An American horror author goes to Italy and finds himself the target of a killer's obsession. Sounds simple enough but 1982's Tenebrae is actually bonkers as fuck. Although many analysts and director Dario Argento himself see logical themes and poetic structure to the film, these things pale in comparison to the film's gloriously nonsensical true nature.
Tony Franciosa plays Peter Neal, the author, whose bag is tampered with at the airport by his glamorous ex-wife, Jane (Veronica Lario). Meanwhile, a woman is caught shoplifting in Rome and offers sex to the store manager in recompense. She's harassed by a homeless man on the way home and is then murdered by a shrouded figure. It's already clear Argento is playing with subtextual ideas of guilt and punishment but, whatever the motivation, the scene is far more interesting just as a depiction of a naughty woman having a very strange day.
The crowning achievement of the film, as far as I'm concerned, is a scene in which an innocent young woman in a micro-miniskirt is randomly chased by a dog and, completely by chance, ends up in the killer's home. This girl also happens to be the daughter of the owner of the hotel where Neal is staying and was assisting Neal in his amateur investigation.
Some say the dog is a reference to Hound of the Baskervilles, which is elsewhere referenced more directly in the film. Maybe it is but I prefer to think of it as just a totally random manifestation of the sadistic humour of fate. It's like a scene from a Mack Sennett comedy plopped into a slasher film and twisted into a nightmare.
Every time Argento presents the viewer with some obviously pregnant symbol or reference, his intended meaning is all but obliterated by just how magnificently, boldly weird it is. It's almost like L'Age d'Or or something but this level of surreal may not be achievable by conscious intention.
Tenebrae is available on The Criterion Channel as part of their synth soundtrack films collection. The score for this movie is pretty groovy.
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