Three words come to mind when I think of Deep Red, bloody fucking brilliant! I understand the admiration for this gleaming jewel in the giallo treasure box. Deep Red (Profondo Rosso in Italian) is an incredible work of art filled with dark surrealism, driving characters and an unsettling atmosphere. The film starts of with an audience participated discussion with a German psychic named Helga. While in the middle of the lecture, Helga envisions a virulent presence in the auditorium. "You," she cries in distress, "Have killed... and you will kill again!" A few hours later, Helga is viciously attacked in her apartment by an unknown entity.
Marc, an English jazz musician and the protagonist of the film (played by David Hemmings), is walking home from a session when he notices Helga's attack. He immediately rushes up to her apartment and lifts her off of a broken fragment in the window. Unfortunately it was too late to save poor Helga's life. Hours later, Marc is interviewed by the police about the murder. Accompanied by a tenacious and perky reporter named Gianna (an unforgettable role from the beautiful and captivating Daria Nicolodi), Marc investigates a string of grisly homicides and gets tangled up in the killer's twisted mind.
Deep Red will leave you breathless, especially the ending. Besides the gruesome murders, this is the first Argento film I have seen in which it isn't serious all the time. There are scenes of great comic relief between Marc and Gianna. Plus these two characters have incredible chemistry. I would call David Hemmings and Daria Nicolodi the Bogey/Bacall of Italian cinema.
Of course Argento is the mastermind of surreal and incredibly disturbing yet stunning imagery and Deep Red is certainly no exception. You get a sense that every shot, every scene is tied together in the film... and there are a lot of creepy images in this film. I normally don't scare that easily but Deep Red had me on edge and Jake can tell you that. So I will conclude this note by saying to check out Deep Red, you will not be disappointed. Oh and...
Thank you Mr. Argento for filling my head with nightmarish images of this ghastly looking doll.
