A Good Slash of 70's Blood! (Profondo Rosso (DVD))

Member Name: adambrown400

Product:	Profondo Rosso (DVD)
Date:	24/10/09 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great mystery

Disadvantages: odd editing

Deep Red was an absolutely fantastic film. I've read many conflicting reviews about its quality and its difference to Argento's other classic horror film 'Susperia'. I've never seen that film but what drew me to the film itself was the appearance of Brit actor David Hemmings.

I really like David Hemmings and have tried to tack down some of the films he made post 'Blowup' which many people consider to be his most famous film. He seems to have spent the better part of the 70's making obscure horror films in Italy and Australia - many of them with Holby City and Jesus star Robert Powell. For the most part of the 80's he directed episodes of the A Team and Airwolf while enjoying a bit of a renaissance in the 90's in films like Gangs of New York and Gladiator.

Here he plays a musician who witnesses a murder taking place in the apartment above his own. It soon becomes apparent that a serial killer is on the loose. Throw into the mix some psychic ability and bizarre creepy children and you've got a decent slab of Italian horror.

The version of this film that I saw was a little odd and disconcerting to say the least. For half of the film the actors spoke entirely in Italian whilst the rest was in English. I have later found out that the film was edited heavily and the romantic and comic elements were cut from the English speaking version. The cut I saw had all of the edited moments back in - along with some rather shocking gore added to the mix.

There is a copious amount of 70's blood in this film which makes the film a little more bearable but it still manages to hit a nerve with some of its uber-violence. Some of the deaths include being plunged into a bath of scalding hot water, a man's face being smashed into the corner of a mantelpiece and a gruesome escalator decapitation.

The music was also very effective in the film - a pseudo rock score by Italian band 'Goblin' whose themes will have you nodding along as the film continues.

Argento's excellent direction is masterful. The film is full of clever visual effects and interesting camera angles that lure you into a false sense of security, just when the murderer is about to strike. Visually stunning and morbid in every sense of the word, Deep Red was a great film and I shall be looking out for other Argento films in the future.

Profondo Rosso (Deep Red) is available from play.com for £3.70 including postage.

Summary: Great Italian horror