Inferno (1980)

An American college student in Rome and his sister in New York investigate a series of killings in both locations where their resident addresses are the domain of two covens of witches.

Director:

Dario Argento

Writer:

Dario Argento (story)

Stars:

Leigh McCloskey, Irene Miracle, Eleonora Giorgi

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Leigh McCloskey	...	Mark Elliot
Irene Miracle	...	Rose Elliot
Eleonora Giorgi	...	Sara
Daria Nicolodi	...	Elise Stallone Van Adler
Sacha Pitoëff	...	Kazanian (as Sacha Pitoeff)
Alida Valli	...	Carol, the caretaker
Veronica Lazar	...	The Nurse
Gabriele Lavia	...	Carlo
Feodor Chaliapin Jr.	...	Professor Arnold / Dr. Varelli (as Feodor Chaliapin)
Leopoldo Mastelloni	...	John, the Butler
Ania Pieroni	...	Musical Student
James Fleetwood	...	Cook
Rosario Rigutini	...	Man
Ryan Hilliard	...	Shadow
Paolo Paoloni	...	Music Teacher

Storyline

Young poetess Rose Elliot buys a book from a local antique dealer, a diary in Latin of an architect, E. Varelli. She learns of the Three Mothers, and believes her apartment building is one of their houses. She pleads her brother Mark, who is studying musicology in Rome, to come, because she is afraid. Mark's friend Sara reads her letter, which he left behind in class, and discovers the school is run by the Mater Lacrimarum, and is killed for this knowledge. The house of Mater Suspiriorum has already been destroyed, and by the time Mark arrives in New York City, he is investigating his sister's murder.

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Plot Keywords:

house | murder | book | new york city | evil | 

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Taglines:

Terror that's hotter than hell!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

2 April 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dario Argento's Inferno

Filming Locations:

Elios Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Produzioni Intersound

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min 102 min (heavily cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

English film critic Kim Newman once called 'Inferno' the most underrated horror film of the 1980's.

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Goofs

The scene at Central Park takes place during a lunar eclipse. However, the eclipse mimics the aesthetic characteristics of a solar eclipse with the Moon being completely blacked out, surrounded by a corona, just as if something had moved between Earth and Moon. However a real lunar eclipse doesn't appear to be pitch black but as a dark reddish layer and there certainly isn't a corona which is a feature of the sun.

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Quotes

[Reading from "The Three Mothers," by E. Varelli]
Rose Elliot: I do not know what price I shall have to pay for breaking what we alchemists call Silentium, the life experiences of our colleagues should warn us not to upset laymen by imposing our knowledge upon them.

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Connections

Referenced in Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Va' pensiero..."
(from opera "Nabucco")
Music by Giuseppe Verdi'
Performed by Orchestra Sinfonica della Radiotelevisione Italiana (as Symphonic Orchestra and Chorus of Rome Radio Televisione Italiana)
Chorus master by Gaetano Riccitelli
Conducted by Fernando Previtali
Courtesy of Fonit Cetra

User Reviews

A mixed bag.

Dario Argento is a master of his genre, no doubt about that, but his script here is pure hokum. The film has a number of striking images (the mysterious beauty that appears out of nowhere in the classroom; the drapes being slowly ripped apart by the nails of a stabbed-to-death woman; the close-up of Daria Nicolodi's lips; the pursuer at the library's basement, whose face remains in the dark, but whose hands are clearly not human), and a very peculiar architectural design, with secret passages leading to all sorts of hidden rooms to other passages to other rooms....However, as many others have said, the film is best approached as a dream, because the plot is incoherent and there are several scenes that run on too long. It does get better on the second viewing. (**)