Recently watching the two Dario Argento directed eps of the TV show Door Into Darkness again,I realised that for some reason I have never got round to seeing the final (non Argento directed) ep,which led to me deciding that it was time to finally close the door into darkness.
The plot:
Escaping from a mental hospital,a patient goes on the run.With the patient having spent their whole life in the hospital,the police and doctors rush to find the patient before they kill someone.Locating the patient,the doctors start to think that this might offer a chance to "cure" the patient of their madness.
View on the ep:
For the longest ep in the series (61 minutes),co-writer/(along with Marcella Elsberger) director Mario Foglietti (who unlike the other two directors,only worked on TV) displays cinematic flourishes,from the ultra-stylised first person opening allowing the viewer to escape from the hospital,to jumpy,hand-held shots unravelling the patient's instability.Given the longest running time of the 4 eps,the screenplay by Foglietti & Elsberger aims to mix Giallo investigating with psychological chills.Whilst the detectives stomp round the city gives the ep a firm Film Noir edge,the writers are disappointingly unable to get a grip on the running time,with the search for the patient having a wandering mood which sadly stops the excellent twist from truly fitting into a pair of Giallo gloves.Being the biggest name to star in the series, Erika Blanc gives a wonderful performance as Elena Moreschi,thanks to Blanc giving Moreschi a sweetness which impressively chimes with the twist ending,as the door into darkness closes.
The plot:
Escaping from a mental hospital,a patient goes on the run.With the patient having spent their whole life in the hospital,the police and doctors rush to find the patient before they kill someone.Locating the patient,the doctors start to think that this might offer a chance to "cure" the patient of their madness.
View on the ep:
For the longest ep in the series (61 minutes),co-writer/(along with Marcella Elsberger) director Mario Foglietti (who unlike the other two directors,only worked on TV) displays cinematic flourishes,from the ultra-stylised first person opening allowing the viewer to escape from the hospital,to jumpy,hand-held shots unravelling the patient's instability.Given the longest running time of the 4 eps,the screenplay by Foglietti & Elsberger aims to mix Giallo investigating with psychological chills.Whilst the detectives stomp round the city gives the ep a firm Film Noir edge,the writers are disappointingly unable to get a grip on the running time,with the search for the patient having a wandering mood which sadly stops the excellent twist from truly fitting into a pair of Giallo gloves.Being the biggest name to star in the series, Erika Blanc gives a wonderful performance as Elena Moreschi,thanks to Blanc giving Moreschi a sweetness which impressively chimes with the twist ending,as the door into darkness closes.