The Cat O' Nine Tails (1971)

Few who read this site need an introduction to maestro Dario Argento, the Italian writer/director who is famous for his distinctive style and crafting some of the finest giallo films ever committed to celluloid, such as Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Deep Red, Suspira and so on. Some people love his films while others hate them, but neither can deny the impact Argento has made on the film scene. Though The Cat O’ Nine Tails (Il Gatto a Nove Code) may be considered by some as one of Argento’s “lesser” works, I believe that it is one of Argento’s most straightforward and easily accessible films…but still boasts Argento’s signature style.

The film tells the tale of blind Franco Arno (Karl Malden), who one night walking with his young niece Lori (Cinzia De Carolis) hears two men arguing. Arno asks Lori to describe the men as one of them is speaking about blackmail. The next morning, it is discovered that someone has broken into the Terzi Institute, which is researching criminal behavior as it correlates to genetics, and espionage is suspected, though it appears nothing was taken. However, the man that Arno overheard talking soon turns up dead and Arno seeks the help of journalist Carlo Giordani (James Franciscus) to solve the case. Meanwhile, more people connected to the Terzi Institute start turning up dead. Can Arno and Giordani find out who the killer is…before they are next?

Many people don’t appreciate The Cat O’ Nine Tails, and while it doesn’t have the same flashy style of other Argento movies, I still believe it is a fine film. Its storyline is much more linear than most of Argento’s films and even people that gripe that his films are “style over substance” can enjoy the straightforward whodunit story of The Cat O’ Nine Tails.

Despite the more subtle nature of this film, it certainly isn’t without the usual Argento pizzazz. There are lots of intriguing camera angles and lots of fluid camera movement. It even features the killer POV and extreme close ups of the killer’s eye that are used in other Argento films. Though it lacks the vivid colors of some of Argento’s other films, there are plenty of weird camera angles, constant movement and beautiful shots to keep the viewer engaged…and there is never any doubt that you are watching an Argento film.

The acting in the film is excellent, from Karl Malden as the blind Arno to James Franciscus as the journalist Giordani and even Cinzia De Carolis as the young Lori. Even the dubbing didn’t ruin the fine performances! The actors all made us believe in them, even when it was revealed that one of the leads may be the killer in a chilling and tense cemetery sequence.

There isn’t much blood in the film, as the killer prefers strangulation, but this didn’t dampen the experience at all for me. There is one jarring sequence in which a victim is pushed in front of a train and his body tumbles as the train’s brakes screech, but this is the most disturbing the film gets. Despite the lack of gore, the scenes in which the killer is stalking his or her intended victim are tense and the attacks are sudden. It is also interesting to note that most of the victims are male, quite a rarity in most giallo films, which was refreshing to see.

Speaking of rarities, there is also a subtext of homosexuality running throughout the narrative…not something you see everyday in a ‘70s giallo. Yet, it also speaks to Argento’s style and his boldness to cover “taboo” (at least back then) subjects.

Also of note is Ennio Morricone’s jazzy score, evocative of the times and Rome locale. It added enough punch to the proceedings and was quite effective during exciting sequences, particularly a high speed car chase and the thrilling scenes leading up to the finale.

My only complaint was the “reveal” of the bland killer. There are plenty of red herrings throughout the film and you probably can’t guess who it is just because of the numerous suspects, but even so the surprise is a bit disappointing and the ending a bit lackluster compared to other Argento films.

All in all, though, The Cat O’ Nine Tails is another excellent Argento films that shouldn’t be ignored or even considered as being inferior to his other works. It might be without his typical over the top flair and a bit more “mainstream”, but it still delivers a taut storyline that will keep you guessing to the end. Check out this underrated and under-watched Argento movie!

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The Card Player (2004)

After so much bad press The Card Player received, I had steered clear from this newer Argento film for many years. Dario Argento’s Suspiria is still one of my favorite horror films, and I also like his Deep Red, Tenebre, Inferno, Opera and Bird With the Crystal Plumage. While I was disappointed with his first season episode Jenifer, for Masters of Horror, his second season offering of Pelts brought back the blood-soaked and stylish-yet-sleazy Argento I had fallen in love with. With Argento’s history of hits and misses, I proceeded with trepidation when sitting down to finally watch The Card Player.

It's a cat-and-mouse game between the police and a killer who "wants to play a game." The particular game in question is Internet poker with some high stakes. If the killer wins, he will kill a victim he has kidnapped. If the police win, he'll let the victim go free. To make the police see what they are up against, there is a live web video feed of the bound and gagged victims on screen while they play poker against the madman. Police officer Anna Mari (Stefania Rocca) and Interpol investigator John Brennan (Liam Cunningham) join forces to try and stop the killer before he beats them at poker and kills another victim again.

If you are looking for a classic Argento movie, full of style, flamboyancy and soaked in blood, The Card Player is not your best bet. In fact, Argento fans were furious and disappointed when this film first came out. They insisted that Argento had "sold out" and was attempting to "go mainstream" with this film. The colorful and inventive Argento-style is gone, as are the gruesome murder set pieces so beloved by fans from other films such as Suspiria and Deep Red. The Card Player is certainly not the best by Argento, but it certainly isn't that bad of a movie.

The story is pretty typical of a crime thriller and the plot has its share of holes, but I've seen a lot worse. I appreciated that the story gets off to a very fast start; within the first ten minutes the killer has contacted Anna at the police station and the game has begun. The audience is thrust right into the action without the benefit of character or story development. The character development that comes later never really goes too deep, opting to explain just enough to justify, for example, why Anna loathes gambling and never really quite explaining why Anna and John fall for each other. The bad news is the second part of the film, when the action becomes repetitive and there are just too many clichéd moments. The climax of the movie, played out on train tracks, is annoying and seems childish. The killer's motive for the crimes is also childish and laughable.

The acting itself is top notch by the two leads, but secondary characters chew up the scenery with their over-the-top reactions when watching the Card Player's victims' deaths. There are some truly laugh-out-loud moments watching the other actors, and these silly scenes take much away from the overall tension of the film. This is a pity, because with better acting the atmosphere could have held the tension.

There are some scenes that are reminiscent of Argento's signature style – the first is when Anna notices that the killer is watching her from the bushes outside her apartment from an eerie reflection on her ashtray. The ensuing home invasion scene, which happens in the dark, is very effective and suspenseful. Another scene full of style is when Remo (Silvio Muccino), the wiz kid poker player the police hire to beat the killer, chases a pretty girl down the labyrinth streets of Rome only to end up in another game with the killer, this one in which he must risk his own life! The dark labyrinth of streets and the dark labyrinth of the underground sewer Remo is forced to enter creates a claustrophobic and dizzying sequence.

Besides these few and far between scenes that allude to Argento's earlier days, The Card Player is pretty unmemorable and feels like watered-down Argento. There is hardly any gore and the most squirm-inducing scene is one in which John pokes and prods at the orifices (including her slit neck) of a corpse in the autopsy room, looking for clues.

The Card Player is a bland, modern Argento film that I find a hard time recommending. If you are looking for one of Argento’s classic films, do not start with The Card Player. On the other hand, if you've exhausted your collection of Argento films and want to see what his newer efforts look like then The Card Player might be for you. Just don’t bet on getting a gore-filled, stylish Argento film with The Card Player…the odds for that are slim to none!

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Demons 2 (1986)

Demons 2 is a fun frolic, even though it doesn't live up to the original. Director Lamberto Bava teams with Dario Argento as producer to create a gory, fun but terribly convoluted movie.

In a large apartment complex, people are watching a horror documentary/movie on the first demon outbreak on TV. A group of four is entering the "forbidden" zone where the demons supposedly dwell to try and find evidence for their existence. Meanwhile, a whiny teen is having a party, a group of gym nuts are working out, a family is having dinner and a pregnant lady is doing Lamaze. A demon on TV is awakened and quickly kills the four members of the expedition. It then enters our world through the TV of the bellyaching party girl and turns her into a demon. She attacks her party-goers in grand, bloody fashion, who in turn also turn into demons. From there they raise havoc throughout the entire complex. The power is cut and everyone is trapped inside the building with the demons.

It's a pity that the narrative has so many plot holes, though, and not enough action or style to disguise them. Situations occur that are never resolved, characters are introduced only to never be seen again and things happen that are never explained. The acting (and dubbing) is atrocious for the most part, though it is fun to see a few familiar faces from the first Demons. While the story and acting is at times frustrating, if you go into Demons 2 just expecting a silly, sleazy, trashy, fun time, then you won't be too disappointed.

The signature gore is present, though don't expect too much in the way of special effects. Some of the effects (like the transformation of the dog) are downright silly and made me giggle. There is even a demon child in this film, that behaves a lot like an evil Gremlin. Bava doesn't have the visual style of of his father (Mario Bava) or of producer Argento, so the film's scenes are composed very simply with no frills. A little flourish here or there would have greatly heightened the nightmarish feel of the story, but that's just not Lamberto's style.

Demons 2 could have been made much better had someone taken the time to write a cohesive story and hired better actors. Unfortunately, this was a rush job after the success of Demons so we get a trashy, badly acted, silly story about demons in an apartment complex that doesn't quite fit together. This is truly a movie that's just for fun...if you just want to kick back, have a beer and turn your brain off for a while, Demons 2 is a good way to do it.

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Masters of Horror - Pelts (2006)

I was really disappointed with Dario Argento’s first episode from the Masters of Horror series, entitled Jenifer (review). To me it didn’t even feel like an Argento film and I was really let down. Considering this, I was apprehensive about watching his contribution to season two, but luckily Argento’s signature style is back with Pelts.

Jake (Meat Loaf Aday) is a sleazy furrier, hiring illegals to work in his foul-smelling shop and frequenting strip clubs, where he is obsessed with stripper Shana (Ellen Ewusie). Meanwhile, Pa Jameson (John Saxon) and his son Larry (Michal Suchanek) illegally trespass on recluse Mother Mayter’s (Brenda McDonald) property to trap some raccoons. After trapping a large number of raccoons, they realize that the pelts are the finest they’ve ever seen. Jameson calls Jake to tell him about the pelts and to offer to sell them. Spending too much time with the pelts, Larry begins to covet them, eventually murdering his father and killing himself. Jake arrives at the Jameson’s home to find the shocking scene, but he too becomes enamored of the pelts and decides to take them. He plans on making a coat and having Shana wear it in the next big fur trade show. Things soon go awry as anyone who gets close to the pelts is met with horrific death.

Argento has definitely crafted a fine, very bloody, erotic episode for season two of the Masters of Horror series. Stylistically, the movie is beautiful, utilizing bright colors and key lighting, which are part of Argento’s signature style. The gore is great here and really pushes the envelope as blood flows freely and often. Some sequences to enjoy include: a man getting his brain bashed in by a baseball bat, someone sticking their face in a bear trap, suffocation through self-inflicted stitching up of mouth, nose and even eyes, a self-evisceration and a man skinning himself.

I loved that there were clever little nods foreshadowing events in the film. When we see Jake attack Shana the first time, it is just a prelude to what comes after. It’s the same when the Jameson’s find that a raccoon has escaped a trap by chewing off its own foot…something like that happens later on.

The story, while original, is a bit far-fetched, but then again Argento’s strength lies in gorgeous and gory imagery. The explanation for the “curse” of the raccoons is not explained quite enough as well, but the imagery more than makes up for it. The characters are well fleshed out and the actors all do a fine job. Meat Loaf’s performance seemed a bit subdued, but it was still great to watch him play the sleazy furrier. I loved seeing John Saxon as the drunken trapper as well.

With scenes taking place in the strip clubs Jake so often frequents, a lot of female nudity is to be expected. Lap dances, pole dances and lots of boobies are seen. I find a lot of female nudity unnecessary, but with one of the leads being a stripper it is to be expected in this film. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this episode.

Argento definitely upped the ante for the Masters of Horror series with Pelts. It delivered buckets of blood and gore with ample style to back it all up. A tale of obsession that quickly turns into possession, this is one of the better episodes I’ve seen from the series and reminds me why I’m so enamored of Argento. Now, let’s hope that Argento’s La Terza Madre, one of the movies I’m anticipating most, will deliver as well!

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Masters of Horror - Jenifer (2005)

In Jenifer, directed by Dario Argento, a cop becomes attached to Jenifer, a deformed girl whom he rescues from a man about to kill her. Giving up his family and career, he does anything to protect her...

I was sorely disappointed in this movie. I am an Argento fan and was expecting so much more than this...throughout the 51 minute movie there are far too many sex scenes which lend nothing to the story. The story is weak and I could see the ending coming from a mile away...

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Opera (1987)

The great Dario Argento strikes again with Opera, another beautifully shot giallo/horror film that reminded me somewhat of Suspiria with its rich visuals. The movie itself centers around the decadent world of the opera, with its high drama, intricate stage sets, elaborate costumes, and inflated egos. Argento's stylish shots perfectly frame this opulence while he also builds dread with the dream-like atmosphere.

Opera is about Betty, a soprano understudy for the Lady Macbeth role in Verdi's infamous opera, Macbeth. The lead diva is hit by a car, and so Betty is brought in one hour before showtime to fill her place. This is her one big opportunity to make her debut, but she is nervous since the particular opera is said to be cursed. Nonetheless, she has a wonderful performance, except when a set of stage lights comes crashing down. The killer has arrived! He tried to watch the opera in peace (he seemed specifically interested in Betty), but an usher disturbed him. After a struggle in which the stage lights were sent flying, the usher ends up impaled on a coat hanger. The performance goes on, and it isn't until much later the usher's body is discovered.

After the performance, Betty gets a strange vibe from a police officer who gives her a rose and asks for her autograph, but he's only there to inspect the lighting accident. Later, Betty goes over to the stage manager's house, which is as big and cavernous as a museum. After some hanky panky, which doesn't lead to sex (the funniest line in the movie is spoken by him, which I can't recall word for word, but goes something like, "I thought all opera stars were always horny...some even have sex before every performance to relax their voice." Oooooh that was a hoot!), the masked killer shows up. When the stage manager leaves the room, the killer grabs Betty from behind, binds her to a column and tapes razor-sharp needles below her eyes. If she doesn't keep her eyes open, those nifty needles will poke her eyeballs out! When the stage manager boy returns, he is stabbed repeatedly while Betty is forced to watch with eyes open wide. After the killer is finished, he fondles her a little, for funsies I 'spose, and cuts her loose.

Betty, not wanting bad publicity, doesn't call the police. She instead walks the rainy streets in a daze, until her director, Mark, spots her and takes her home. She tells him what has happened and after she feels safe, he leaves.

Meanwhile, the killer goes back to the theater, where he slices up one of Betty's costumes. Ravens that are used in the opera are also housed there, and create quite a ruckus when the killer arrives. The killer delights in killing some of the birds, until the other birds begin attacking him. All the noise attracts a night watchmen, and the killer flees the theater.

The next morning at rehearsal, the same strange police officer from the first performance shows up. Turns out he's an inspector and is questioning everyone about the deaths of the usher, the stage manager and the ravens. Betty avoids him, not wanting to answer any questions about her whereabouts the previous night.

The killer shows up again at the theater, binding Betty and forcing her to watch another very bloody murder. We also start to see flashbacks of another woman being murdered while another bound woman watches nearby. Hmmmm...is Betty hiding something? Well, we learn that Betty actually had childhood dreams of the masked killer. Instead of dreams, could these be repressed memories?

These flashbacks as well as the lighting, sets, camera angles and high goriness factor add to the surreal aspect of this film. The dream-like atmosphere makes us doubt everyone and suspect everyone of being the killer. I even suspected Betty to be the killer, among with many other characters.

Many other killings follow, all done in different ways, but Betty is always forced to watch, wearing the needles under her eyes. The ending does not disappoint, with the ravens being set loose during a performance of the opera to attack the killer, who is sitting in the audience. It doesn't end there, though, but I'll just say the ending is very satisfying to watch, even if you guess who the killer is by the finale.

This film is highly recommended, especially if you already appreciate Argento's work. Even if you don't, the stunning visuals, beautiful shots and especially the gory kills make this a classic. Not as good as Suspiria, but Opera still delivers the screams.

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