Dario Argento transports us into a cruel and poetic fairytale world: you won’t be able to sleep at night
Phenomena is a fairytale: there is a strange warm breeze that never stops blowing, there is a house in the middle of a forest into which it would be advisable not to enter, there is a girl who talks to insects. As we are dealing with Dario Argento, naturally it is one of those fairytales that won’t let you sleep at night, whether you are fond of insects or not. It is a thriller set inside a fantasy world, always on the brink of descending over a cliff edge of brutal horror, but also pierced by sudden moments of poetry. The director takes us into an imaginary historical moment, in which we subtly perceive that the Nazis won the war and are trying to eliminate “diversity” of any kind. The well-documented care that Argento reserves for his lighting, this time sees us immersed in magnificent and enveloping tones of blue that are tinged with memories of expressionism. The masterful special effects are the work of Sergio Stivaletti, and once again the incredibly effective score is provided by Goblin.
In a place called Swizz Transylvania, Jennifer enters into a strict boarding school for girls. For some months, a maniac has been brutally murdering girls in the vicinity. Jennifer, a sleepwalker with the ability to talk to insects, becomes friends with a chimpanzee and an entomologist. She ends up falling into a trap that allows her to discover just how close the terrifying truth really lies.