Featured Audience Ratings

• Jeff "

  
  Third directorial effort from Dario Argento is a good Giallo horror film, but it is a bit less focused than his previous two works. I felt that with this one, Argento didn't deliver anything truly memorable, which is disappointing. The film is still good, but lacks anything to… More
  Third directorial effort from Dario Argento is a good Giallo horror film, but it is a bit less focused than his previous two works. I felt that with this one, Argento didn't deliver anything truly memorable, which is disappointing. The film is still good, but lacks anything to really get your attention. The cast are good in their parts and the direction is very well done. However the film's script lacks a bit in terms of memorable, effective suspense that actually works. I liked the film overall, however I felt that compared to other Argento works, it was nowhere near as good as his later films. As far as the Giallo is concerned, this is a good addition to the genre, but one that could have been much better than what it turned out to be. Nonetheless, this is must see viewing for Argento fans, and it definitely is a good conclusion to his first trilogy of films, the Animal trilogy. His Three mothers trilogy would be much better and would become some of the finest works of Italian horror cinema. If you're looking for a good Giallo, then give this one a shot. However his masterpiece of the Giallo, Deep Red would be a tad better than this. Despite the flaws of this picture, I liked it, and thought it was a pretty interesting idea. However it was one that could have been reworked a bit to make it much better than what it turned out to be. Enjoyable for what it is, this is Argento finding his niche in the horror genre, and he would craft one of the finest Giallo with Deep Red. This film is good, and manages to be entertaining, but you are left wanting more out of the film, especially considering that this was filmed by Dario Argento.

• Eric S

  
  Dreams of someone being decapitated with a sword, a photographer in the balconies with the head of a puppet, and a victim's eyeball being studied by police with a special camera that can capture the last image seen with that eyeball are a few visuals in this film that you just… More
  Dreams of someone being decapitated with a sword, a photographer in the balconies with the head of a puppet, and a victim's eyeball being studied by police with a special camera that can capture the last image seen with that eyeball are a few visuals in this film that you just remember. Dario Argento has his signature on these unique shots that make his work seem like painting after painting. This film is the third of Argento's "animal trilogy"; and what a way to end it, with flies...

• Anthony L

  
  The conclusion to the Animal trilogy is good but does come close to the greatness of The Bird With the Crystal Plumage or Cat o' Nine Tails. I liked it but the lack of structure is obvious and is a problem. I watched the recently released uncut version and in the extras assistant… More
  The conclusion to the Animal trilogy is good but does come close to the greatness of The Bird With the Crystal Plumage or Cat o' Nine Tails. I liked it but the lack of structure is obvious and is a problem. I watched the recently released uncut version and in the extras assistant director and co-writer Luigi Cozzi explains that it is basically a bunch of scenes with some cool deaths strung together. A lot of it is tribute to films and literature both men admired at the time, the dialogue between the main character and the private detective was stolen, albeit in admiration, from another film, word for word. You couldn't get away with that kind of thing these days but then there is a lot you couldn't do that this film did. For the lack of structure and the uninteresting lead, the film does make up for it thanks to how great it looks, the slow motion bullet scene and the slow motion car crash were both firsts and look as good today as they did then. A great example of Giallo, thankfully it wasn't the last as was initially intended and as uninteresting as Michael Brandon's performance was, at least they didn't cast Ringo Starr as was first planned. This is about as cult as it gets, one for the Giallo/Argento hardcore.

• Cassandra M

  
  Four Flies on Grey Velvet is Dario Argento's rarest genre film. It completes the Animal Trilogy and is the movie that preceded the magnificent Deep Red. Having never been officially available on video or DVD, Four Flies remains a bit of an enigma. It's fair to say that it is… More
  Four Flies on Grey Velvet is Dario Argento's rarest genre film. It completes the Animal Trilogy and is the movie that preceded the magnificent Deep Red. Having never been officially available on video or DVD, Four Flies remains a bit of an enigma. It's fair to say that it is not an entirely successful movie - it has serious flaws in story and acting - however, it showcases early stylistic experimentation by Argento. And, as such, is an important entry of giallo cinema. The story involves a rock drummer who accidentally kills a man and is drawn into a web of murder by a masked assassin who appears to have a vendetta against him. The opening credit sequence is a memorable affair, incorporating pounding drums and close ups of a beating heart. This title sequence, however, is a good indicator of the inconsistencies of the film we are about to see, as included within this impressive opening is a silly section involving a fly that irritates rock drummer Brandon. The inclusion of this nonsense is an early example of one of the films major weaknesses - the comedy. It is never funny. We have a completely unfunny postman, a guru fisherman God who says absolutely nothing of interest at any point and a man with a moustache who tells a succession of abysmally unfunny stories to an audience of giggling women. Argento has never had flair for comedy, it's just not his arena and this film shows why. Imagine how bad a giallo directed by Woody Allen would be, well that's how bad comedy directed by Argento is. But onwards and upwards. Thankfully he handles the suspense scenes very well indeed. We have the bizarre opening murder in the theatre witnessed by a highly creepy masked figure. A scary scene involving a girl hiding in a cupboard while the killer stalks outside. A sleazy episode in the underground. And, best of all, an excellent set-piece where a woman suddenly realises that she is alone in a menacing empty park that was previously filled with children and haunting carousel music playing over the tannoy. Four Flies is predominantly an exercise in suspense as all of these well handled sequences testify. The violence is restrained even for giallos of the period. Argento more than makes up for this with stylistic flourishes like the nice camera pan of the phone wires leading to the location of the killer, the shots of Michael Brandon driving his car quickly edited together with his subsequent POV approach to the private investigator's office and the deranged asylum flashback scenes. The movie is well shot with a number of inventive jump edits and unusual angles, giving a taste of Argento's films to come. However, all of these excellent elements are strung together by a somewhat ridiculous plot. There are certainly holes here, for example, how could the newspapers report finding the body of the dead man if he's not actually dead?! And as for the 'four flies' revelation near the end, well I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen the movie but it really is quite ridiculous. And the killer's motivations are, to say the least, uneven. The acting, too, is not helpful. Sadly, Michael Brandon resembles a plank of wood for the majority of his screen-time. His acting range stretches from 'a bit bored' to 'quite annoyed'. He certainly doesn't help draw the viewer in. And where Brandon under-acts, Mimsy Farmer over-acts. It makes for quite unusual viewing when they are on screen together. There is a lack of chemistry here for sure. In general, the exposition scenes are a bit clunky throughout the movie. And we even have a bit of unintentional humour in the exchanges between Brandon and the homosexual private investigator. If you turned the movie on at this point you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching Carry On Giallo. The music is variable. This was the first movie where Argento incorporated rock music. From here on he would use it extensively. Similar to the rock music provided by future collaborators Goblin, the rock music here is strange, except here it is not strange in a good way. The vocalist sounds like a deaf man trying to copy Robert Plant. It's grim. And it's by Ennio Morricone so it's a bit of a shock but fortunately he also provides some good avant-garde jazzy compositions too. Much better. Overall, despite its short-falls, Four Flies on Grey Velvet is too interesting a giallo movie to be disregarded. It is a key experimental work in Argento's cannon. It may be flimsy of plot and misguided of humour but, as is the way with giallo cinema, these elements have to be weighed against the more sensory aspects - the visuals, the music, the atmosphere. And happily, there is more than enough good to outweigh the bad.

• David L

  
  Working on his rock group, Roberto Tobias, (Michael Brandon) finds that a strange man is stalking him, and after he shows up at their rehearsal, goes into an old theater and is dealt with in a violent and bloody manner. When he spots a masked man in the area photographing the… More
  Working on his rock group, Roberto Tobias, (Michael Brandon) finds that a strange man is stalking him, and after he shows up at their rehearsal, goes into an old theater and is dealt with in a violent and bloody manner. When he spots a masked man in the area photographing the incident, his wife Nina, (Mimsy Farmer) trusts him only to have evidence of the matter turn up against him, forcing him into the clutches of Nina's cousin Dalia, (Francine Racette) who believes his story. When the masked figure suddenly starts rampaging around the city murdering his friends, he enlists the help of private eye Gianni Arrosio, (Jean-Pierre Marielle) to help him out, as he feels that it has to be someone who knows him in order to commit the crimes. Not knowing who to trust as the murders start getting more personal, he tries to figure out the culprit before it's too late. To begin here this is a really interesting and enjoyable giallo that has some good moments. One of the big things this one does right is that there's a rather inventive and creative storyline that this one has. The fact that this one starts out with the killer appearing to merely blackmail the man, only for the switch to come over and soon begin to target him actively, to the point of taking out those who are around him like most of the usual giallos. That allows the beginning to be pretty creepy as it mainly centers around what the next phase of the torture will be. From the first encounter in the house, where the threat is given to the later scenes with the killer actually on the loose. As the body count starts to rise, autopsy surgeons a progressive possibility for pinning the killer is mentioned. Apparently old wives' tale about eyes retaining the last image they see like a camera registers in the brain for a few hours following death is used and this is where the use of a camera will be involved in rescuing the images from a corpse's severed head that leads to the fully developed image of four flies in succession is revealed. It's a spectacular image and an ingenious use which comes from it's creativity and ingenuity. Another great factor is the film's incredibly fun and creepy stalking scenes. One of the best examples is where a victim smokes a cigarette inside a park, waiting to meet the film's killer. Against a backdrop of birds gathering behind her oblivious to it all, the slowly approaching shadows, which as well goes unnoticed due to the unreliability of the character's sight-line at the time. Once the park's gate closes, there's nothing to save her, allowing the killer to sneak up and engage in an all-out classic of a chase as the twisting and turning within the corridors reveals. As the end draws near with a dead-end and the call for help against those on the other side of the wall, it becomes all the creepier and better for the brilliant set-up. There's another one later inside a bedroom that leads to hiding inside a giant cabinet. As the light beams in from outside, reflected across the victim's face, leaving a memorable image, it really foreshadows the spectacular death to follow. The film's most accomplished scene (my opinion) is the love scene between Diane and Roberto. That scene is kind cute and sweet. It s rare that you see Argento go that way. Along with the great imagery, it makes for a really good giallo however its not perfect and of course has a few flaws, one of the biggest is that there's a little struggle early on to get the film going. The slow pace is mainly accomplished through the different amount of characters that have nothing to do with the story who are put there only to give red herrings, as the more people we met with the more they seem like potential suspects. Only this ploy doesn't work and it instead just wastes time rather than doing anything that could be interpreted as making good use of the film's running time. That is also taken up with the police detective angle, which has a lot more time in here using it to investigate the matter rather than the actual work being described, as for a giallo this one has a really low body count that does have an impact on how it works. The ending is also a little confusing, mainly because the motives don't make any sense and the revelation doesn't make any logical rationale for what's going on, but instead, that's a giallo staple and almost all have them. Otherwise, the main one is the slow pacing to it. In the end this is recommended to giallo fans and of course fans of Dario Argento.

• AJ V

  
  I really liked this Argento film, it's a horror mystery, and it keeps you guessing until the end. The beginning is good, then the middle of the film does get a little slow, but the ending is brilliant and worth waiting for, especially the final scene. If you like… More
  I really liked this Argento film, it's a horror mystery, and it keeps you guessing until the end. The beginning is good, then the middle of the film does get a little slow, but the ending is brilliant and worth waiting for, especially the final scene. If you like Argento's work or just giallo in general, I recommend seeing this movie.

• Conner R

  
  An amazing film and one of Dario Argento's best. It's a great suspense thriller full of surprises. The film making is like no other and has some of the most obscure shots. The acting is decent, yet distant, giveing a bizarre twist to the experience. It is by far one of the… More
  An amazing film and one of Dario Argento's best. It's a great suspense thriller full of surprises. The film making is like no other and has some of the most obscure shots. The acting is decent, yet distant, giveing a bizarre twist to the experience. It is by far one of the most believable pieces by Dario Argento, but it still manages to have his trademarks, such as cat killing.

• Adam M

  
  protagonist couldn't be more blank, but the new director tries a lot of new things, w/ a few extraordinary successes; comic sequences are so long and casual you forget someone's life is on the line--charming

• Stephen M

  
  Certainly the weakest part of Dario Argento's so-called 'Animal Trilogy' of gialli, this has been unavailable--at least legally--for many years now and ought to be let out of the vaults. Michael Brandon is efficient but charmless as the hero and the plot is outrageous,… More
  Certainly the weakest part of Dario Argento's so-called 'Animal Trilogy' of gialli, this has been unavailable--at least legally--for many years now and ought to be let out of the vaults. Michael Brandon is efficient but charmless as the hero and the plot is outrageous, but there's a decent Morricone score and Mimsy Farmer and Francine Racette are very easy on the eye. The main fault of "Four Flies on Grey Velvet" is an inherent flaw of the whole giallo genre: the tangential attempts at comedy completely undermine the tension. That said, it's probably Argento's most abstract giallo and has a genuinely strange, dreamy atmosphere.

• Lafe F

  
  Argento's hard-to-find third movie, a drummer of a rock band (Michael Brandon) is being taunted by a killer, who has taken photos which suggest he stabbed another man. He keeps having a weird decapitation dream. He is assisted by his grimey friend Diomede (Bud Spencer) and a… More
  Argento's hard-to-find third movie, a drummer of a rock band (Michael Brandon) is being taunted by a killer, who has taken photos which suggest he stabbed another man. He keeps having a weird decapitation dream. He is assisted by his grimey friend Diomede (Bud Spencer) and a flirty flamboyant gay detective (Jean-Pierre Marielle). The deaths are not very spectacular in this one, but there are plenty of suspects; too bad more of them weren't killed. I loved the slow-motion car crash with the breaking glass. There's the weird concept of a dead person's retina retaining the last image they saw before they died. Through the process of elimination we discover who the murderer is and what the four flies on grey velvet actually means. I was shocked. Rewatch the film once you know the solution, and it's more amazing. It's a shame Paramount didn't keep the negatives of this film in better shape, as an official DVD release is nowhere in sight.

• Ryan M

  
  4.8/10 There are moments where I love Dario Argento ("Deep Red", "Suspiria", and "Phenomena") and then there are also these little moments where I just don't ("Inferno"). He's a divisive fellow, and to my surprise, there are some… More
  4.8/10 There are moments where I love Dario Argento ("Deep Red", "Suspiria", and "Phenomena") and then there are also these little moments where I just don't ("Inferno"). He's a divisive fellow, and to my surprise, there are some people who seriously hate this guy. I could never do such a thing, for "Deep Red" is one of my all-time favorite films, and "Suspiria" is a great film when I need some simple surrealistic pleasures. But not all of Argento's films are reminiscent of his best, and this is why he was only, for an instant, a great filmmaker; although he may come back to us one day. However, maybe it's just a matter of finding the right script, the right twists, and the right team of movie-makers to match his style. I like Argento when he's allowed to stretch his creative limbs. One of his earlier efforts, "Four Flies on Grey Velvet", has all the imagination and inspiration the world; but little of the ambition and the goodness that we've come to expect out of Argento. Of course, this was before "Deep Red" and "Suspiria", but it was also after "The Bird With the Crystal Plumage". Therefore, something this bland, and this mediocre, just isn't acceptable. The film starts out on an entertaining note; with an opening credits sequence involving radical rock-and-roll and plenty of interesting camera angles to set the mood. We meet Roberto Tobias (Michael Brandon), the drummer in the rock band that produced the said radical rock-and-roll, who sees a creepy man peeking in on him and his band-mates during rehearsal. I guess this isn't the first time he's seen the man, because Roberto eventually gets pissed off enough to follow the guy into an abandoned theater and accidentally stab him with his own switchblade. Now here's the problem; there was a witness to the accidental killing of this strange man, who we never hear of or care about again, and for (possibly) good reason. The witness of the incident donned a silly and creepy puppet mask, and took pictures of the crime. Instead of going to the police with the evidence, it becomes clear that the villainous puppet-man would rather torture the hell out of our hero and drive him to the edge of insanity, although the question remains: why? Why is the villain doing this? What is his/her motive? We learn about that more through the film's twist ending, which is maddeningly derivative and lame. The movie has some suspenseful scenes; the kind that I like to see out of Argento. He plays with our "fear of the dark" a little, but never to the extent that the film is actually scary, but what's that word mean to anyone these days anyways? This might as well be more of a thriller than a horror film, thus, it does not need to be particularly frightening; just thrilling. But even then, it doesn't meet the standards. It doesn't completely fail, and I wouldn't call the film bad, but for a movie that thinks this much and tries so hard, there wasn't enough to like. Argento didn't embed enough scenes with his stylistic flare into it, and when he did, it was fun; entertaining, even. However, these scenes are so scarce, so brief, and so forgettable. This leaves "Four Flies on Grey Velvet" to be a full-on bore with a few impressively staged scenes, an engaging and stylish soundtrack (courtesy of Ennio Morricone, a collaborator of Argento in his earliest - and I mean earliest - days), and many other qualities that may appeal to some hard-core fans of the filmmaker, but not to me. By all means, I don't recommend it, but some seem to find it engaging and rather great, so maybe you shouldn't take my advice. By no means would I tell you to distance yourself from the film; I just found it aggressively disappointing.

• Marcus W

  
  The camerawork and photography - and the sheer style is classic giallo, and gorgeous. Watch it with the sound off and it's twice the film. Sadly, I watched it with the sound on so I couldn't escape the boring lead character or the predictable plot. Absolute style over… More
  The camerawork and photography - and the sheer style is classic giallo, and gorgeous. Watch it with the sound off and it's twice the film. Sadly, I watched it with the sound on so I couldn't escape the boring lead character or the predictable plot. Absolute style over substance.

• Patrick D

  
  In the story alone, this film is just decent and nothing more. But the oddness of the different sort of characters and comedic touches elevates the plot. Let's also not forget Mr. Argento artful directorial stamp that results in making this film miles above the average giallo.

• John M

  
  Final in "The Animal Trilogy". Good engaging thriller in which you can clearly see a young Argento experimenting with visual tricks and editing that later he would do better in other films. The acting is good, the cast is very good, as well as the soundtrack.

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