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I am a very big fan of Dario Argento. He was one of the originators and the perfector of the Italian Giallo. Throughout the 1970s and much of the 1980s, he churned out one masterpiece after another. But the hard truth is he hasn’t made a good movie in a very long time, and most of his output since the 1990s has been terrible.
So it was with some trepidation that I came to Dark Glasses, his first film since the godawful Dracula in 2012. Well, I’m happy to say Argento is back, baby.
This is not Argento at his peak. It isn’t as good as Suspiria or Dark Red, but it is still pretty darn good. Gone is the shoddy CGI and dull cinematography. The film looks great and it absolutely contains some of his famous stylistic flairs.
The story involves a woman who is blinded in an accident and chased by a crazed maniac. It is none too special in that department but it works well enough. There are enough surprises to keep you guessing, and while the killer’s reveal is pretty dumb, getting there is quite effective.
This is a film that were it directed by someone else, some up-and-comer, you’d be hearing a lot more chatter about it. But because it is from a master of horror, and that it is perhaps not the peak of his career it is already being forgotten about. That’s a shame because I really liked it.
Thanks Matt. I love Dario Argento as well. The last thing he made that resonated with me, was the episode of Masters of Horror “Jenifer”. You’ve probably seen it, but if not– check it out. I will look for this one as Argento has fallen so far that this one totally flew under my radar
I mean “Thank you, MAT.”
I can’t remember if I’ve seen “Jennifer” or not. I watched some of the Masters of Horror stuff but not all of it. I’ll have to check it out again.
Dark Glasses is definitely not top-tier Argento, but it is absolutely a lot better than the last several movies he’s put out. It is definitely worth a watch. I think in the US it is exclusively on Shudder. I did one of their subscribe free-for-seven-day trial thingies to watch it.