Phenomena (1985)
Distributor: Arrow Video
DVD Release date: 7th March 2011 (UK)
Directed by: Dario Argento
Starring: Jennifer Connelly, Donald Pleasence, Daria Nicolodi
Review by: Stephanie Scaife
I should probably start with saying that I’m not the biggest Argento fan in the world. I think he’s a little overrated and whilst he has made a couple of decent films, for me his oeuvre has mostly just not been very good at all. However, this is one that I do quite like and I’d go as far as saying that it’s his most batshit insane film, and for Argento that’s saying a lot. Phenomena is also apparently Argento’s own favourite of his films to date.
Phenomena centres around Jennifer Corvino (Jennifer Connelly) the daughter of a famous movie star, who is sent to a prestigious Swiss boarding school, The Richard Wagner Academy for girls, where students are being preyed on by a local serial killer. Jennifer has an unusual fondness for insects and is also prone to bouts of sleepwalking. During one episode she witnesses the murder of a student, then upon waking finds herself in the company of entomologist John McGregor (Donald Pleasence, doing a rather strange Scottish accent). McGregor is wheelchair bound and relies on the help of Inga, his chimpanzee nurse; he is also the first to witness Jennifer’s developing psychic powers which enable her to communicate with insects. She then sets about using her new found powers to track down the killer and fend off the bullying girls at her school.
I don’t want to spoil anything for those who haven’t seen the film, but the plot just gets crazier as it goes along and even includes numerous shots from the insect’s point of view, all to the sound of a 1980s heavy metal soundtrack provided by Argento regular Goblin as well as Iron Maiden and Motorhead amongst others. This was also Argento’s first film to be shot in English, meaning that the awful dubbing is kept to a minimal, although only Connelly and Pleasence shot their scenes together in sync sound.
This frankly bizarre combination of giallo and fantasy makes for interesting viewing, even if it is not without its flaws. For an Argento film the gore is fairly subdued, instead offering something uncharacteristically calm for the most part, although the opening scene provides one of his most infamous set pieces; where a school girl is decapitated by a faceless killer. As you can probably gather the films also forgoes any sense of logic, to an even greater extent than most within the genre, but if you can get past that this it is an exceptionally barmy treat, and Argento’s blatant disregard for coherency is admirable.
True to form Arrow really delivers the goods with this DVD, including a 4 panel reversible sleeve, fold out poster, a HD transfer of the original Italian cut of the film, various audio options, an informative making-of documentary, a Q&A with the special effects artist Sergio Stivaletti and much more. The DVD and Blu-ray are region free too, making this a fantastic package for film buffs the world over. Arrow seems to be firmly establishing itself as the Criterion of cult and horror cinema.