Peter Neal, a crime novelist, travels to Italy to promote his new book, Tenebrae. Shortly after he arrives, an insane killer seemingly obsessed with Neal's books begins randomly killing women. It's up to the police, Peter Neal, and his sidekick to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Although I'm not much of a fan of the giallo genre, I absolutely love Argento's supernatural horror movies (SUSPIRIA and INFERNO) and somewhat enjoyed a couple of his gialli (THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE and DEEP RED), so I thought I should give this one a watch. I'm also working my way through watching the "video nasties" and TENEBRAE is on the list.
It's a great looking movie, the kills are increasingly inventive, and it's got some fun characters (I really liked John Saxon in this). However, it's got the same issue that I have with all gialli I've seen so far: the most fun part for me (besides the kills) is seeing the suspects get eliminated one by one, so I really cannot imagine rewatching any of them.
It made me really think about what makes a movie rewatchable, for me anyway. Why can I pop in something like FRIDAY THE 13TH, which is obviously not made nearly as well as TENEBRAE, for the dozenth time and have a blast? I think it comes down to focus. A slasher might be very similar to a giallo in structure, but the focus is on the horror of a random group of people being put into a horrible situation where they are stalked and killed by something. A giallo focuses on a hero solving a mystery, with people getting killed almost peripherally. I think atmosphere also plays a role. TENEBRAE is a great looking movie, but it takes place mostly in well-lit beautiful apartments and houses.
Of course, that's not to say that TENEBRAE is not worth watching! It's a hell of a ride, but not something I think I'd ever be interested in watching again. I did enjoy watching it once, though, so I'll be checking out the other Argento gialli I've missed.
Although I'm not much of a fan of the giallo genre, I absolutely love Argento's supernatural horror movies (SUSPIRIA and INFERNO) and somewhat enjoyed a couple of his gialli (THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE and DEEP RED), so I thought I should give this one a watch. I'm also working my way through watching the "video nasties" and TENEBRAE is on the list.
It's a great looking movie, the kills are increasingly inventive, and it's got some fun characters (I really liked John Saxon in this). However, it's got the same issue that I have with all gialli I've seen so far: the most fun part for me (besides the kills) is seeing the suspects get eliminated one by one, so I really cannot imagine rewatching any of them.
It made me really think about what makes a movie rewatchable, for me anyway. Why can I pop in something like FRIDAY THE 13TH, which is obviously not made nearly as well as TENEBRAE, for the dozenth time and have a blast? I think it comes down to focus. A slasher might be very similar to a giallo in structure, but the focus is on the horror of a random group of people being put into a horrible situation where they are stalked and killed by something. A giallo focuses on a hero solving a mystery, with people getting killed almost peripherally. I think atmosphere also plays a role. TENEBRAE is a great looking movie, but it takes place mostly in well-lit beautiful apartments and houses.
Of course, that's not to say that TENEBRAE is not worth watching! It's a hell of a ride, but not something I think I'd ever be interested in watching again. I did enjoy watching it once, though, so I'll be checking out the other Argento gialli I've missed.
