Tenebre (aka Unsane)

Year: 1982

Grade: B

Country: Italy

Director: Argento

Review

i’ve only seen a few argento films and i’ve never been as stunned as i’m supposed to be, but this film came closest to achieving the level that he is usually associated with. it’s not a straight horror film, it’s more of a suspense/thriller, but it does have some horrifying moments. the downside of the film is that it’s a bit lost in translation – in part because its dialogue is looped in post-production, in part because it’s an italian film (though the dialogue is all in english), and in part because it’s an early 80s film. the upside is that the film is well-paced with some good acting and a fairly compelling story. best of all, though, is its direction. even though it’s a bit general, i think that “artistic” is the best way to describe argento’s direction in this film. he takes a lot of liberties that aren’t usually found in thrillers; he’s not afraid to leave the viewer hanging a bit, or throw in shots that, at first, seem nonsensical. i think that this film elevates the thriller genre which is generally populated by unintelligent films like “twisted.” a good film.