Phenomena
1985
Released in the US in heavily edited form as CREEPERS in 1986 (though this is the loger, European cut), Italian horror master Dario Argento's masterpiece manages to be involving and interesting while providing a steady stream of funhouse style shocks. Jennifer Corvino (Connelly) is attending a Swiss boarding school for girls .. Read more
| Starring | Jennifer Connelly, Daria Nicolodi, Dalila Di Lazzaro, Patrick Bauchau |
|---|---|
| Director | Dario Argento |
| Genres | Horror |
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Phenomena
Released in the US in heavily edited form as CREEPERS in 1986 (though this is the loger, European cut), Italian horror master Dario Argento's masterpiece manages to be involving and interesting while providing a steady stream of funhouse style shocks. Jennifer Corvino (Connelly) is attending a Swiss boarding school for girls when she discovers she is able to communicate telepathically with insects. When a serial killer begins murdering students, bug specialist Dr. McGregor (Pleasance) must help her use her powers to find the killer. With a soundtrack featuring Motorhead and Iron Maiden making the experience ever more disorienting, you won't know where Argento is taking you next.
| Starring | Jennifer Connelly, Daria Nicolodi, Dalila Di Lazzaro, Patrick Bauchau, Donald Pleasence, Fiore Argento, Federica Mastroianni, Fiorenza Tessari, Mario Donatone, Francesca Ottaviani |
|---|---|
| Director | Dario Argento |
| Studio | PLATINUM MEDIA DISTRIBUTION |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 46 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Horror |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Dubbed | Italian |
| Released | DVD: 27 Nov 2006 Production year: 1985 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews
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Shockingly violent.
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Most helpful member's review
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8 out of 11 people found this review helpful
The Ugly Bug Ball
Dario Argento's golden period were his three supernatural horrors - 'Deep Red', 'Suspiria' and 'Inferno'. 'Phenomena', a Swiss-set suspenser, is a long way behind them. Even if 'Phenomena' makes more sense than the version released on video as 'Creepers', it still feels like six movies spliced randomly together. And none of them is that good.
The plot wants to hark back to 'Suspiria', as an American girl at an unsympathetic girls' school discovers a psychic link to insects. A mad killer is chopping up girls, so the girl and spooky insect genius Donald Pleasance is investigating the murders with the help of his super-intelligent chimp housemate. It feels like they're making it up as they go.
Because Argento doesn't seem to know whether the insect story or the lunatic murderer should be the focus, he just swings randomly from one to the other, involving a lot of awkward mood changes. When finally, our heroine is kidnapped, things seem to settle into standard thriller territory, except for the fact that Argento has four or five different climaxes up his sleeve, involving every last loose end of his story. It's not bad (some sequences work very well), but it's so demented, the effect is ultimately maddening rather than terrifying. -
Most recent members' review
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8 out of 11 people found this review helpful
The Ugly Bug Ball
Dario Argento's golden period were his three supernatural horrors - 'Deep Red', 'Suspiria' and 'Inferno'. 'Phenomena', a Swiss-set suspenser, is a long way behind them. Even if 'Phenomena' makes more sense than the version released on video as 'Creepers', it still feels like six movies spliced randomly together. And none of them is that good.
The plot wants to hark back to 'Suspiria', as an American girl at an unsympathetic girls' school discovers a psychic link to insects. A mad killer is chopping up girls, so the girl and spooky insect genius Donald Pleasance is investigating the murders with the help of his super-intelligent chimp housemate. It feels like they're making it up as they go.
Because Argento doesn't seem to know whether the insect story or the lunatic murderer should be the focus, he just swings randomly from one to the other, involving a lot of awkward mood changes. When finally, our heroine is kidnapped, things seem to settle into standard thriller territory, except for the fact that Argento has four or five different climaxes up his sleeve, involving every last loose end of his story. It's not bad (some sequences work very well), but it's so demented, the effect is ultimately maddening rather than terrifying. -
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Phenomena
Released in the US in heavily edited form as CREEPERS in 1986 (though this is the loger, European cut), Italian horror master Dario Argento's masterpiece manages to be involving and interesting while providing a steady stream of funhouse style shocks. Jennifer Corvino (Connelly) is attending a ...
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