5th October 2018 | 31 Days of “Alternative” Horror: Deep Red (Profondo Rosso)
Profondo Rosso was a wildcard choice for Halloween. Not the usual horror, but more the thriller that carries a lot of weight in the “ready to watch for Halloween” category. We have a childhood trauma, a murder in silhouette from the outset. We have child-like music indicative of movies such as the Innocents and Rosemary’s Baby. We have a killer on the loose and a mystery where ordinary people get caught up in extraordinary circumstances. After a psychic is brutally murdered, Marcus, played by the suave David Hemmings, a pianist who through indirect circumstances feels compelled to solve the crime. The story here, albeit simple is wonderful to watch. The premise is ahead of its time.
Dario Argento directs a very kinetic picture with sweeping, energetic camera movements, epic in scale which is a rare treat for a movie of the time. Truffaut and Hitchcock are there as inspirations, not only for the use of camera placement, angles and movement, but also in the use of suspense. The overall impression is triumphant. So why aren’t we talking about this film as much as Halloween or The Shining. Quite simply, it’s Italian: a European export with a professionally produced dubbing track — although not to sound pretentious, I prefer the original language with subtitles. In a way, obscurity may have saved it, and many European films of its calibre, from being remade. No reboot can ever take away the merit, for this movie is a masterwork of the genre, regardless of popularity.
Profondo Rosso was filmed in Turin for a compelling reason. It seemed that Argento found that there were more practicing Satanists in Turin than in any other European city at that time. An odd reason for sure, but it probably gave him reason to keep the film schedule moving. The six week film schedule seemed as frantic as the filming style itself. All performances were strong, and there are moments where characters are allowed to exist beyond the plot. A question of a woman’s strength is brought up and is immediately put to rest with a humour filled arm wrestling competition. Naturally, it is the woman who wins, because let’s face it, elbows on or off the table, women carry strength that should never be reckoned with — which was possible done on purpose to soften claims that most of his work — especially in his Giallo films — has come under fire for its controversial violence towards women. Argento was aware of this reputation and may have played against it in an effort to either mock or appease critics (or maybe this was not even a conscious thought on his part)
The soundtrack was composed and performed by Goblin, a progressive rock back from Italy. This was their first outing after Pink Floyd refused the project. Goblin went on to compose soundtracks for quite a number of recognisable films in the horror genre, namely Suspiria, Phenomena, and Sean of the Dead (the latter confirms that Simon Pegg’s references in Sean of the Dead didn’t just begin and end with the visual. The sound design was represented, and that inspiration started with Profondo Rosso.)
The English version of this movie is called Deep Red and is cut for character building moments, romantic scenes, humorous content and gore. You’re either damned if you do or damned if you don’t: It seems there was either too little or too much here for the English speaking audience. No matter. This film is best watched in its original Italian version which is not only complete, but restored for Blu-ray to a crisp image it deserves.
Written by: Stephen Radford
website: stephenradford.com
Next:6th October: Invasion of the Body Snatchers
