Inferno (1980)
All that Hellraiser talk about sequels without Pinhead kept on forcing one word into my mind: Inferno. Fortunately this is not the Evil Groundhog Day movie that shares the troubled Clive Barker lineage. No, this is something much better: a sorta sequel to Suspiria by Dario Argento.
Premise: 3/5
Yep, we're definitely in Dario Argento-land. I kinda like it here though.
Relax, it’s not really a sequel to Suspiria per se. This is just the second in Dario Argento’s “Three Mothers” trilogy of films (the third and final one just came out in 2007–talk about pacing yourself!), and the one where he coughs up the mythology behind them. Well, more like he reinvents it: Helena Markos, the big bad witch in charge of all the bad news that happened in Suspiria was, no surprise, Mater Suspiriorum. In Inferno, we learn that these three witches (Mater Suspiriorum, Tenebrarum, and Lachrymarum–Mother of Sighs, Darkness, and Tears respectively) are actually evil forces that are the cause of most, if not all, human suffering and pain, and always seek to increase the world’s misery.
We learn this from a book being read by Rose Elliot, lounging in her apartment living room and reading aloud (no heavy-handed exposition here!). This book was supposedly written by the architect who built three buildings for these three mothers (the first one in Germany, the second in Manhattan, and the third in Rome), not realizing before he did that what they really were. Basically, what this architect did was he built the bases for these three Mothers that all their evil and horror will slowly radiate out of. Unfortunately for Rose, she becomes obsessed with the idea that her very apartment building could be the home of Mater Tenebrarum, which makes a lot of her acquaintances think she’s a little crazy. However, even more unfortunately for Rose, she’s actually right. Insanity, murder, and drop-dead gorgeous cinematography ensue.
Cast: 2/5
Ratz off to ya! And I don't care if you get that, either.
Dario Argento really knows how to pick good-looking ladies for his roles. Irene Miracle (I have to assume that’s a stage name) plays Rose Elliot, the smart and too-curious lover of old books (although we never find out what she does for a living). She’s pretty good in her role, and looks just great soaking wet, but she never ends up getting to do quite as much as Suzy Bannon did in Suspiria, which makes her a less interesting character. I never got a “feel” for her one way or the other. Likewise with her brother’s music school friend Sara (played by Eleonora Giorgi) who also gets in on the sleuthing and growing sense of impending doom. Possibly an interesting character, but nothing is really done with her while she’s on, she’s just another pretty face being menaced by unspeakable terror.
They say taking the stairs instead of the elevator is good for your health. You could ask this girl if that's true, except for that SHE'S DEAD NOW.
The one who really kills the movie for me, though, is Leigh McCloskey, playing Rose’s brother Mark. Not only does his character never do much, but he also comes across as an extremely poor method actor. The scene where he suddenly starts falling ill when he’s poking around Rose’s apartment building looking for clues reminded me of that Family Guy where Peter hurts his knee and spends an exaggeratedly long time moaning and wincing over it while sitting there–only in Inferno it’s not actually comedic. And the scene where he’s supposed to be running out of the apartment building in a state of shock? All he can muster up is to put his eyes real wide open and square up his shoulders. To be generous, that part is comedic in a certain sense, it’s just that it’s not supposed to be. Basically, Mark just sucks and should either never have been in this movie, or at least had a halfway interesting actor playing him. Watching McCloskey here is like watching a game of Charades where the pantomimer only kinda understands the meaning of his word.
Technical: 5/5
This movie wants to make sweet sweet love to your eyeballs (insert Italian cinema joke here). If anything, this movie is even more beautiful than Suspiria, and the set design is absolutely stunning. There’s an underwater living room scene near the beginning of the movie that sets the tone with its visual creativity and coolness factor, and the final meeting with Mater Tenebrarum has some frankly amazing work in it that I would be a complete bastard to spoil for you. If I have any slight nitpicks about the looks of this movie, it’s that we’ve seen all that vivid reds and blues stuff done in Suspiria, so it’s not particularly new anymore. However, the stuff Argento does with shadows in this movie (appropriate, given Mater Tenebrarum) easily redeems that “been there” feeling. The deftness with which Inferno can switch between subtle and over-the-top is unlike anything else you’re likely to see.
It even looks pretty when he burns a house down!
The music is almost a complete 180 from Goblin’s scoring of Suspiria. Gone are the nerve-shredding musical themes and harsh sound effects of the previous movie. The music for Inferno feels a lot more classical, operatic even. Some people hate that, but personally I think it’s fine. Inferno is a lot more operatic than the freaked-out Suspiria so the music works for me. No, it’s not as unique as Suspiria, but it certainly fits the mood Argento was going for. And there’s still a little play in the soundtrack when things start getting more and more unreal, as the main musical theme that we’ve gotten accustomed to hearing by that point starts to fall more and more out of tune. Again a nice, kind of subtle touch.
Popcorn Factor: 3/5
IMDB tells me that for most people, Inferno is one of Argento’s most confusing and surreal films, rendering it almost unapproachable by practically anyone. I didn’t find this to be the case–actually, the reason I’m not rating this higher is because it feels like so much retread of what Suspiria did with more focus and freshness three years earlier. I know it’s not fair, but I can only compare this to Suspiria again and again. The mystery and weirdness that pulls you along in Suspiria is basically expositioned away in the opening scene of Inferno. We already know that Rose is in Mater Tenebrarum’s domain, and we know what that means, so we’re just waiting for the weirdness to start. Consequently, it feels less experiential than Suspiria and more like we’re sitting back and watching someone else’s nightmares coming to life on stage instead of being active participants and wondering just what in the hell is going on the whole time. I also think that most of the deaths in the early part of Inferno were kind of disappointing compared to Suspiria. Oh, a gloved hand holding a knife stabbing someone again? Yawn. Fortunately once things start getting weird the standard-issue “mystery movie” murders get phased out and we have funky terrible deaths to appreciate, it just takes a while to ramp up.
There’s a lot to like in Inferno if you turn off the logic centers of your brain (and by now I’m inclined to believe this is typically the case with Italian horror flicks), and I certainly enjoyed the movie well enough. However, if I had to choose between Suspiria and Inferno, I would hands down go with Suspiria. That being said, though, I’ll freely admit that if Inferno gets a Blu-Ray release (assuming it hasn’t already) I’ll be right there in line to get it–it really is that striking.
And then this happened. Because it ALWAYS does.