Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

At its essence, Inferno tells a classic horror movie tale about a haunted house. It's a bit odd, bombards the viewer with random, twisted imagery when least expected, attacks the senses with a kaleidoscope of colors, and overpowers the eardrums with pounding piano accompaniment.

Beginning in what feels like a movie half-finished, a woman is reading a book about Three Mothers (Tenebrarum, Suspiriorum, and Lachrymarum). Written by an architect/alchemist named Varelli, it tells of these three evil entities their resting places. One such place is in New York, and the young lady, Rose, reading/translating the Latin book senses a connection to her surroundings.

Even though I had to watch the introduction twice to understand it, with talks of mothers, keys, cellars, and what-not, the story sets up fairly well. Although, the beginning is a little too packaged for most viewers, myself included, but from all that I have read of Argento, the zip-locked plot is not the important part. The voice-over continuously leading both Rose and the viewer towards the next step is hilarious: "The second key is hidden in the cellar."

What follows is the meat of the story, doom and gloom awaits any who dare delve into the wickedness of not only the Three Mothers story, but also any who snoop around the house - the true star of the movie. Characters die non-connected albeit creative deaths, as the world itself, ostensibly controlled by the Three Mothers, unleashes its fury. Spectacular deaths, amazing in both their gore and their senselessness, it's horror for the sake of horror, with no pretense or worry about an in depth plot or protagonist.

Being an Argento neophyte, I can say one thing without reservation about Inferno: This is absolutely not the right movie to start viewing his work. For all of the movies in his oeuvre, and for all fans passionate fans, jumping straight into Argento's Inferno is a little too hot; there needs to be a period to adjust to the heat. While the lighting, colors, and sets for some of the scenes are way ahead of their time, at times it feels like a movie directed by someone with severe ADHD, jumping from here to there without transition. This movie is directed explicitly for the foreign horror connoisseur, a person with true passion for the legacy of horror. I'm sure it's perfect for the target audience. Granted it's an obviously older movie and can be appreciated as such, it's much too spastic and disconnected, not to mention extremely lacking in character development to actually create a new Argento fan.

Beware the bag o'cats.

The bleeding of colours, each stain accumulates into the abscess corners of the mind, painting an abstract consciousness that alters awareness and keeps you acclimated to the doubts that are simmering in the corners of your psyche. You bend your comprehension to adapt to the evil that surrounds you, but you're left breathing the air from the dark side of the bubble. Fear is your only god.

This movie is a smoldering mess of twisted elegance. Absolutely brilliant. A psychedelic montage of disturbing images and surreal events that will whittle your perceptions and sculpt your inner being into an object of perfection. Either that or it will drive you crazy.

Part 2 of the Mother's trilogy, this is even more surreal than Suspiria, if you can believe that. It actually gives a better understanding of the 3 Mothers as well. A unique film with incredible effects and a haunting score. Really one of a kind, I wish more movies were made like this! Every bit as great as Suspiria, I can say with NO hesitation.