Aenigma (1987)

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.

Director:

Lucio Fulci

Writers:

Lucio Fulci (screenplay), Giorgio Mariuzzo (screenplay)

Stars:

Jared Martin, Lara Lamberti, Ulli Reinthaler

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jared Martin	...	Dr. Robert Anderson
Lara Lamberti	...	Eva Gordon (as Lara Naszinski)
Ulli Reinthaler	...	Jenny Clark
Sophie d'Aulan	...	Kim
Jennifer Naud	...	Grace O'Neal
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

Storyline

Kathy is an outcast at an elite New England boarding school whom lands in a coma resulting from accidentally being hit by a car during a cruel practical joke against her by several car loads of her tormentors. A little later, Eva, a new arrival to the school, takes over Kathy's old room and begins socializing with some of the girls responsible for Kathy's condition. It turns out that Eva is a pawn under the control of the comatose Kathy from her hospital bed in seeing revenge against those whom did her wrong, while Kathy's physician, meets and begins dating Eva whom also targets his latest girlfriend.

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Plot Keywords:

male objectification | hairy chest | tank top | man wearing a tank top | falling to one's death | 

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Taglines:

Possessed by revenge! [Canada]

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Italy Yugoslavia

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

1 September 1988 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Ænigma

Filming Locations:

Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

A.M. Trading International S.r.l., Sutjeska Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lucio Fulci: A police detective at the crime scene of Fred Vernon's death.

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Goofs

Doctor Anderson's car has European license plates instead of U.S. plates or more specifically, Massachusetts Plates.

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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!

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Alternate Versions

The version released by Image Entertainment as part of their "EuroShock Collection" is missing some minor bits of dialogue throughout, and is also missing a 5-second flashback sequence when Eva is sitting on the bench. This version runs 86 minutes, while the original Italian version is approximately 90 minutes.

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Connections

Referenced in La notte americana del dr. Lucio Fulci (1994)

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Soundtracks

Head Over Heels
(misspelled as "Head Over Meels")
Written by Douglas Meakin (as A.D. Meakin) and Carlo Maria Cordio (as C.M. Cordio)
Sung by Douglas Meakin
Published by Giuliana & Schmidl s.r.l.

User Reviews

Worth a look for Fulci fans, really....

I am not surprised to see mostly negative reviews for Fulci's 1987 "Carrie" inspired "Aenigma". It does not stand up to his late 70's/early 80's gore epics that you all are familiar with. But wait, let's remember that Fulci is still visually inventive in 87, with lots of great camera moves and flair. The man knew how to tell a story, folks. He may have been a jerk to his colleagues, but what a great craftsman. He was trying to make a US style teenager quasi slasher popcorn movie here, a lighter less horrifying type of deal. I think it should also be said that this was well cast. The beautiful college girls each play their roles with unique personalities, something you won't find in most US films of this type. The geeky girl in the red dress is a hoot, and so is the famous snail scene. Best of all is the English new wave/pop sappy romance song that sets up the audience perfectly. It's an interesting and engaging story, even if it is clearly inspired by Carrie. And unlike so many other horror films, the ending is rewarding, logical AND suspenseful. I still haven't seen a Fulci film that I don't like, and this is no exception...check it out!