Deep Red

10/10

"Deep Red" is a 1975 Giallo classic from director Dario Argento. It was definitely one of his masterpieces, because it was one of the thought provoking film's of history. Critics and audiences have loved it since its release, and now I can be added to the fan club. 

The movie begins very dark, as a shadowy stabbing is shown accompanied by screams. This particular scene was very sick, because there was classical music, and it was a quick and disturbing moment. The story then proceeded to a lecture about telepathy, where psychic Helga Ullman talks about the nature of her powers. As she speaks, she then begins to convulse, as she senses a murderer in the crowd. This scene was very creepy, because it foreshadowed a possible explanation to what was happening in the very beginning.

Sadly, Helga was correct, and she is murdered by a mysterious figure with black leather gloves. The two witnesses to this incident were a man named Marcus Daly, and his friend Carlo. Marcus is a jazz pianist, and he was actually a neighbor to this lady. He tries to run up and save her, but she was already dead. One of the things that Daly noticed was that there were paintings were missing from Ullman's wall. After this first clue, he begins to investigate this murder; while a chain of other horrific events take place. 

"Deep Red" was such a smart movie in all aspects. I loved that rather than being a slice and dice movie, it also added some great mystery, and a thought provoking depiction of terror. I thought the way that Marcus found the paintings of the stabbing all over was pretty brilliant, because it was a great clue for him to find, and it was also pretty disturbing. It was also very neat that there was no way of guessing who the killer was. In most films, there is at least a slight idea, but in this one, there are so many twists that there was no way of knowing until the exact revelation. The movie had so many different ways of scaring the audience. Whether it was moving dolls, creepy noises, dead bodies, or horrendous murders, it had them all. I thought that simply all of these plot aspects were things that set the film apart from many others of the time. 

The camera work in the movie was absolutely brilliant. It had a way of moving with the audience, instead of just being in one place. I thought this added to the creepiness of the atmosphere, because it always felt like someone was stalking the characters. I also loved some of the close up shots, because they were very intricately done, and were a big factor of the work being a masterpiece. 

I personally found the cast to be absolutely perfect for the film. David Hemmings was such an outstanding lead as Marcus, because he had a great way of delivering his lines, and had such an awesome sense of how to convey his emotions. I could personally believe that every single thing that happened to him was completely real. Daria Nicolodi was very good as the female lead of the movie Gianna. She did a great job of clashing with Hemmings, because they could both be very stubborn, and she was just enough to set him off. Gabriele Lavia did a pretty awesome job as Carlo, because he could be very witty with his personality, or shift to a certain darkness. I felt that he made himself such an easy person to follow, and the audience grew to love or hate him, even if he was on screen for only twenty minutes. Clara Calamai was pretty stellar as Martha, because she was a seemingly sweet old lady, but she also conveyed a different side to herself. I liked her, because she had a great way of changing herself from time to time, and doing it very realistically. 

The film has had a reputation for being one of the most graphic films of its time, and I could probably vouch for that. There were definitely some gruesome and gory scenes, and they had a brutal nature of sound effects and movements. I thought that the most horrid scene was the hot water scene, because it was so sadistic, and the aftermath was ugly as could be. Even though recent times has way more gore, this one had a balance that made things much more realistic, which made a more terrifying feeling in my opinion. 

The movie's ending was absolutely brilliant, because there was a certain person that was thought to be the killer, but the facts don't add up, so Marcus looks around more. When he actually finds the culprit, the viewer's mind is blown, because it would've never occurred in their mind that this person could do this. I personally found this to be one of the most shocking and awesome endings in history, because it made my head turn. 

"Deep Red" is definitely a movie that every fan of cinema should check out. It is shocking, interesting, and one of the technically best movies of all time. Dario Argento really out did himself with this, and once again proved that Italian horror is the best horror.