fan ofItalian horror legend Dario Argento(Suspiria , Deep Red , Inferno , Tenebre , Phenomena , Opera ) have long hoped that the veteran film maker , who turned 82 in September , might have one more masterpiece lurk within . While Dark Glasses is far better thanother late menu , like 2009 ’s Giallo , it alas does n’t touch his classics .
But still , Dark Glasses — which is receiving both a theatrical loss and a streaming platform on Shudder — is something flavor Argento buff will be curious about , with good reasonableness ; it ’s Argento ’s first lineament in a decade , and features his daughter and frequent pardner Asia Argento in a supporting use . Without any supernatural elements , it slots in withthe giallo side of his filmography , though it lacks the dazzling visuals and lurid mystery of the films he began his career with , like The Bird With the Crystal Plumage and Four fly front on Grey Velvet . apparently a thriller , Dark Glasses is pretty low on suspense ; the most disgraceful thing about its plot of land is how additive it is , something that robs the legal proceeding of the delightful volatility so often seen in Argento ’s piece of work . The score is frequently intrusive — another much - get laid Argento trademark — but Arnaud Rebotini ’s work is just as nerve - jangling as the electronic Goblin soundtracks that helped elevate picture like Suspiria into stories that felt like they were literally taking position inside nightmares .
That order , the cosmos as experienced by Diana ( Ilenia Pastorelli ) is plenty nightmarish ; it ’s just a bit more grounded than , say , Suspiria ’s witchy ballet school from hell . We get a super on - the - olfactory organ warning that Diana ’s biography is about to tilt into duskiness in her first scene , in which she near damages her eyes by gaze at an eclipse . Not long after , she ’s in a terrible car fortuity that blinds her — an especially tragical play of events give that she ’s being stalked by a frenzied who ’s direct call girls around Rome . ( “ God ’s penalty , ” Diana ’s disapprove housekeeper mutters , shortly before Diana furiously fires her . ) Adding to that , the fortuity involved other victims , include the untried Chin ( Xinyu Zhang)—who blames Diana at first but then decides he ’d rather hang up around with her rather than be stuck in an orphans' asylum . Along with a tough check - oculus dog , Diana ’s circle of keep also includes Rita ( Asia Argento ) , a openhearted home wellness worker who aid Diana adjust to her new reality .
Image: Shudder/IFC Midnight
As some of Dark Glasses ’ pig type flail around trying to ID the grampus ( filmgoers will have a much less hard time figuring it out ) , and others thresh around try out to place the runaway Chin , the movie tries to conquer the disorientation Diana experience . manifestly she ’s fabulously vulnerable , and it make sense that Dark Glasses would want to convey that by filming a lot of scenes in near - iniquity — something that would be more frustrating if the history led to a concluding act with surprise or reveals rather mostly running and screaming .
If you ’re seeking a dose of Argento ’s hallmark lucullan , colored cinematography and achingly gorgeous expressive style , this is not where you ’ll determine it . In fact , if you ’re try a satisfying Argento viewing experience at all , this is not the movie to drive play on . If you ’re fresh to the theatre director , Dark Glasses should absolutely not be your first exposure to his work . Put plainly , this movie could be so much worse ( show A:2012 ’s excruciating Dracula 3D)—but the Argento faithful know it could be so much better , too .
Dark Glasses is now playing in select theatre and will expand to more on October 14 ; it arrives on Shudder today , October 13 . And , as it happens , Shudder also has a numeral of other Argento movies in its subroutine library ; it just bestow Opera and The Stendhal Syndrome to go along with Deep Red , Tenebrae , Inferno , Phenomena , Trauma , and The Cat o ’ Nine Tales , as well as two movies he co - wrote but did n’t direct : daimon and Demons 2 .
Image: Shudder/IFC Midnight
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Dario ArgentoDemonsFilmsHorrorSeptemberSuspiria
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Image: Shudder/IFC Midnight
