Bezenby If you have any urge to delve into the Giallo genre you might as well start here. Deep Red includes a lot of the trademarks you'd expect, with a black-gloved killer, many suspects, violent murders and an out-of-town hero who just can't quite remember a key detail to solving the case. Plot-wise it doesn't deviate too far from the Giallo template either, but the big difference is that it's directed by Dario Argento, and that with this film Argento is entering his most creative phase of films.There's also a very slight supernatural angle and plenty of subtle surrealism throuought the film, like reality itself is nearly unravelling. We open at a para-psychology conference where guest speaker Helga is 'reading' the audience. She goes through the usual routine until getting a very disturbing vibe from someone in the sixth row that sends her into a rant about 'the child's song...we must forget...' and her accusing that person of murder. Not the best idea as later own, in her apartment, Helga is hacked to death with an axe before the killer makes off with Helga's notes on the incident. Of course, Helga 'feels' the killers vibe through the front door.Witnessing this is English pianist Mark (Hemmings), who was hanging about outside the apartment drinking with his musician friend Carlo before Helga's head comes crashing through the window of her apartment. Mark rushes into the apartment (which is decorated with strange disturbing pictures and Hebrew symbols) and drags Helga's body from the window, spotting a black-clad figure running away. What you may or may notice through this scene is that Argento has deliberately revealed the killer's face in a split second shot.Mark of course now encounters the crap, ignorant police he has to deal with, plus cocky journalist Daria Nicolodi, who, after revealing Mark was a witness on the cover of her paper, then hooks up with him to solve the case. Now Mark has the killer on his tail, mind you, as well as the killer being one step ahead in getting rid of clues and those who hold those clues...On the visual side, Argento gives us extreme close-ups of objects like tape recorders running and a stylus running across a record, plus the collection of weird toys the killer has. He also goes in the other direction with ultra-wide shots in dialogue scenes. The camera itself acts as a character, stalking about scenes and focusing on things happening that the characters haven't noticed, unless of course it is playing the POV part of the killer, which it does often, sometimes without letting on to the audience that it's supposed to be the killer! Clever stuff.There's also the avalanche of quirkiness throughout the film. No one acts quite normal, from Nicoletta Elmi's sadistic child to Daria Nicolodi's weird cigar twirling trick that has nothing to do with the plot, plus her car that barely functions. Unrelated incidents drop into the film between scenes; dogs fighting, a man (that guy from the Beast In Heat) shouting in a market, the cops discussing their boss's temper. The killer leaves hanged dolls for their victims to find and at one point distracts a guy by have a creepy mechanical toy rush him. This all gives the film a nervous edge that isn't helped by the gruesome murders. Argento wanted the murders to include injuries people could suffer in real life, so people are severely scalded or have their teeth bashed against solid objects and in that oh-so-common every day injury, get dragged along the street behind a bin truck before smashing their heads on a lamppost. There's are two version of this film - the English version and the Italian version, and I'd recommend the English version to be honest, especially if you're starting out with the genre. The Italian version is about twenty minutes longer but most of that is dialogue between Hemmings and Nicolodi, a kind of battle of the sexes/romantic subplot that just bogs things down a bit. The film also got into trouble for the depiction of a lizard genuinely impaled on a spike - never a good thing to see in a film that no doubt brought it to the attention of the BBFC here in the UK. Strangely, that shot is missing from the Italian version!

vaisagh I am a horror movie fan and i love this film so much.Dario Agento is a great filmmaker.For this generation I don't think this film would be a masterpiece. The main plot is that ,the protagonist see a psychic gets murdered and the way he investigate with the help of a reporter to find the killer. Many at times we will fall for the reporter's beauty.I like Dario Agento mixing some detective element into the plot and the way he uses long shots and subjective shots.

Michael Radny Similar to a lot of Argento's crime murder mysteries, Deep Red pushes the boundaries one step further with gory murder scenes and iconic deaths. Deep Red is very similar to most of Argento's films, only adding a new story, but it is a good story at that. Very engaging and also quite terrifying, the next time you see someone wear a black raincoat, you better hope they are not wielding a meat cleaver underneath it. A good Italian horror, that many will find similar to Dario Argento's other works. But if you are a fan of Argento's, horror or mystery, then this film will be for you. Don't expect the story to deviate out of the Argento template, but nonetheless you should be thoroughly engrossed for this extremely long gore fest.

CinemaClown Deep Red (also known as Profondo Rosso or The Hatchet Murders) is an Italian giallo film, directed by Dario Argento whose only other film that I've seen is Suspiria. And although Suspiria left me slightly underwhelmed on an overall scale, it nonetheless helped me get more familiar with the director's filmmaking style & visual flair. And thanks to that added familiarity, Deep Red was easy to accept for what it is & I had a wonderful time watching it.The film opens with two shadowy figures struggling against each other until one of them is stabbed to death, followed by a child's scream. The main story surfaces after that and concerns a musician who, after witnessing the murder of a psychic who read the murderer's thoughts earlier that day, becomes obsessed with finding the killer. Helping him in his investigation is a spunky reporter as they try to uncover the unknown suspect's identity but this killer always manages to be one step ahead of them.Dario Argento's direction features all his signatures & style and the film really manages to keep its mystery in tact until the final moments when it reveals all on its own. Cinematography makes heavy use of bright colours & extreme close-ups, production design is no short of impressive, performances are exaggerated but still work in film's favour, editing keeps the tension alive & its score, composed by Goblins, adds a nice, creepy & unsettling touch to the whole narrative.On an overall scale, Deep Red is a stylishly crafted mystery thriller that remains an influential example of its genre & despite its B-grade production value, it manages to utilize its resources rather well to deliver an experience that's pretty rewarding in the end. It is counted amongst Dario Argento's most acclaimed works and deserves all the praise it has garnered so far. It may not be able to please every viewer out there but it definitely is worth a watch or two.P.S. Thank you Sarah Jane for recommending me this film. After Suspiria left me little disappointed, I wasn't very keen on checking out more of Argento's works but I'm glad I watched this. And now I feel like I should give Suspiria another chance.