Aenigma (1987)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

Lucio Fulci

Writers:

Lucio Fulci (screenplay)
Lucio Fulci (story)

Release Date:

30 December 1987 (France)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

They made a clown out of Kathy once too often!

Plot:

The spirit of a comatose teenage girl possesses the body of a newcomer to her girls boarding school to enact bloody revenge against the elitist, lingerie-clad coeds responsible for her condition.

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Hospital | Prank | Desperation | Teenkill

Cast

Jared Martin	...	Dr. Robert Anderson
Lara Naszinsky	...	Eva Gordon (as Lara Naszinski)
Ulli Reinthaler	...	Jenny Clark
Sophie d'Aulan	...	Kim
Jennifer Naud	...	Grace O'Neil
Riccardo Acerbi	...	Fred Vernon
Kathi Wise	...	Virginia Williams
Milijana Zirojevic	...	Kathy (as Mijlijana Zirojevic)
Dragan Bjelogrlic	...	Tom (as Dragan Ejelogrlic)
Ljiljana Blagojevic	...	Ms. Jones (as Lijlijana Blagojevic)
Franciska Spahic	...	Joanne
Dusica Zegarac	...	Mary
Zorica Lesic	...	Miss James
Zoran Lesic
Rade Colovic	...	Tom

Also Known As:

Ænigma (Italy) (alternative spelling) (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

90 min | USA:85 min

Country:

Italy | Yugoslavia

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (self applied) (2004) | UK:15 (re-rating) (2003) | UK:18 (original rating) | Argentina:18 | France:-12 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Belgrade, Serbia

Company:

A.M. Trading International S.r.l.

Quotes:

Eva Gordon: Let's get one thing straight! A successful semester to me means making out with as many cute boys as possible. Let's put it this way: anything in pants!

Movie Connections:

References Top Gun (1986)

Soundtrack:

Head Over Heels

Ugly duckling becomes ravishing slayer.

Judging by the amount of other user-comments and their content around here, this "Aenigma" (love the alternate spelling!) is a lesser known and thoroughly hated Lucio Fulci film. Well sure, it's not a patch on his earlier work but still it remains a remotely enjoyable bloodbath with some inventive killings (the snails!!) and an appealing cast of young & sexy schoolgirls. The story, although highly unoriginal, is easy to follow, unpretentious and fast-paced. Black sheep of Catholic girl's dorm Kathy is involved in a near-fatal car accident after a prank with the school's gym teacher. Shortly after, a new and extrovert girl makes her entry in the dorm but her mind seems controlled by the comatose Kathy. Through Eva Gordon, Kathy and her spiritual mother see a chance for revenge, starting with the death of the insufferable macho gym teacher. Fulci keeps the gore under control this time and focuses more on the brooding atmosphere. "Aenigma" features some beautiful camera-work, although admittedly, the same camera angles are often re-used several times. The girls' acting is extremely hammy and it's a good thing they all all look so cute, otherwise it would have been a lot more difficult to struggle yourself through the movie. Nothing spectacular or special, but it certainly isn't terrible, neither.