It seems that there have always been people around who claim they can communicate telepathically with animals. This has extended to the insect world although it is dubious as to what kind of thoughts you could gather with such abilities. This is one of the many plot devices employed in the latest Dario Argento flick to hit American DVDs, ‘Phenomena’. This is the most recent in the line of Argento classics that are finding new life with Anchor Bay releases. The release presented here is the 110 minute USA edit that restores much of the original international material. Previously the American release was a much cut and diluted 84 minutes long. For those that have the previous Anchor Bay releases this may seem as if it is a re-branding instead of a new release since it appears that the extras and technical specifications are the same. Unlike the previous release the 1.66:1 video is anamorphic this time out. As with most films by the Italian horror master you will most likely love this film or hate. It seems that very few people fall in the middle. It does feature a fourteen year old Jennifer Connelly in the lead role so it may appeal to her fan base for historical purposes. You might have run across the deeply edited American version under the name ‘Creepers’. Considering Argento flicks are rarely straightforward it is a very good thing that his one is mostly uncut. If you are looking for this online or in your local DVD store bring the UPC number with you to make sure you get this edition.

As is usually the case Argento both wrote and directed this film. As the writer of the screen play this is pretty typical of his body of work. He takes little, mostly unrelated ideas and glues them together in the context of a horror filled murder mystery. In this case the segments of the story include a serial killer in a girl’s boarding school, a teenaged girl that can communicate with insects and a chimpanzee that has a perchance for wielding sharp objects. Yes, you read this correctly, there is a craze chimp running around here. It is not as if Argento ever worried too much about realism in his scripts; he just goes with the ideas at hand and makes unforgettable movies. It is also a dominate trait of this man that his ideas are better received on the screen instead on paper. When you read a synopsis of his story you have to roll your eyes is dismay. Fortunately, watching the story unfold is a lot better. There may be a corner of the horror genre where realism is sought but Argento has never visited that location. After all is Freddie or Michael Mayers any more credible? Sometimes you have to just let go of that rational portion of your mind and sit back and prepared to be scared. This script does have more than its share of chills and surprises so as a horror film it works well. The main thing that Argento has working for this story is his commitment to it. It plays it straight no matter how ludicrous the plot may seem. He pulls together the plot elements into an amazingly coherent story that not only provides some gruesome scenes but is a pretty good mystery to boot.

This is also typical Argento faire from the directorial standpoint. He is without a doubt one of the most stylized directors in the genre. He has made Italian horror films into something different from any other branch of this type of film. His scenes are exceptionally imaginative but do occasionally border on style over substance. Sometimes he can get too fancy making the shot over done for what is shown. To his credit he does pull out frightening moments in ways that you have not seen before. There are some of the standard camera angles and lighting tricks that Argento loves to place in his films. Among them is the every popular crane shot where the camera looks down on the action and swoops down. Here Argento uses the camera as an active participant of the story. It does more than just give a voyeuristic point of view to the audience it establishes the action and more importantly the emotional content of the scene. Argento certainly knows how to pace a horror film. He gives a little gory scene up front just to tease the viewers. Then, he pulls back on the reins. This gives the audience the opportunity to become familiar with the personalities of the characters and the fundamental plot elements. Once that exposition is gotten out of the way he returns to what you see his films for in the first place, terror. There is a sadistic streak to Argento that is well displayed here. He doesn’t just kill his screen victims he likes to have them tortured a bit first. Some die hard male fans of Argento may be disappointed in the lack of his trademark nudity in this film. Get over it; the female parts here are played for the most part by underage girls so if you are upset about it please place yourself under the care of a professional. There is also the creepy music that now some two decades after the film was originally released may sound very melodramatic. It is just part of what makes up an Argento flick so sit back and enjoy it.

The film starts with a girl, Vera Grandt (Fiore Argento), running up to her tourist bus. She just misses in and now has to walk back to town. Yes, this is Argento’s daughter. He loves to use them as victims in his films. Cold tired and stuck out in the middle of nowhere she sees a house not far from here and decides to go there for help and shelter. Bad idea; without warning she is choked from behind by a large chain, stabbed through the hand with scissors and ultimately murdered. We then meet Jennifer Corvino (Jennifer Connelly) a daughter of a well known movie star. While he is off filming his latest movie she has been shipped off to the Richard Wagner Academy for Girls in the remote hills of Switzerland. She isn’t made to feel welcome by either the staff or her classmates. The head mistress, Frau Brückner (Daria Nicolodi) is dismissive and demanding of the newcomer. Jennifer is roomed with Sophie (Federica Mastroianni). The girls are mean towards Jennifer and constantly make fun of her. Jennifer also suffers from sleepwalking and one morning finds herself in the lab of John McGregor (Donald Pleasance), a handicapped entomologist who has a helper chimp named Inga. Inga has a habit of picking up scalpels and other deadly sharp objects. McGregor has been called in by the local police to help solve a series of murders all of teenage girls. They hope an examination of the bugs can set a place and time of death. McGregor discovers that Jennifer has the ability to communicate with insects and talks her in to helping him solve the case.

This is the version to get; Anchor Bay has stepped up to the plate with everything that an Argento fan could want. As mentioned the video is now anamorphic with a reasonably good color palette. It is a bit grainy but considering the film’s age and how many cuts and versions have been made it held up well. The Dolby 5.1 audio remix is flat and centered entirely in the front center. There is a commentary track with Argento, makeup artist Sergio Stivaletti, and journalist Loris Curci. In much of the track Argento is silent and when he does speak there is a language barrier. There is a making of featurette called ‘A Dark Fairytale’ and one featuring cinematographer Luigi Cozzi on macrophotography which was used to film the insect scenes. Also included is an interview between Argento and Joe Franklin. There is also two music videos one by Claudio Simmonetti called ‘Jennifer’ and another titled ‘Valley’ by Bill Wyman. This is a fun flick that will entertain and satisfy the die hard horror fan.