“Dark Glasses” A return to the origins of giallo, full of Argento-esque chords

"Dark Glasses" synopsis

A bizarre series of murders occur in Rome, targeting only prostitutes. The fourth target, call girl Diana, was also involved in a serious accident when her car was crashed by the killer, causing her to lose sight in both eyes. A bond is formed between her and Chin, a boy who lost both of her parents in the same accident, and they end up living together, but the psychopathic killer continues to try to kill Diana and her friends.

Index

• “Master of Horror” makes a comeback after 10 years
• see/be seen
• blind hero
• argento code

“Master of Horror” makes a comeback after 10 years

Dario Argento, the “Master of Horror”. This master artist, who once shocked the world with `` Deep Red '' (1975) and `` Suspiria '' (1977), has completely retreated from the center stage. After all, the last feature film he announced was `` Dario Argento's Dracula '' (12), released in 2012. Perhaps it was a mistake to dabble in the unfamiliar 3D, with a very low rating of 14% on the movie review site Rotten Tomatoes. After that, he did not make any new works and was completely treated as a ``past person''.

However, he returned to the film industry in an unexpected way. At the age of 80, he made his starring debut in Gaspard Noé's latest film ``VORTEX'' (21) (starring the legendary French actress Françoise Leblanc!). This is an ambitious work that depicts the final moments of an elderly couple's lives entirely in split screen. It premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, and the Los Angeles Times praised it, saying, ``The film is anchored by two incredibly committed and emotional performances.'' He showed off his surprising talent as an actor.

In 2021, film critic Steve Della Casa published a book called ` `Dario Argento. Due o tre cose che sappiamo di lui'' (Dario Argento: A few things we know about him) . In June 2022, New York's Lincoln Center will hold a retrospective titled "Beware of Dario Argento." Over the past year or two, there has been a movement to reevaluate the genre, and the world is getting ready to once again welcome the "Master of Horror." Amid this momentum, his latest work ``Dark Glasses'' (22), his first in 10 years, was finally released. Our Argento is back!

“Dark Glasses” Copyright 2021 © URANIA PICTURES SRL e GETAWAY FILMS SAS

In fact, this work was scheduled to be produced in 2002, 20 years ago. It was also decided that Dario Argento's daughter, actress and film director Asia Argento, would play the lead actress. However, the production company went bankrupt in the middle of location scouting. Filming was stalled, and the script was left in the back of a drawer as a work by a phantom director.

Years pass, and while Asia is digging through documents at her father's house to write her autobiography, she discovers the long-dormant script for ``Dark Glasses.'' Instinctively, she realized that the time was right for this film to be made, so she offered herself as an associate producer, and instead of playing the lead role, she played the role of walking trainer Rita, supporting her father's comeback after a 10-year hiatus. The result is a bizarre suspense story in the style of Dario Argento, in which a blind prostitute is targeted by an unknown killer.

He was also active as a producer of `` Dawn of the Dead '' (1978) and the `` Demons '' series, so he has a strong impression of occult horror colored with a fresh blood aesthetic. As with ``The Four Flies '' (1971), it has its origins in the original Italian thriller called giallo. This work is not a challenge to new technology such as 3D, but an extremely old school work that has returned to its roots.

see/be seen