I think if we delve into Dario Argento's past we may find a deep, dark secret involving being sent away to a boarding school . . .
The three movies I have seen so far of Argento's have involved girls away at school. Maybe he has a fetish? Anywho,
Phenomena was surprisingly cohesive and like the other two movies I have seen very, very good.
We start out with a young foreign girl who misses her bus and is brutally murdered. All that is found of her is her head. This has begun a series of grisly murders in the area. At around the same time we meet Prof. John McGregor (Donald Pleasance) who is an entomologist working on the case. He has a trusty sidekick as well named Inga (Tanga) who also happens to be his nursemaid. Inga is a monkey by the way.
We also run into Jennifer Corvino (Jennifer Connelly) who is the daughter of a famous actor who has been sent away to boarding school while her father finishes a film he is working on. Jennifer has a nasty habit of sleepwalking and the headmistress (Dalila Di Lazzaro) is none too fond of it. She decides that Jennifer is insane and devotes a lot of her time trying to get Jennifer committed. Jennifer also has a way with the insects. It seems she is able to communicate with them and they with her. Trust me, this comes in handy later in the film.
As with most of Argento's work, you are slowly taken through a kaleidoscope of a film all very well done and with some seemingly disconnected pieces. The nice thing about Phenomena is that all of the pieces do seem to fit together at one time or another.
The mood of the film is very dark and mysterious and the surroundings are quite ominous. That's possibly why Argento always seems to pick old European boarding schools to place his films. They just have this very weird weighted feeling to them. As always the soundtrack is superb. I have to say that is one of my favorite parts of a Dario Argento film - the music. There were also quite a few times during
Phenomena that I actually got very squirmy and vocal . . . had mostly to do with all of the maggots and bugs. I am definitely NOT a bug person!
In any case this is a definite recommend.
Phenomena Movie Cast and Credits
Directed by
Dario Argento
Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Dario Argento screenplay
Dario Argento story
Franco Ferrini screenplay
Franco Ferrini story
Cast (in credits order)
Jennifer Connelly .... Jennifer Corvino
Daria Nicolodi .... Frau Brückner
Fiore Argento .... Vera Brandt
Dalila Di Lazzaro .... Headmistress
Patrick Bauchau .... Insp. Rudolf Geiger
Federica Mastroianni .... Sophie
Donald Pleasence .... Prof. John McGregor
Fiorenza Tessari .... Gisela Sulzer
Mario Donatone .... Morris Shapiro
Francesca Ottaviani .... Nurse
Michele Soavi .... Kurt (Geiger's assistant)
Franco Trevisi .... Real estate agent
Fausta Avelli .... Gisela Sulser
Marta Biuso .... Schoolgirl
Geraldine Thomas .... Schoolgirl
Tanga .... Inga
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dario Argento .... Narrator (Italian version) (voice) (uncredited)
Franca Berdini .... Teacher (uncredited)
Sophie Bourchier .... Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Kaspar Capparoni .... Karl (Sophie's boyfriend) (uncredited)
Alberto Cracco .... UBS bank teller (uncredited)
Paola Gropper .... Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Ninke Hielkema .... Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Antonio Maimone .... EEG doctor (uncredited)
Davide Marotta .... Patua (Bruckner child) (uncredited)
Fulvio Mingozzi .... Mr. Sulzer (uncredited)
Mitzy Orsini .... Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Marisa Simonetti .... Schoolgirl (uncredited)More Phenomena Reviews and Information
Phenomena Reviews at Rotten TomatoesPhenomena Movie Review and Information Page at The Internet Movie Database
