LogFAQs > #979911237

Fortybelowsummer - Starring Jennifer Lord of the Flies Connelly, Phenomena comes to us courtesy of 70s/80s Argento who was dropping giallo classics left and right. While its not, in my opinion, top tier (Deep Red, Opera) its still one of the best examples of the notorious Italian film genre. The main thing I want to touch on is how good the soundtrack is. The music actually feels out of place at times, but its an intentional technique that leaves you feeling unsettled and on edge. Do you expect to hear Motorhead in a somber moment when the corpse of a pivotal character is being wheeled out? Nope, but I find that choice fascinating along with the Judas Priest utilization. Interwoven with more atmospheric and operatic melodies it really lends to the whole jarring experience. Visually, its super interesting as well even if it is more toned down in terms of blasts of color or explicit drawn-out violence. You still get the bright red blood, rolling heads, and weird camera positions not to mention the decidedly un-giallo supernatural fly hordes (that they actually hatched for the movie). Some consider this an Argento effort that shows a decline in quality but its still very good and the last 20 minutes are, wait for itphenomenal.

Inviso - This movie could have been great. On paper, the concept of a serial killer in Europe (Europe being an inherently terrifying region for Americans, if later horror films would prove anything), and then you introduce this girl with strange, psychic powers to control insects, which allow her to investigate the murders like a paranormal Gil Grissom. Thats pretty interesting and unique, and some of the imagery in the film (like when her whole school is bullying her and she just summons a swarm of bees to envelope the school building) is pretty solid. The problem is that the film doesnt know how to pick a fucking lane. You have the serial killer, but youre already stretching the concept by adding the insect control X-Men character to the mix. But then the movie just decides to add more shit for dumb reasons.

Long story short, Jennifer Connolley is sent to a European boarding school, and in her first scene, shes shown driving with this uptight semi-headmistress. And several students from the school get killed while Jennifer has premonitions or visions of the killings. So, she goes to see Donald Pleasance, whos playing an entomologist that is trying to solve the case, and thats perfect because she has bug powers. Also, Pleasance has a chimpanzee helperwhich feels completely out of place given the tone of the film, but its somehow important to the ending. Anyway, Jennifer investigates and finds the house where the murdered used to live, but meanwhile, the murderer kills Pleasance to keep him from getting too close.

Jennifer, at this point, is in over her head and just wants to go home, so she tries AGAIN to contact her rich movie star dad (or his manager) to get her back to America. This gets relayed to the headmistress, who says Fine, fine, you can go. But your plane isnt leaving until tomorrow, so you can stay in my house. And its at this point that Jennifer realizes Oh shit, this woman is the murderer because of all the bug larva crawling around her house. And she gets captured. In a way, its a very horror clich where you get brought to the house of someone who you think you can trust, and then they turn out to be the killer all alongbut sometimes cliches work for a reason. And all of this would be fine if it was just Jennifer has to outwit and escape her captor. But its not.

Once Pleasance dies, a new character is introduced: Detective Geiger, who I guess was needed after the 75% mark of the film. Hes investigating the murders and finds the house Jennifer found, and he goes to interview the headmistress, because he learns she was raped in an insane asylum fifteen years prior. This is all exposition delivered as the film should be reaching its climax, via a character who doesnt need to be in the movie. His investigation serves no purpose and hes just there to make Jennifers eventual triumph feel even less valid. Seriously, he talks to the headmistress, she captures him, and then when Jennifer tries to escape, this guy is the one who stymies the headmistress efforts. Its not like Jennifer tries to help him, or they even really interact at all (beyond him INTERRUPTING HER WHEN SHES TRYING TO CALL THE POLICE, FOR A CHEAP JUMP SCARE)so why did he need to be in this film?

Anyway, Jennifer discovers the headmistress deformed child is also murdering people, so she runs off and winds up burning him alive after he tries to kill her on a motorboat. In a HILARIOUS scene, the actor dads manager shows up looking for Jennifer, after having been off-screen all film, and he goes to collect her, only to get decapitated in a single shot, because it turns out Geiger failed to finish the job of overpowering a physically weaker woman who he definitely beat the shit out of. And then again, Jennifer doesnt even proactively save herselfbut rather the HELPER MONKEY SHOWS UP and kills the headmistress with a goddamn razor!

This movie goes off the rails SO HARD at the end, and it completely removes all agency from Jennifer as a character (aside from her summoning bees to attack the mutant child when hes trying to kill her) in favor of characters that dont add anything else to the plot. Its BIZARRE. Also bizarre? The random heavy music that plays inappropriately over numerous scenes in the film. Ill give it creditI was never bored, but what the fuck WAS this?

Jcgamer107 - 4/10

Bitto - Rating: C-

It's a fun movie concept. A girl who is a connection with insects uses her connection to figure out a serial killer. She also sleepwalks, which...doesn't really play into the movie at all. It may have isolated her from her schoolmates, but maybe the fact that she can control insects might be a bigger reason for that. The serial killer is...fine, but I have a bit of difficulty understanding the motives here. I can't tell if it's because her son being so deformed caused her to go mad, if she's killing due to influence of the son, or if the son is abused from her, or...yeah. They just really don't give enough time. Also, that scene of Jennifer trying to console the son and she literally takes one look at his face and runs away screaming is wild. That must have been comedic, right? Like, how else are you supposed to read that scene? And it's kinda fucked up!