Synapse Films gives Argento’s Tenebrae the 4K Treatment
When many think of Dario Argento’s work, they run to classic giallos like Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Suspiria. But where film lovers should set their eyes on is Argento’s 1982 thriller, Tenebrae.
Synapse Films has brought to light a respectable version with beautiful modern quality. In Tenebrae, an American writer in Rome is stalked and harassed by a serial killer who is murdering everyone associated with his work on his latest book.
Argento’s murder-mystery elevates the slasher film with a work of art designed as reaction to critics’ response to his overall film style and ethics. Through this journey, there are subtle jabs disguised as dark humor and exuberant murders in pure Argento fashion that artfully reacts to the finger pointing.
From the sensuality of Italian fashion and power to a fire synth soundtrack, every element points to an emotion designed for mystery and pensiveness. Argento lives in claustrophobic tight shots, stalker POV and pure creeper vibes all resulting in powerful and grisly death scenes that don’t discriminate. Yet Tenebrae shows the power in women as much as the vulnerability. As one plays the victim, another is shoving a high heel in an abuser’s mouth.
Argento is the master of the slow motion sequence. This is highlighted in a scene that burns a hole in the brain. What starts inside and with an argument between two women then transitions outside and a crane shot that painstakingly moves around a building. Argento turns the mundane into a dynamic music video filled with astral projection for the viewer. The pans from window to window and the dominance of the soundtrack feels like a dream. You can feel Alan Palamo drawing inspiration from Argento’s camera work that became the music video for “Slumlord Rising.”
Most of the time, we are the voyeur forced to witness the leather gloves gripping tightly as the blade reflects many points of light. We witness the reactions, the agony and the ecstasy while detectives piece together clues and push the story forward. John Saxon becomes the charming icon in this film and the only actor visibly romanticizing the scenes. But even Argento does not spare his shining American knight.
It’s a delight to experience the preservation in this work and revisit a film that exemplified the slasher genre. With hours of extras that builds the framework in Argento’s film style we get an in-depth grasp at the styles and characteristics that gave both the rise and the fall of the giallo film, an interview and featurette with Argento, commentary by experts in the field, and so much more.
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