Reviews

I can't say that I fully understood a lot of the happenings in Wrong, I am not sure if I was supposed to, but I enjoyed it none the less. It is an emotional journey; the central premise of a man loosing his dog is something that I could identify with as a dog lover as being an incredibly harrowing, discomforting and disorientating experience and the imagery of the film does a lot to reinforce those feelings. Wrong feels like an art house film, abstract, beautifully shot with a surreal edge that somehow never feels random or out of place and never goes too far with weird for weirdness sake. There is a point (as opposed to the directors last feature -Rubber).

Wrong avoids alienating the audience by virtue of the great characters, they're actions given the context of the film seem perfectly understandable and you will identify with them.

Also, the film has made me reconsider my relationship to my dog, in a way that no other film has done before.

I cried.

Dario Argento as it has been said many a time, is one of the true masters of horror cinema, and while I feel some of his films lack structure and tend to be too self indulgent; Phenomena is in my opinion one of the most coherent well structured Argento films if not one of the greatest horror films of all time. I would go as far to say that it has elements of his previous work such as Suspira but it also brought to my mind films such as Carrie and Friday the 13th. It is hard to classify it- more than the sum of it's parts, not just a slasher, or supernatural thriller, Phenomena incorporates many elements of classic horror and manages the tricky balancing act of maintaining a sense of realism married with the eerie dream like state (that most of Argento's films are so well known for), and does so with great skill, never managing to slip into the ridiculous never once stepping out of the world it creates for itself and never once becoming farcical.

This is helped greatly by the superb leads of Jennifer Connelly and Donald Pleasance who for the duration of the film play it straight and actually do a rare thing for 80's horror, make you actually empathise with their characters, never hammed up nor cardboard cut-out caricatures but very sympathetic and real people who's motives and actions are never out of place. Jennifer's 'gift' is never over laboured and is very well deployed as a plot device for moving the story forward.

The Claudio Simonetti score is probably one of the most apt for an Argento film (I would say as good if not more so than Suspiria) and helps build the suspense and genuine sense of dread throughout.

The setting itself is very creepy and once again is very much a part of creating the unsettling atmosphere while also providing some kind of reasoning for the events that are taking place. (You will understand while watching the film). The Swiss Alps provide a cinematic canvas very unlike Argento's atypical Gothic settings that I feel can be over used.

I cannot stress how surprised I was that the film is so well polished, the editing is not choppy and the soundtrack does not cut off at random points like so many other Italian horror films of that time, it is hugely entertaining, well paced and never goes off on a tangent (Opera anyone?). The climax is incredibly nail biting and also a little heart wrenching, and the events that take place throughout never seem out of context, and when the credits roll you will not be disappointed.

Truly one of the greats of Italian horror cinema, go and see it.

What can I say about this movie that has not been said by all the other comments here, they pretty much sum up everything, the people who love it cherish it, the people who hate it... well, they loathe it. This is the movie equivalent of Marmite.

I personally have committed every second of it to memory, it is cyclical, claustrophobic, introspective, magical and stands as being one of the most unique films ever made. Despite what many have stated, I believe this truly is a cult movie, it is a diamond in the rough just waiting to be discovered, once unearthed it's fantastical psychedelic visuals and incredible soundtrack will be unforgettable, which is an achievement in itself. One of my friends who watched it likened it more to a musical, and in many respects to those who do not fully appreciate the context in which this film is made, would probably get more out of it to view Head as such.

I was always fond of the Monkees, especially the T.V. show back when it was repeated during the 80's. My mum had recorded Head for me when it was shown on T.V. late night, as she knew I liked them, I watched it a day later and it lodged in my memory until I was able to find a copy on DVD about 2 decades later, what I would love now is a special edition, it would be fascinating to get a greater insight into the making of this masterpiece. We can only hope.