Director Dario Argento (1940)

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 ...

Do you enjoy the made-for-TV giallo movie, Do You Like Hitchcock? (2005) directed by Dario Argento? This film pays tribute to the renowned thriller director Alfred Hitchcock. Giulio, a film student, observes his attractive neighbor, Sasha, and studies Fritz Lang’s movies for his thesis. While at the video store, he crosses paths with Sasha and another woman named Federica as they both try to rent Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train. A friendship blossoms between the two women. The next day, while riding ...

Directed by Dario Argento, The Card Player (2003) is a giallo film featuring Stefania Rocca and Liam Cunningham. It is Argento’s second giallo movie of the decade. The plot revolves around a serial killer called ‘The Card Player’, who has been abducting young women in Rome. To taunt the authorities, the killer challenges them to a game of online poker through a webcam. If they lose, the victim is brutally killed on camera. When one of the murder victims ...

Sleepless (2001) is an Italian giallo film directed by Dario Argento. It begins with Angela, who has just had sex with a man and is being verbally attacked by him for not satisfying him. As she collects her belongings, she accidentally knocks over a chest filled with bladed weapons, causing her to flee in fear. In her haste, she takes a blue scrapbook that belongs to an unknown serial killer in Turin, known as ‘The Dwarf Killer’. The killer then contacts Angela and threatens her life. Unable to find help from the train conductor, she turns to her friend Marta at the station to retrieve the scrapbook. ...

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 ...

Two Evil Eyes (1990) is a collaborative horror film penned and helmed by George A. Romero and Dario Argento. This international production between Italy and the United States is divided into two distinct stories, both heavily influenced by the writing of Edgar Allan Poe. The first, The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar, features Adrienne Barbeau under Romero’s direction, while the second, The Black Cat, ...

Opera (1987) is a renowned Italian giallo, co-written and directed by Dario Argento. The story follows Mara Cecova, the lead in an innovative performance of Verdi’s Macbeth at the Parma Opera House. During a heated disagreement with the director outside the theater, Cecova is tragically struck by a car and left injured. In her place, the young understudy Betty steps into the role of Lady Macbeth. Despite her initial hesitation, Betty’s debut proves to be a triumph. However, on the night of her opening, an unknown individual sneaks into the opera house and watches her performance from an unoccupied box. When ...

Phenomena (1985) is a giallo-horror film directed and co-written by Dario Argento. After missing a bus in the Swiss countryside, 14-year-old Danish tourist Vera Brandt seeks help at a nearby cottage. She falls victim to an attack by an unknown assailant, who beheads her. The case is later examined by forensic entomologist John McGregor and Inspector Rudolf Geiger of the Kantonspolizei Zürich, who discover that Brandt is just one of several young girls who have been murdered. McGregor’s former assistant is also among the victims. Meanwhile, Jennifer Corvino, daughter of a famous American actor, arrives at the Swiss ...

Tenebrae (1982) is a giallo film from Italy, written and directed by Dario Argento. American horror novelist Peter Neal travels to Rome to promote his latest work, accompanied by his literary agent Bullmer and assistant Anne. Little does he know, his ex-fiancée Jane has followed him there out of resentment. Before Neal’s arrival, a young kleptomaniac named Elsa is killed with a razor by an unknown attacker. The killer sends Neal a letter claiming that his books have inspired their murder spree. Police Detective Germani and Inspector Altieri reach out to Neal for assistance as more murders occur. Tilde, a lesbian ...

Inferno (1980) is an Italian supernatural horror film written and directed by Dario Argento. Rose Elliot, a poet residing in New York City’s Upper West Side, purchases a book from an antiques dealer titled The Three Mothers, written by alchemist Varelli. The book tells the tale of three malevolent sisters who each reside in their own specially constructed homes: Mater Suspiriorum, the Mother of Sighs in Freiburg; Mater Lachrymarum, the Mother of Tears in Rome; and Mater Tenebrarum, the Mother of Darkness in New York. Believing that she may be living in Mater Tenebrarum’s building, Rose reaches out to her ...

Suspiria (1977), an Italian supernatural horror film, was directed by Dario Argento and co-written with Daria Nicolodi. The inspiration for the film partially came from Thomas De Quincey’s 1845 essay Suspiria de Profundis. Suzy Bannion, an American ballet student, arrives at the renowned Tanz Akademie in Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany during a heavy storm. As she approaches the school, she witnesses another student, Pat Hingle, fleeing in terror. However, Suzy is denied entry and must stay in town for the night. Meanwhile, Pat seeks refuge at her ...

Deep Red (1975) is an Italian giallo film directed by Dario Argento. The story takes place over the course of two decades, beginning with a tragic incident at a family Christmas in 1956. Flash forward to Turin in 1975, where parapsychology professor Giordani hosts a conference featuring psychic medium Helga Ulmann. During the event, Helga is suddenly overwhelmed by the ‘twisted, perverted, murderous’ thoughts of someone in the audience. After confiding in Giordani about her suspicions, Helga becomes a victim herself when she is killed in her apartment later that night by an unknown assailant. Jazz pianist ...

Dario Argento’s comedy-drama film, The Five Days of Milan (1973), takes place in bustling Milan during the anti-Austrian revolt of 1848. It follows the story of two unlikely companions, petty criminal Cainazzo and baker Romulus, who become caught up in the turbulent events of the time. Amidst a cast of idealists and patriots, including aristocrats, opportunistic individuals, bloodthirsty adventurers, and traitors, Romulus stands out as someone who instinctively understands the people’s point of view. Reluctantly swept up in the chaos and injustice around them, Cainazzo and Romulus are witnesses to history.

The film Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971) is a classic giallo written and directed by Dario Argento. Roberto Tobias, a talented drummer, finds himself being pursued by an unknown person. In a moment of bravery, he confronts his follower only to unintentionally harm him in the process. As this unfolds, someone lurking in the shadows takes pictures of the event. The days that follow are filled with threatening letters accusing Roberto of killing Carlo Marosi. Later that night, while at home, Roberto is jumped by the same masked culprit who warns him that they’re not done with him yet before rendering him ...

The Cat o’ Nine Tails (1971), an English-language Italian film by Dario Argento, follows the investigation of a mysterious break-in at the Terzi Medical Institute. Despite not taking anything, the perpetrator kills one of the doctors, Calabresi, who had knowledge about the incident. The victim’s fiancée, Bianca Merusi, is told about this by Calabresi before his untimely death at the hands of the thief. A photojournalist captures the moment but misses capturing the killer. Reporter Carlo Giordani, who has been covering the story since its start, publishes an article on Calabresi’s demise and includes ...

The giallo film, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970), marks Dario Argento’s directorial debut. It follows Sam Dalmas, an American writer on holiday in Rome with his English model girlfriend, Julia, in an attempt to overcome writer’s block before their impending return to the United States. During a walk home one evening, Sam witnesses a woman being assaulted by a figure dressed in black raincoat and gloves within an art gallery. He tries to intervene but becomes trapped between the gallery’s glass doors as the attacker flees. Monica Ranieri, wife of the gallery owner Alberto Ranieri, survives the ...