ICFF Classic Film Review: "Deep Red" ("Profondo rosso") (1975).

"When the Screaming starts and the Blood begins to flow... Pinch yourself and keep repeating I'm at the movies! I'm at the movies! I'm at the movies! I'm at the movies!" This is Deep Red (Profondo rosso). This Italian giallo film directed by Dario Argento and written by Argento and Bernardino Zapponi. A psychic medium is brutally murdered, and musician Marcus Daly feels a need to solve the case, since he was the one who discovered the body. Working with him is reporter Gianna Brezzi, who hopes for a big scoop by solving the case. When one of Marcus's own friends ends up murdered at the hands of the same killer, the resourceful pair realize they must work fast to uncover the murderer's identity or they might serve as the maniac's next victims.

By early September 1974, David Hemmings, Daria Nicolodi, Gabriele Lavia, Macha Méril, Liana Del Balzo, Nicoletta Elmi, Furio Meniconi and Fulvio Mingozzi were cast in Argento's new horror film. The film represented Argento's return to the horror genre after an attempted breakaway with the historical dramedy The Five Days (1974). The film marked his first collaboration with Nicolodi, whom he was married to at the time, and progressive rock band Goblin, who composed and performed the film score. Zapponi said the inspiration behind the murder scenes came from him and Argento thinking of painful injuries that the audience could relate to. Basically, not everyone knows the pain of being shot by a gun, but everyone has at some point accidentally struck furniture or been scalded by hot water. According to Argento, the script was more than five-hundred pages long. When his father Salvatore Argento and his brother Claudio read the script, they were shocked at its length. They were afraid the audience wouldn't understand what Dario's intentions were; they thought parts of it were almost too cryptic, so Dario shortened it to three hundred and twenty one pages. The film was originally titled La tigre dai denti a sciabola (The Sabre-Toothed Tiger), following the naming pattern of Argento's previous thrillers. However, much to Argento's annoyance, other directors had started using similar animal-related titles for their own genre films, so he decided to go in a different direction. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in late December. Filming took place in Rome, Lazio; Perugia, Umbria and Turin, Piedmont, Italy. As was common in Italian filmmaking at the time, Deep Red was shot without sync sound, and all dialogue was dubbed in post-production. The screenplay was written in both Italian and English, all actors except for Clara Calamai spoke in English.

The film stars Hemmings, Nicolodi, Lavia, Méril, del Balzo, Elmi, Meniconi and Mingozzi. The performances weren't always fluid, but they nevertheless managed to create a mystery that's genuinely compelling.

The film is a cinematic work of art and a standout effort in the giallo subgenre. Argento's decision to focus more on tense plot twists and less on gore (there's relatively little here) gives this an audience beyond the usual hardcore horror fan.

Simon says Deep Red (Profondo rosso) receives:

Also, see my ICFF review for Black Sunday (La maschera del demonio).