JENIFER by Dario Argento (55mins)
Masters of Horror Series
+ Horor Filmmaking documentary (120 mins)
English Language
Jenifer
is the fourth episode of the first season of Masters of Horror. It
originally aired in North America on November 18, 2005. It was directed
by Dario Argento, and written by and starring Steven Weber. "Jenifer" is
adapted from a 10-page black-and-white comic book story, written by
Bruce Jones and illustrated by Berni Wrightson, that originally appeared
in issue #63 (July 1974) of the horror anthology title Creepy.
Jenifer: Dario Argento - 55 mins
Detective
Frank Spivey is a witness to the attack on a young woman with a
mutilated face. He saves her life and in a fit of compassion takes to
own home. Jenifer, because that is the name of the girl, but begins to
arouse in him not only a feeling of concern, but also a desire that
turns into an obsession. Frank will see that it can be devastating, as
Jenifer has a destructive force ...
That said,
Jenifer does a great job at being unsettling. It's not
in any way subtle though, and it's a departure from Argento's previous
work both stylistically and thematically. Not inherent problems, as it's
clear that Argento at this point was attempting to evolve - this film
just doesn't make a strong case for itself. That and the writing is
downright bad. There's not a whole lot else to latch on to either. When I
heard the first few "la, la, las" in the opening sequence I thought
Claudio Simonetti was back in fully form, but this is no
Deep Red. The majority of the score sounds indistinguishable from typical TV fare.
I'm thinking for a future review you need to evaluate the John Travolta masterpiece, The Experts. I recently re-watched it (a first since 1990) on netflix instant... And it's absurdity and tackiness would find a good home here along with Death Spa with a review!
You have to love a movie that has to include its title as part of the storyline ("Motel Hello" minus the last "o" equals?...).
Speaking of "future reviews", I have one for you, if you're interested. It's a comedy from 1984 entitled "Second Time Lucky" starring Diane Franklin. I've only seen parts of it, but I think you'll have a field day evaluating this movie.
You talked about the schore, but one thing you didn't mention was the workout music selection. Tell me there's 80s power rock to rival KILLER WORKOUT'S elusive and awesome soundtrack, and I'll beggar the church's coffers for a copy!
Anyway, yeah, I'll check it out.
Matt: I completely forgot that Motel Hell employs the same "title as part of the storyline" technique as Death Spa.
You've only seen parts of it?!? Now that's an endorsement. Just kidding. You had me at Diane Franklin.
Let me write down the title: "Second. Time. Lucky." Done.
The Vicar of VHS: Technology run amuck, exploding heads, yeah, there is a bit of a Chopping Mall vibe going on in the film. Good call.
The reason I didn't mention any of the films totally awesome '80s power rock was because there wasn't any. :(
Actually, there is one song that fits the bill that's featured during the end credits, but that's it.
My word verification is "pestio", which also happens to be the name of an Italian chef who doubled as a magician superhero. Busy dude.
My Finnish made bike is a Hell Spa, except it's spelled "Helspa."
Anyway, Hell Spa, eh? Sounds super obscure (10 whole people have voted for it on IMDb).
Very busy, especially the whole being Italian part.
I briefly thought of you as I lovingly cradled a copy of Turkish Stars Wars in my arms at my local video joint earlier this evening.
Just started checking out the blog. Digging it so far.
Cheers!