Tenebre

Back when I was just getting into horror, I was diving into the hardcore stuff, which tended to be Italian sleaze from the 70s and 80s. Dario Argento was always a cool son of a bitch to me though. I loved Suspiria and wanted to dive into some of his other stuff, so I remember catching this one on YouTube back when YouTube was relatively new. Of course, the movie was split into about 10 parts because they had a limit of 10 or so minute videos max, but I'd watched a lot of what would end up being my favorite horror flicks that way.

Tenebre or Tenebrae (whatever the fuck that means) is a giallo about a writer who deals with a killer who kills in ways that refrence the author's latest book. The plot and relevance as to why the kills and targets are chosen is never an important factor, because these Italian films were never strong on the story. They were often strong on the style and vibes and how they could find a good way to kill someone to a good piece of music... often, in Dario's case, a Goblin soundtrack.

Somehow, these ingredients always seemed to work pretty well. There was something exotic and weirdly hypnotic about it, and Tenebre is no exception.

I've seen this movie a handful of times, though the specifics never seem to stick with me. Maybe that's because the story itself isn't that great, but maybe I was always drunk while watching it. Who knows. However, this movie has grown on me over the years, and I think it's one of Argento's best. That damn dog scene... and the inclusion of the late great John Saxon... and that bizarre ending... Dario loved to make his endings a fit of psychotic rage, and I like how these movies can just end the way they do.

Oh, how I miss those eccentric Italian horror movies...