Actress Asia Argento (1975)

Mother of Tears (2007) is a supernatural horror film written and directed by Dario Argento. The Catholic Church uncovers the remains of a 19th-century official, whose casket is bound to a box-shaped urn. Within the urn lie artifacts belonging to Mater Lachrymarum, the last remaining member of an ancient and powerful trio of witches. One item in particular stands out – a magical tunic that greatly enhances Mater Lachrymarum’s abilities. The urn is transported to the Museum of Ancient Art in Rome, where Sarah Mandy, a young American studying art restoration, happens to work. Sarah is romantically involved with Michael Pierce, the museum’s curator and ...

Abel Ferrara’s independent film, Go Go Tales (2007), follows the story of Ray Ruby, the manager of Ray Ruby’s Paradise. As the number of tourists dwindles, Ray becomes worried about the future of his establishment. To attract more customers, he decides to hold a lottery. However, with finances running low and bills piling up, including payment for the pole dancers, Ray struggles to keep the club afloat. To make matters worse, Lillian, the landlady, threatens to turn the space into a Bed Bath & Beyond if she does not receive rent money soon. In a desperate attempt to ...

Sofia Coppola wrote and directed a historical drama film Marie Antoinett (2006) centered around the life of Queen Marie Antoinette. The youngest daughter of Empress Maria-Theresa of Austria, fourteen-year-old Maria Antonia, is described as a beautiful, charming, and naïve archduchess. In order to unite two rival countries, her mother arranges for her to marry Louis-Auguste, the Dauphin of France. Upon arriving in France and taking on the name Marie Antoinette, she meets King Louis XV and her future husband. Their wedding takes place immediately upon their arrival at the Palace of Versailles. The couple is expected to ...

In the drama film Last Days (2005), directed, produced, and written by Gus Van Sant, we witness a fictionalized portrayal of a musician’s final days, loosely based on Kurt Cobain. The central character, Blake, breaks out of a rehab facility and makes his way back home through the forest. After swimming through a lake and spending the night by a fire, he returns to his house and changes his clothes before wandering around with a shotgun in hand. Among his roommates – Scott, Luke, Asia, and Nicole – is Thadeus A. Thomas, who chats with him about advertising in the upcoming Yellow Pages book. Despite ...

Land of the Dead (2005) is a post-apocalyptic horror film written and directed by George A. Romero. Following the zombie apocalypse, human civilization has reorganized and established a chain of protected city-states across America. One such sanctuary is located within the triangular peninsula of downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where a feudal-like government governs its citizens. Surrounded on two sides by rivers and barricaded on the third with an electrified fence guarded by a militia, this city provides relative security for its inhabitants. Beyond its borders lies a desolate landscape with abandoned suburbs and ...

The Italian romantic-horror film, The Phantom of the Opera (1998), directed by Dario Argento, is an adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel, Le Fantôme de l’Opéra. In 1877 Paris, a group of rats rescues a baby from a river and raises him in the underground of the Opéra de Paris. This child grows up to become the Phantom of the Opera, known for his misanthropy and tendency to kill anyone who enters his underground chambers, mirroring how rats are killed when they emerge above ground. One night, while singing alone on stage, Christine Daaé captures the ...

The Stendhal Syndrome (1996) is an Italian giallo film written and directed by Dario Argento, starring his daughter Asia Argento. Detective Anna Manni travels to Florence in pursuit of Alfredo Grossi, a serial rapist and murderer. During a museum visit, Anna experiences Stendhal syndrome – a condition that causes overwhelming emotions when viewing art. Taking advantage of her vulnerability, Alfredo kidnaps and brutalizes her, leaving her deeply traumatized. Despite escaping, Anna is relentlessly pursued by Alfredo until she finally turns the tables on him. In a ...

Trauma (1993), an Italian giallo horror film directed by Dario Argento, follows Georgia Jackson, a chiropractic nurse in Minneapolis. During a rainstorm, Georgia stays late at her practice to meet a new patient. However, she believes she may have seen the patient before. That same night, troubled Romanian immigrant Aura Petrescu escapes from a psychiatric hospital and is later found by police and returned to her parents’ home. The next evening, Aura’s mother Adriana – who poses as a psychic – holds a séance for locals desperate to uncover the identity of the ‘Head Hunter’, a notorious ...