Phenomena (1985)

Director:

Dario Argento

Writers:

Dario Argento (screenplay)
Dario Argento (story)

Release Date:

2 August 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Jennifer Has A Few Million Close Friends. She's Going To Need Them _All_.

Plot:

A young girl, with an amazing ability to communicate with insects, is transferred to an exclusive Swiss boarding school, where her unusual capability might help solve a string of murders.

Plot Keywords:

Insect | Sleepwalking | Boarding School | Serial Killer | Chimpanzee

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jennifer Connelly	...	Jennifer Corvino
Daria Nicolodi	...	Frau Brückner
Dalila Di Lazzaro	...	Headmistress
Patrick Bauchau	...	Inspector Rudolf Geiger
Donald Pleasence	...	Professor John McGregor
Fiore Argento	...	Vera Brandt
Federica Mastroianni	...	Sophie
Fiorenza Tessari	...	Gisela Sulzer
Mario Donatone	...	Morris Shapiro
Francesca Ottaviani	...	Nurse
Michele Soavi	...	Kurt, Geiger's Assistant
Franco Trevisi	...	Real Estate Agent
Fausta Avelli	...	Schoolgirl
Marta Biuso	...	Schoolgirl
Sophie Bourchier	...	Schoolgirl

Also Known As:

Creepers (USA)

Runtime:

110 min | 116 min (integral version) | USA:110 min (re-release) | USA:82 min (edited version)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian | English | German | Swiss German | Danish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Argentina:16 (re-rating) | Argentina:18 (original rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:R (as "Creepers") (DVD rating) (cut) | Australia:R (as "Phenomena) (DVD rating) (uncut) | Australia:R (original rating) | Denmark:15 (video premiere) | France:-12 | Italy:VM14 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | USA:Unrated (director's cut) | West Germany:18 | Finland:K-18

Filming Locations:

Elios Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

DACFILM Rome

Trivia:

The larvae were created by placing vermiculite in water and adding liquid chocolate and essence of mint.

Goofs:

Continuity: The professor's comments about the hyperactive behavior of his insects are accompanied by close-ups of different bugs moving around in their cages very quickly. However, in close-ups of Jennifer listening to him, many of the same bugs can be seen in their cages behind her, and they are completely still.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The House That Freddy Built (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Valley

deserves to be reviewed twice!

I have already written a review of "Phenomena", but now that I've seen it 8 or so times since then, it's quickly becoming my favorite Argento movie, with the possible exception of "Suspiria". Both movies are dreamlike - "Suspiria" being an outright surrealistic rollercoaster ride with unforgettably bold visuals. "Phenomena" acquires its texture through a more subtly seductive directorial sense. The blue nights are wonderfully inviting and the day scenes out in the country, with unsurpassedly serene, lovely music (The Goblins?), are almost painfully beautiful. I am serious when I say it's almost sad when I long for my senses to experience such a scenario in real life. And these scenes introduce us to a strange feeling of isolation and ensuing terror. The integrating contrasts are very effective here. I really do think Dario Argento should be defended to those who think he's no more than a hack. Although his sensibilities are irretrievably steeped in a visual framework, almost all of his films are separable accomplishments, each different than the other. The murders are actually secondary to the atmosphere in "Phenomena", which is like a lightweight fairy tale with horrifying subtext. It is his most inviting film by far. "Deep Red" is his sharpest, with the best placement of incongruities (miniature toys and great murders). "Tenebre" is his most textured, probably his most sensuous (all the running water and metal surfaces and bright lighting and that unbelievable tracking shot - yum!) and it contains the most horrific murder. "Suspiria" is absolutely his most vivid and memorable. "Opera" is the probably the most suspenseful (the ending of that film approaches "Phenomena" in unexplainable beauty) and has an incredible gimmick (pins under the eyelids). My favorites in order - 1)Suspiria 2)Phenomena 3)Tenebre 4)Opera 5)Deep Red 6)Cat O'Nine Tails 7)Bird with the Crystal Plumage 8)Inferno 9)Trauma