Inferno (1980)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Dario Argento

Writer:

Dario Argento (story)

Release Date:

2 April 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Terror that's hotter than hell!

Plot:

Semi-sequal to 'Suspiria' has a American college student in Rome, and his sister in New York investigating a series of killings in both locations where their resident addresses are the domain of two covens of witches.

Plot Keywords:

New York | House | Evil | Murder | Rome

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Dario Argento's Inferno

Runtime:

107 min | Germany:106 min | Sweden:102 min (heavily cut)

Country:

Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 (cut) | France:-12 | France:-16 (original rating) | Italy:VM14 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 (heavily cut) | USA:R | West Germany:18 | UK:18 (cut) | UK:X (cut) | Finland:K-18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Elios Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Produzioni Intersound

Trivia:

For some of the exterior location shoots in Italy footage of New York City skyscrapers were superimposed in the background to make it appear like the films NYC setting.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The depiction of the lunar eclipse is scientifically wrong. It is very similar to a solar eclipse, in which the moon would move between sun and earth. During a real lunar eclipse the moon moves into the shadow of the earth and its color turns into deep red. This takes usually hours.

Quotes:

Sara: Have you ever heard of the Three Sisters?
Carlo: You mean those black singers?
Sara: No, I'm talking about mythology.
Carlo: Hold on, if you're talking about spooks and stuff, I don't believe in any of that.
Sara: How can you be so sure?
Carlo: I don't believe in such things, that's all, and without any philosophical discussion.
Sara: Then what do you believe in?
Carlo: In whatever I can see and touch.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Head for Horror: Lamberto Bava on 'Macabre' (2001) (V)

Soundtrack:

Va' pensiero...

Argento is a Genius

Out of all of the horror films I have seen, there have one been a few that I found truely frightening. Suspiria and Inferno were among the few. The Cinematagraphy and the music in these films is extraordinary. I know a lot of regular film goers, people who take courses on analyzing films, I do by the way, and they love Argento's work. I see some reviews here bad mouthing the plot and the poor acting in Inferno. While I admit the actors are not spectacular the plot is there, it is simply not what you normally see. This is NOT a Hollywood film, this is not a plot driven film, like a lot of Argento films, this film's plot is more like the plot of a Nightmare. This IS a horror film and it IS very frightening and very well made. I am getting sick of all the Hollywood remakes myself, like this recent film "Decoys", while I have not seen this film, it looks like a Hollywood version of David Cronenberg's Rabid. But that's another subject. I recommend any Argento film to anyone also sick of the Hollywood films.