Customer Reviews
The stuff of nightmares. 
2008-10-04
Inferno is probably one of my favorite Dario Argento film and is one of the best films in the three mothers trilogy, the film has an intriguing and frightening story and great atmosphere but there are many flaws in the script and the acting wasn't particularly that good, but then again who watches a Dario Argento flick for the acting?. The film was beautifully shot and had a nice gothic atmosphere that almost seems like a living nightmare and there are some nicely made setpieces which were very memorable, my favorite would have to be the part where Irene Miracle's character is swimming in an underground room filled with water. I'm not going to compare all three films since each one was different, this one was somewhat similar to Susperia but had a couple of difference mainly because of the location and the third film which was the weakest but still watchable was completely different and more modern.
The whole film was visually stunning where the use of color is more prominent with mostly blue, red, and orange hues just like in Susperia and there is some great use of lighting by Argento. Anyway the film is all about witches, ancient alchemy and death and is Dario Argento's follow up to the classic Suspiria which continues the plotline of the Three Mothers, three witches that reside in their own respective gothic buildings specifically designed and built for them. A young woman (Irene Miracle) renting out a room in a multiple-story Gothic mansion in New York City (also head quarters to the witches) becomes obsessed with a book on the sisters and ends up meeting a gruesome demise for her meddling. Her brother (Leigh McCloskey) receives a distressed letter and returns from musicology studies in Rome to investigate, he then encounters a series of grisly murders and coming face to face with the spirit of death itself!.
Inferno is often misunderstood by Argento fans who either complain about the bad acting or think it's confusing but in my honest opinion I thought it was a very satisfying and suitable follow up to Suspiria and was quite entertaining too. There are a few things to note while watching Inferno and that is Mario Bava's influence on the film which is obviously more prominent than is actually recognised and the awesome musical score done by Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, the music was just absolutely wonderful and set the right mood for the film which was dark and creepy. The death scenes and gore were pretty good but I would say that they were tame compared to Dario's other films, in one particular scene which I thought was a bit hilarious and absurd has a guy who's trying to drown a bunch of cats in a bag near by the lake then all of a sudden stumbles and falls in the lake only to by butchered by a maniac hot dog vendor and then eaten by a bunch of rats, this scene in particular did not make any sense but was pretty cool to watch. I have the old Anchor Bay edition and the disc is simply gorgeous with a great widescreen print that has never looked better and the dolby surround audio sounded fantastic on my system (Keith Emerson's soundtrack rocks and is very clear!).
The extras however are minimal but definitely worth it and contains a short but fascinating background documentary/interview segment (that really should be longer) and the usual trailer, bios etc. while not as packaged as the Deep Red disc it's still a must have for any self respecting fan of Dario's work, Inferno was a fantastic horror film that has tons of style, some good and gruesome death scenes and dark atmosphere that will please all you fans of Argento's work, but if you're new to Argento's work make sure you see Suspiria before viewing this sequel or you may just get a bit confused.
Beautifully shot but poorly scripted 
2008-09-30
Beautifully shot but poorly scripted second installment in Dario's tale of the three sisters with Goblinesque soundtrack by Keith Emerson.A journey into a surreal Hitchcockian, dreamscape of labyrinthian architecture, corridors, rooms, cellars, staircases, secret passages, dungeons, submerged rooms and alchemical mysteries, all flavoured with Dario's atypical gruesome murder scenes.
"Inferno" Is A Roller Coaster Ride Through Hell - The Nightmarish Sequel To "Suspiria" 2008-09-16
Like millions of other Dario Argento fans, I am eagerly awaiting the American release of "The Mother of Tears." In the meantime, I decided to review the first two films in the Three Mothers Trilogy. The first film, "Suspiria," was based on Mater Suspiriorum, the Mother of Sighs. The second film, "Inferno," is based on Mater Tenebrarum, the Mother of Shadows.
In the prologue of "Inferno," viewers are introduced to the novel The Three Mothers. However, they soon learn that it is not a work of fiction. The Three Mothers (actually they are sisters) are witches. An architect, E. Varelli, built each one a gothic mansion in different parts of the world. Death and destruction have always surrounded these mansions.
A young poet, Rose Elliot (Irene Miracle of "Midnight Express" and "Puppet Master") lives in New York. She buys The Three Mothers and suspects that the apartment building in which she lives belongs to the Mother of Shadows. Disturbed by the book's contents, she mails a letter to her brother Mark (Leigh McCloskey of "Dallas" fame). Soon people around them begin dying in gruesome manners, murdered by an unseen assailant.
There are many similarities between "Suspiria" and "Inferno." First, and foremost, is the fact that they were both directed by the Italian Hitchcock, Dario Argento. Both have gorgeous, elaborate sets that are filmed in a dreamlike palette of primary colors of reds and blues. In "Suspiria," the house was a ballet school with students as victims. The house of "Inferno" is an apartment building and its wealthy tenants are victimized. Both have gruesome death sequences involving animals. In "Suspiria," a blind man is attacked and killed by his seeing eye dog. Rats and cats attack tenants of "Inferno." Both films have great musical scores to accentuate the violence. The endings are fiery.
Furthermore, Alida Valli, who starred in "Suspiria," returns for another evil role. Daria Nicolodi who co-wrote the script for "Suspiria" has a supporting role as well. She was the long-time girlfriend of Dario Argento and also starred in his giallo mega hit "Deep Red." She starred in other films of his as well such as "Phenomena," "Tenebre," and "Opera."
Unfortunately, "Inferno" never enjoyed the same success as "Suspiria." This is partly due to its ending which seemed contrived. It was very difficult to understand. However, sometimes dreams, or nightmares, can be difficult to comprehend. If we approach "Inferno" as a nightmare, then anything is possible.
It will be very interesting to view "The Mother of Tears" for the first time and look for similarities between it and the first two installments of the Three Mothers Trilogy. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the visual roller coaster ride from Hell that is "Inferno."
A visual work of art plus incredible music score. 2008-08-18
A woman stumbles on a diary written by an alchemist telling a tale about The Three Mothers. They happen to be three evil witches with incredible power. She unknowingly unleashes their evil.
First of all, I will go through this review without making any comparisons to Suspiria. Simply because that can effect my overall judgment of this film. Dario Argento is without a doubt a very good director with a vision. There are very few films that I can think of with an atmosphere so imaginative yet so eerie that it has burned an image in my mind forever. The lighting and the set ups are done so well I can feel the evil. This is also supported by a very well orchestrated music score. That continues to get better as it goes along. Together they form a masterpiece of style.
Although a very good film concerning style Inferno does lack substance. Character development and plot are very shaky. I will admit that I didn't care about any of the characters. As a result the death scenes(even though brutal at times) lacked all emotional effect. I just found myself thinking,"wow, sucks to go out like that". Now excluding what is already given to you in the base narrative. Inferno is very lacking on plot. There seems to be a number of things happening just for the sake of it. There are murders happening in which they appear to be without a motive. I kind of feel this is done intentionally to leave it up to the viewer(I do have my thoughts though). But this is not exactly my kind of storytelling. I need a reason to care if the characters die. I need more plot development. And Inferno didn't provide this in a way that completely satisfied me.
I really wish that a 3.5 rating was available. I don't quite feel a 4 and definitly not a solid 3 because I liked the film. I enjoyed the outstanding atmosphere, excellent music score, and gore. Like all Argento films Inferno is not for everyone. It's pretty slow paced and aimed towards a more patient audience. If you're into that fast paced stuff with lots of cheap scares. This may not be for you.
Visually stunning Argento film! 2008-06-18
In the city of New York, a woman named Sarah discovers a book called "The Three Mothers" which describes about an architech named Varelli whom build a trio of tombs for the Three Mothers whom are three very evil witches that were meant to be buried. She accidently unleashes unspeakable evil, her boyfriend whom just came back from Rome he finds out that Sarah is dead and must solve the mystery of these bizarre killings and weird happenings.
Very dark and bloody yet complex supernatural horror thriller shocker from Italy's greatest horror maestero Dario Argento is one of the better films of his carreer. Sure the plot is full of holes and can be a tad confusing, but the film does offer some visually stunning atmosphere and some gory murders like decapictations and bloody stabbings. It's suppose to be part of the "Three Mothers" trilogy which started with "Suspiria" as this movie is suppose to be a sequel to and finished recently with "Mother of Tears: The Third Mother" as this is worth a look for fans of the genre and Dario Argento.
This DVD which is a re-issue of the Anchor Bay release contains a very good transfer and excellent sound with some good extras like a subtitled interview with Dario Argento, trailer, Still Gallery and talent bios.
Also recommended: "Suspiria", "Tenebre", "Deep Red", "Demons 1 & 2", "Cemetery Man", "House (1986)", "Inside", "House By The Cemetery", "City of the Living Dead", "The Beyond", "Halloween (1978)", "Perfect Blue", "Stephen King's IT", "Making Contact (a.k.a. Joey)", "The New York Ripper", "Stir of Echoes", "The Orphanage", "Opera", "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage", "The Church", "Pet Semetary", "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "The Shining", "Cat O'Nine Tails", "Phenomena", "Stage Fright", "Phantasm", "The Changeling", "In The Mouth of Madness", "Re-Animator" and "Silent Hill".
Argento at his worst 
2008-03-23
The Master Of Horror Dario Argento Brings You Terror That s Hotter Than Hell!A young woman stumbles upon a mysterious diary that reveals the secrets of The Three Mothers and unleashes a nightmare world of demonic evil. As the unstoppable horror spreads from Rome to New York City this unholy trinity must be stopped before the world is submerged in the blood of the innocent.Written and directed by Dario Argento INFERNO is considered to be the sequel to his classic SUSPIRIA. This surreal shocker stars Irene Miracle (NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS) Daria Nicolodi (DEEP RED) and Leigh McCloskey (DALLAS) and features a pulse-pounding original score by Keith Emerson of Emerson Lake & Palmer. Now transferred from the original vault negative materials INFERNO contains visually stunning sequences of horror that Argento fans consider among the best of his career.Extras:Interview with Writer/Director Dario ArgentoTheatrical TrailerStill GalleryTalent BiosSystem Requirements:Run Time: 106 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: NR UPC: 827058110396 Manufacturer No: 1039
Argento's Inferno ignites the screen. 2008-02-14
Italian film director, producer and screenwriter Dario Argento is best known for his work in the "giallo" horror film genre, which is a assimilation of the horror, fantastique, and erotic film genres first created by director Mario Bava. Argento not only acknowledges Bava as an influence, but also recognizes Riccardo Freda, Sergio Leone, Alfred Hitchcock, Michelangelo Antonioni, Ingmar Bergman, and Federico Fellini as influences for his films. Argento collaborated with George Romero on the 1978 zombie cult classic, Dawn of the Dead.
His violent, highly-artistic supernatural thriller, Inferno (1980) is the second film in a trilogy about "The Three Mothers," three ancient witches residing in three different modern cities (Rome, Freiburg, and New York). Suspiria is the first film in the trilogy, and the third movie (The Mother of Tears) was released in 2007. (I have read the title "Suspiria" and the concept for the trilogy was drawn from Thomas De Quincey's sequel to his Confessions of an English Opium Eater, Suspira De Profundis.) Inferno tells the story of a young man's investigation into his missing sister, Rose Elliot (Irene Miracle), a poet living alone in a New York City apartment building that was also the residence of an ancient witch. After discovering an old book called The Three Mothers, Rose is brutally murdered. Soon others are also murdered when her brother Mark (Leigh McCloskey) arrives in New York from Rome asking questions about his sister's disappearance. Argento collaborated with his his mentor, Mario Bava, on the film's optical effects, matte paintings, and camera shots. Although Argento frequently called Inferno one of the least favorite of his films (possibly because he was suffering from acute hepatitis during production), it is a definitive horror film with surreal imagery that will ignite your TV screen.
G. Merritt
Classic Argento Horror from the early 1980's 2008-01-21
INFERNO is the sequel to Dario's other Horror movie classic SUSPIRIA, which was filmed a few years before this film. Both movies are similar in theme and atmosphere and both movies are about witches. Dispite INFERNO is considered the sequel to SUSPIRIA, they have little to do with one another in terms of plot and story line.
The actual movie itself is about an apartment building in New York, that seems to be haunted by the ghost of an old witch. It sounds like a simple enough plot, yet Dario keeps the viewer attention through random death scenes and unseen killers, stabbing beautiful women to death. All of which, seems to have nothing to do with the actual plot of an apartment building being haunted by an evil witch.
Sometimes I find Argento's work a little hard to follow (with the exception of his DEMONS films considering the subject matter is pretty much cut and dry) but that isn't really a problem, considering his movies are filmed so beautifully. INFERNO is no exception, with scenes of bright colors adding a creepy sense of atmosphere to every moment. Even if you have no idea whats going on, it's just interesting to watch things unfold.
Gore wise, INFERNO isn't anywhere near the buckets of blood that was SUSPIRIA. Not to worry, INFERNO doesn't need it. The death scenes are pretty much brutal stabbings and other strange ways for people to meet their fate. They're not sloppy with gore but they do send a chill up the viewer's spine! Haunting scenes of horrifying stabbings, pulled together with bright retro coloring. INFERNO is "classic Horror" in every sense of the phrase.
Argento fans and passing viewers alike will find much to enjoy with the movie INFERNO. Even if you haven't seen SUSPIRIA or any of his other movies, this film works well on a well rounded level. It's sure to please any Horror fan looking to watch a good "old school" Horror film.
Stop reading my review and just buy the movie already! You won't be dissapointed.
I don't get it.... 
2007-12-27
Before you guys come out of the woodwork and start yelling at me about how great Argento is, I love his work. And this piece, I just do not get. Suspiria was a great movie, I was ready to turn this one off after 30 minutes. My DVD cut out before the last 15 minutes, and I didn't care. It's a much more artistic piece, yes, but I don't even understand Argento's imagery. The acting was worse than godawful, not that Argento's films are known for that, but this was really bad. I didn't really care a thing about the three mothers, there was no suspense, I do not understand all the great ratings this film got. Maybe i'm missing something...
Great follow-up to "Suspiria" 2007-12-09
I really enjoyed seeing Dario Argento's Inferno. As part of a film festival it really had impact on the big screen. Although not the masterpiece that Susiria invariably is, Inferno is a great second part of his trilogy (the third film released next year).
There are some great set-pieces in this one and who will ever forget the scene with the cats! The audience were laughing their heads of at the stilted dialogue but that all really adds to the experience rather than taking away from it. Better than most of the Hollywood horror's being churned out today, Inferno will thrill, chill and maybe make you laugh.
