then dubbed into other languages. This was Connelly's first leading role before her most memorable film as a teen actress in Jim Henson's Labyrinth.
   This film is absolutely gorgeous. It was filmed on location in Switzerland and features breathtaking landscapes, all of which Connelly moves through like a figure in a painting. There are so many shots of her just walking through a scene that, with many of Argento's films, presents the location itself is a character and we are seeing through its eyes as we observe the human characters. Argento also succeeds at building tension with all of the adults that Jennifer interacts with being all slightly eccentric and

Connelly in the zone 

threatening, making the audience feel her unease that we don't know whose eyes the killer may be watching her through. The music is another factor that makes the whole thing so majestic; Bill Wyman's track "Valley" which plays during the opening kill and whenever Jennifer is in the valley alone is so atmospheric that it signals to us when the tranquil atmosphere is plagued with such evil lurking everywhere. The main theme titled "Phenomena" by Argento's musical collaborator's Goblin invokes the references to the opera composer Richard Wagner whom the school is named for and the female protagonist but also entwines the fast-paced race to stay alive that the film runs. It has been described as a modern fairy-tale; a young girl going off into the woods and discover a kind of magic that is key to destroying the evil that casts a shadow over the land. Argento has called this one of his most personal films with using some plot elements from his own life (during the scene of Jennifer revealing how her parents split up) and using an actual reoccurring dream of walking through a passage full of closed doors for the sleepwalking sequences.
   Despite its amazing visuals and class A horror tension, this film is flawed. It suffers from not explaining all the plot points clearly, or in fact introducing them too late in the story. It took me at least two more viewings after my first to get the whole thing straight. Perhaps this was done on purpose to put the audience in the perspective of Jennifer who is thrown into the whole affair suddenly, but it just leaves you after the initial viewing confused. Some of the effects are much more successful than others, but overall they work with the somewhat surreal world they exist in.
   Even with these problems, Phenomena still manages to lure the viewer into wanting to discover the truth with its odd divine glow. The first time I watched it, I thought "What the hell was that?". I decided it was stupid for not being as straight forward as other horror films. But, as the imagery continued to linger in my mind, I decided to re-watch a couple of scenes, but then ended up re-watching the entire movie.
   There's a saying that true art never stops having something to say, and Phenomena fits that definition. Each time I watch this movie I find new symbolism and references that make it so good. It is amazing to see so many layers put into an hour and fifty minutes. 
   All and all, Phenomena is one of Argento's best along with Suspiria, Tenebre, and Profondo rosso. It is atmospheric, has over-the-top Argento gore, and a kind of poetry that only the viewer can see and hear in each and every frame.
   Five stars. Watch it.

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