Dario Argento’s 1982 thriller Tenebre (TO be confused with Tenebrae) is a true Giallo classic. Giallo is a distinctly Italian genre of horror/thriller in which the main protagonist is usually a foreigner, a recurring theme in Argento’s work so much so his current film is in fact called Giallo. Another recurring Argento theme is a maniac killing people (usually naked women) for no easily explainable reason, unusually in Tenebre it is easily explainable. American writer Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa) is in Rome to promote his latest novel which a maniac fan is using as the inspiration for a series of brutal murders (as to why, well that’s the not easily explainable bit). The police prove ineffective and with every murder the killer moves closer to Neal. The murders become more and more bloody, the synths become louder and louder and the plot becomes more and more incomprehensible.

In typical Argento fashion Tenebre is visually stunning, hugely atmospheric, with an almost invasive over the top synthesiser score and a distinctly dubious attitude towards female characters. Cut by the BBFC on it’s original 1983 home video release the uncut DVD looks rather tame by today’s standards but I suspect it’s the somewhat misogynistic nature of certain scenes that still warrant it having an ‘eighteen’ certificate today.

I’ve never been a big fan of Argento, I’ve always found his combination of self indulgent histrionics, impenetrable (or just plain rubbish) plots and overbearing music hard to watch. However, Tenebre is restrained by Argento’s standards with the operatics kept for the brilliantly staged death sequences. Stand out amongst these are an axe murder that took twenty years to better and a stunning single take scene where the camera voyeuristically stalks victims all over a house from outside.

Despite a few unnecessary and pointless sequences that extend the running time to longer than it should be and some very dodgy dubbing (an English cop in Rome?) Tenebre is worthy of classic status. In this reviewer’s opinion it’s Argento’s most coherent and accomplished film, made in the days before torture porn when murder was glamorous and fun, Tenebre is an excellent and hugely enjoyable slasher mystery and it’s even got John Saxon in it. What more could you want?  

Rating: 8/10