Inferno (1980)

Dario Argento's films, while often visually and aurally satisfying, have never really had strong plots -- the man just can't really write a tight scenario. In this film, he sidestepped the issue by failing to include a plot at all. What we end up with a meditation on death and the allure of the mythological, an overwhelming and obviously deeply personal film that meanders at times but remains constantly disorienting and includes some of Argento's most startling imagery. If the events in the film don't truly connect in any meaningful way, it's all for the better because the film feels like a nightmare being piped out directly from its maker's subconscious. It's as close as Argento will ever get to pure avant-gardeism. Challenging, and not to everyone's taste, but I think it's brilliant. (Note: This was the second film I saw the other day that referenced the ants-in-the-hand shot from Un Chien Andalou -- Freddy's Revenge had a shot late in the game with ants crawling out of Kim Myers's leg wound. You might not find that interesting or odd or anything, but I did.)

Grade: A-