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134 comments in total

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35 out of 41 people found the following comment useful :-
Phenomena rocks the boat., 24 July 2003

Author: (scyphe) from Sweden

This movie seems to be either loved or hated. Those that love it seems to be Argento fans that have succumbed to the style and imagination. Those that hate it seems to get annoyed at script flaws, soundtrack, actors etc.

Most of the criticizers seems to have missed the point. Dario Argentos movies is supposed to be watched and experienced, not dissected looking for flaws etc. which is true for most movies. I have the ability to turn the criticizer off when I watch movies, especially when it comes to horror/fantasy/scifi. They're movies, not documentaries, and they're not supposed to reflect your reality. Think of them as dreams, and we all know that dreams are most often illogical, strange and wonderful. That's the frame of mind I have when I watch Argento movies. And Phenomena is great in that aspect since it builds upon imagination.

Phenomena was the first Argento movie I watched, and it turned me into a big fan of his work. Donald Pleasance is great as useful, and Jennifer Connelly made many of us aware of how much we all want to meet her (at least the male audience). I watch this movie in much the same way as I did Suspiria (masterpiece), as a fantasy horror, a sweet nightmare. The first scene, where the Danish girl misses the bus and looks for help is unforgettable. The fact that the rest of the cast is a bunch of young and inexperienced teenagers is something most of the viewers familiar with Italian horror are used to.

Would I recommend this? Absolutely, it's one of the better Argento movies. Who would like it? Anybody with an open mind and interested in prime italian fantasy/horror.

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25 out of 30 people found the following comment useful :-
Outstanding Italian horror from Dario Argento. ***Spoilers***, 3 October 2001

Author: HumanoidOfFlesh from Chyby, Poland

My review is based on uncut Italian print,which runs 110 minutes.A young Jennifer Connelly can communicate telepathically with insects.The area she arrives in is being terrorized by a psychotic killer,who has been murdering coeds and making off with their decapitated bodies.Desperate for clues,a police inspector visits an entomologist Donald Pleasance("Halloween","Death Line")and eventually Pleasance and Connelly team up to find the killer.It all has something to do with Daria Nicolodi and the deformed creature she keeps chained in the basement.Wonderful atmosphere,gorgeous cinematography and plenty of gruesome gore make this one a must-see.Argento goes totally over the top in "Phenomena" with a swimming pool full of maggots and rotting corpses,a mad dwarf,a razor wielding monkey and grisly decapitations.Great heavy metal songs by Iron Maiden and Motorhead plus a nice musical score by Goblin.10 out of 10.

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16 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :-
deserves to be reviewed twice!, 20 September 2001
Author: troy-32 from Chicago, Illinois

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

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17 out of 22 people found the following comment useful :-
Total Cult, 12 January 2006

Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In Switzerland, the teenager Jennifer Corvino (Jennifer Connelly), daughter of a famous actor, arrives in an expensive board school and shares her room with the French schoolmate Sophie (Federica Mastroianni). Jennifer is a sleepwalker, is capable of telepathically communicate with insects and has adaptation problem in the new school. While sleepwalking, she meets and becomes friend of a Scottish entomologist, Prof. John McGregor (Donald Pleasence), and his chimpanzee Tonga. Jennifer decides to help the investigation of Dr. McGregor about a serial killer that is killing young girls in that area.

It may sound ridiculous, but "Phenomena" has never been released on video in Brazil; only two days ago, "Phenomena" was released on DVD in Brazil and now I am glad to have this movie in my collection. The weird story of Dario Argento, one of my favorite directors, is a total cult, showing bizarre characters and situations, maggots, flies, deformed people, serial killer and lots of bodies and body parts. A fifteen years old Jennifer Connelly in her third work, extremely beautiful, shines in the very original role of a sleepwalker that is very connected to insects and develop the skill of communicate with them. Daria Nicolodi, the mother of Asia Argento and former mate of Dario Argento, has a minor, but very important role. And the versatile Donald Pleasence, in the role of a paraplegic researcher, is efficient as usual. The music score, with Goblin, Iron Maiden and Motorhead, is another great attraction of this movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Phenomena"

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10 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
a great and weird film, 5 January 2000

Author: cygnus x-1 from roanoke va

for years this dario argento film has only been available in america in a butchered 82 minute version called Creepers. anchor bay entertainment graciously decided to rerelease this movie in its almost uncut 110 min. version (almost meaning that it's still missing 6 minutes of dialogue from the italian version) and it is definitely the version to see. jennifer connelly plays a girl sent away to a swiss boarding school where a killer has been murdering girls in various ways. jennifer has the most unique ability to communicate with insects and this ability plays heavily into later events in the movie. donald pleasance plays a retired professor who studies insects who befriends connelly ( and his pet monkey almost steals the film) the events that transpire in the film are surreal yet somewhat coherent. like most of argento's films, notably Suspiria, this movie has an almost dreamlike feel to it. it may not make complete sense at times but the style definitely saves it.

i would have to rank this as my second favorite argento movie (with Suspiria being first and Tenebre being third). and remember not to rent american version titled Creepers and check out the original version.

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14 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :-
Absolutely Phenomenal!, 19 January 2007

Author: Benjamin Gauss from Salzburg, Austria

This Is A Review Of The Uncut Version.

Dario Argento's "Phenomena" of 1985 is an absolute masterpiece of horror coming along with an ingenious soundtrack by Goblin. Argento has enriched the Horror/Giallo genre by quite a bunch of brilliant films, including such stunning pictures as "The Bird With The Crystal Plumage" (1970), "Tenebre"(1982) and "Opera" (1987), "Penomena" is (in my opinion) his greatest achievement alongside his masterpieces "Suspiria" of 1977 and "Profondo Rosso" of 1975. A brilliant, extremely scary, stunning and visually breathtaking film, "Phenomena" is an absolute must-see for every Horror-fan.

Jennifer Corvino (Jennifer Conelly), the daughter of an American movie star, is sent to an elite girl's boarding school in the Swiss mountains, more precisely in a part of Switzerland referred to by locals as 'The Swiss Transylvania'. The area is currently terrorized by a serial killer of girls, whose victims are always heinously dismembered. Although a friendly and lovable person, Jennifer does not make too many friends in the boarding school, and due to her sleepwalking most of the other girls think of her as weird. But sleepwalking is not her only unusual characteristic. Jennifer loves insects, and insects also seem to have a strong affection for her. While Inspector Geiger (Patrick Buchau) is investigating the brutal murders, Jennifer befriends wheelchair-bound entomologist Prof Mc Gregor (Donald Pleasence), who helps the police with their investigations...

Then 15-year-old Jennifer Conelly's acting is simply outstanding, a perfect performance from the beginning to the end. The supporting cast is also very good, the great Donald Pleasence's performance as Prof Mc Gregor is just one of many very memorable performances in "Phenomena". As usual for Argento, the movie is impressively photographed on great, scary locations. Dario Argento has always placed great emphasis on impressive colors (especially red, of course), and hardly ever have I seen a movie as visually stunning and awe-inspiring as Phenomena. The brilliant Progressive Rock Soundtrack by Goblin manages to even intensify the suspense, and is one of the best scores I have ever heard in a horror film.

Partially a Giallo, and partially a horror film with psychic and transcendental elements, "Phenomena" is a creepy film that is scary as hell. It is also easily one of Argento's most brutal movies, and therefore maybe not the kind of film for people who are too sensitive when it comes to violence in movies. Phenomena was also released under the title "Creepers" in the US, but that was a cut (or should I say mutilated) version of only 82 minutes. I have always seen the uncut version, which runs about 111 minutes, and I definitely recommend anybody else to do so, since every minute of the movie is stunning and indispensable, and I can't even imagine which (certainly essential) 29 minutes they cut out in the other versions. A true masterpiece of horror cinema, "Phenomena" is, in my opinion, Dario Argento's greatest movie besides "Suspiria" and "Profondo Rosso". Superbly written and directed, outstandingly acted, impressively photographed and extremely creepy and scary from the beginning to the end "Phenomena" is absolutely phenomenal. A stroke of genius! 10/10

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10 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Monkeys + knives + pool of dead bodies = perfect, 21 March 2001
Author: lil bobby (ichlugebullets@cs.com) from providence, RI

Dario Argento is a genius... this is a fact. The film starts off with a beautifully gory scene, then somewhat mellows out for a while. Some great scenes of night walking/dreaming/etc stand out, but it's not until about 2/3 of the way through the movie that it becomes a classic.

Beheadings, stabbings, and a pool of body parts ensue. But by far the creepiest thing of the movie is when the son who is left alone "with his crazy thoughts" turns around from his corner, revealing his face. This is possibly the scariest thing I have EVER seen on film... even scarier than the robot-butler-doll from Deep Red. And that's saying something.

An amazingly spooky and incredibly gory battle follows, leading up to the gorgeous, bloody end.

Dario Argento can do no wrong.

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11 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
A bizarre horror masterpiece, 22 January 2007

Author: Mother_of_Tears

Phenomena has long been one of my favourite Dario Argento films. It definitely seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it kind of film, even more so than most Argentos, and I think it's his most unjustly underrated piece of work to date.

A 14-year-old Jennifer Connelly shines in the lead role, playing a sleepwalker who has a bizarre telepathic bond with insects and uses them to help her solve a string of gory murders at a girls boarding school in the Swiss Alps. She is one of my favourite Argento heroines, a tough, brainy and eccentric little girl somewhere between Nancy Drew and Snow White. She deserves special credit for taking on some truly gruesome scenes, like when she falls into a pit of maggots, slime and rotting corpses. As for the rest of the cast, Donald Pleasance is good as the wheelchair-bound Scottish entomologist and Daria Nicolodi has fun with a small but juicy role.

Argento really let his imagination run wild making this one. Phenomena is a surreal, magical and surprisingly beautiful film, as much a dark fairytale fantasy as it is a horror film. It's visually stunning and I loved the incongruity of having all this gory mayhem happen against the picturesque backdrop of the Swiss Alps. Claudio Simonetti's electronic score is perfect, particularly the haunting main theme with its 80s synths and choral soprano vocals.

With its girls boarding school setting and unseen killer on the loose, Phenomena can be taken as a companion piece to Argento's earlier classic Suspiria (1977). But the introduction of slimy maggots, a razor-wielding pet chimp and six million buzzing insects set it apart. It all descends into glorious chaos for the Grand Guignol climax, which is perhaps the most thrilling house-of-horrors funhouse ride Argento has yet given us.

A remarkable film.

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10 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the directors best films., 1 July 2000

Author: bigpappa1-2 (bigpappa1@spinfinder.com) from USA

This review applies to the US version that was released by Media Home Entertainment. It is 82mins. and is titled CREEPERS.

A young girl attending a Swiss girls school discovers that the school is plagued by a series of grisly murders. An extremely stylish offering by Italy's leading horror genre master. Quite original too, with some unusual sub-plots too that include our main characters ability to control insects and use them to track the killer. Even though this has about 30mins. cut out of it, it really doesn't show, and this offers plenty of gore for all of your gore hounds especially at the scary and exciting end. A really good film. My rating: 9 out of 10.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
As bizarre as any film you're ever likely to see., 29 December 2007
Author: Graham Greene from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

If you can get past the initial weirdness of the concept - which includes a teenager who can communicate with insects, a chained-up murderer prone to driving a spike through its victims head's, a monkey wielding a razor blade and more red-herrings than you can shake an Agatha Christie box-set at - then you might just find Phenomena to be a greatly entertaining piece of Argento horror/schlock. The plot, as per usual, is nonsense, and yet, Argento seems to instil it with an almost unbelievable sense of conviction, creating a strange hybrid of Tenebrea's amateur sleuthing style of narrative deconstruction and the warped fairytale fantasia of Suspiria, alongside the more familiar Giallo elements of black-gloved assailants, buckets of blood and an almost pornographic obsession with gleaming, silver, implements of death.

The initial set-up and the opening scenes are fantastic, demonstrating Argento's keen eye for location and composition, as his script finds a young Danish tourist (played by Argento's eldest daughter Fiore) stranded in the middle of the Swiss countryside after missing her last bus back into town. Attempting to find solace, she knocks on the door of the only cottage in sight. When there's no answer, the girl foolishly enters, with Argento brilliantly cross-cutting between the traumatised tourist desperately asking for help, and the thick chains of an unseen foe slowly breaking away from the wall on which they've been bolted. The rhythm and the sense of unease (and later, tension) that Argento creates in this opening scene is phenomenal (sorry!), and is really all the more impressive given the fact that the whole sequence takes place during broad daylight *and* amongst some of the most beautiful and tranquil scenery you're every likely to see!!

From here, the story begins to take shape. There's a killer on the loose with a penchant for dismembering teenage girls. When the head of the Danish tourist turns up after an eight month period of decomposition, the chief of police enlists the help of wheelchair bound entomologist professor John McGregor to study the various insects and secretions that may have collected within the skull to help them define the exact time of death and the possible location of the murder. Across town, Jennifer Corvino, the spoilt daughter of a famous Hollywood superstar, is sent away to the Richard Wagner Boarding school (there's even a disarming Suspiria-style voice over to announce this ten-minutes in), where, on the first night, she enters into a somnambulistic state and inadvertently witnesses a murder. When the school authorities and the other kids find out about Jennifer's sleepwalking episode - and, more alarmingly, her apparent connection with insects (developed during an earlier scene between Jennifer and the school's administrator Frau Brückner and a bee during the drive up to the school) - they chastise her, and subject her to a bizarre medical examination that bring about some alarming subconscious revelations about the night before. Later that day, another girl is killed.

Like Argento's early masterworks, Deep Red (Profondo Rosso), Tenebrae and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Phenomena hinges around the notion of a potential victim having seen more of a murder/murderer than they can fully comprehend. In this case, Jennifer's bout of sleepwalking brought her face to face with the killer and its victim. And, although she remains oblivious to the actual identity of the murderer until much later in the film, she has, by this stage, already seen their face obscured behind a pane of broken glass. Her relationship with insects and her hatred for the school eventually brings her to McGregor, who believes that Jennifer's special bond with the insects could hold the key to discovering the killer's identity, and together, the two hatch a plan to use the insects to retrace the Danish tourist's steps, to, eventually, lead them to the home of the killer.

All of this sounds like complete and utter nonsense when looked at in print (which, to some extent, I suppose it is), but Argento clearly believes in his concept and somehow makes the whole thing plausible... by toning down his usually mind-bending visual style (the baroque colour schemes, cinema-scope compositions and atmospheric camera movements are put aside, with the director going for a much colder visual look, with soft blue hues and black and white production/costume designs captured by a camera that tends to observe from a distance, only rarely getting involved in the action) to give the fantasy a baring in reality, and to somehow, make the whole thing seem a little more believable. Where the film does falter, slightly, is in areas of performance and dialog... the main cast are fine, with the young Jennifer Connelly creating that right balance of bratish adolescence and other-worldly awe as the young girl with the baffling gift, whilst Donald Pleasence brings the same gravitas and sense of overriding authority that he brought to films like Death Line and John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness, but the majority of the supporting players are virtually characterless, one dimensional ciphers, handicapped by atrocious dubbing and the director's heavy-handed exposition.

That said, there is fine support from Argento's former partner/fixture/muse Daria Nicolodi in a pivotal role... and although she's subsequently stated that Phenomena is the performance of hers that she likes least of all, I think she creates a truly memorable and quite sympathetic character, who, it must be said, looks surprisingly attractive with glasses and a bad perm!! Perhaps another shortcoming of the film is the dated visual effects, which, quite honestly, were probably dated even by 1985 standards (the swarm of insects' looks like it was crudely photo-shopped in, whilst the point of view shots from the insects are as cheesy as can be). However, these criticisms are quite tenuous, with Argento (for the most part) managing to overcome these minor set-backs to deliver a uniquely bizarre, beautiful and unbelievably violent collage of fairytale/horror/fantasy/schlock.

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