Phenomena (Creepers) (1984)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Cassandra M

  
  If you can get past the initial weirdness of the concept - which includes a teenager who can communicate with insects, a chained-up murderer prone to driving a spike through its victims head's, a monkey wielding a razor blade and more red-herrings than you can shake an Agatha… More
  If you can get past the initial weirdness of the concept - which includes a teenager who can communicate with insects, a chained-up murderer prone to driving a spike through its victims head's, a monkey wielding a razor blade and more red-herrings than you can shake an Agatha Christie box-set at - then you might just find Phenomena to be a greatly entertaining piece of Argento horror/schlock. The plot, as per usual, is nonsense, and yet, Argento seems to instil it with an almost unbelievable sense of conviction, creating a strange hybrid of Tenebrea's amateur sleuthing style of narrative deconstruction and the warped fairytale fantasia of Suspiria, alongside the more familiar Giallo elements of black-gloved assailants, buckets of blood and an almost pornographic obsession with gleaming, silver, implements of death. The initial set-up and the opening scenes are fantastic, demonstrating Argento's keen eye for location and composition, as his script finds a young Danish tourist (played by Argento's eldest daughter Fiore) stranded in the middle of the Swiss countryside after missing her last bus back into town. Attempting to find solace, she knocks on the door of the only cottage in sight. When there's no answer, the girl foolishly enters, with Argento brilliantly cross-cutting between the traumatised tourist desperately asking for help, and the thick chains of an unseen foe slowly breaking away from the wall on which they've been bolted. The rhythm and the sense of unease (and later, tension) that Argento creates in this opening scene is phenomenal (sorry!), and is really all the more impressive given the fact that the whole sequence takes place during broad daylight *and* amongst some of the most beautiful and tranquil scenery you're every likely to see!! From here, the story begins to take shape. There's a killer on the loose with a penchant for dismembering teenage girls. When the head of the Danish tourist turns up after an eight month period of decomposition, the chief of police enlists the help of wheelchair bound entomologist professor John McGregor to study the various insects and secretions that may have collected within the skull to help them define the exact time of death and the possible location of the murder. Across town, Jennifer Corvino, the spoilt daughter of a famous Hollywood superstar, is sent away to the Richard Wagner Boarding school (there's even a disarming Suspiria-style voice over to announce this ten-minutes in), where, on the first night, she enters into a somnambulistic state and inadvertently witnesses a murder. When the school authorities and the other kids find out about Jennifer's sleepwalking episode - and, more alarmingly, her apparent connection with insects (developed during an earlier scene between Jennifer and the school's administrator Frau Brückner and a bee during the drive up to the school) - they chastise her, and subject her to a bizarre medical examination that bring about some alarming subconscious revelations about the night before. Later that day, another girl is killed. Like Argento's early masterworks, Deep Red (Profondo Rosso), Tenebrae and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Phenomena hinges around the notion of a potential victim having seen more of a murder/murderer than they can fully comprehend. In this case, Jennifer's bout of sleepwalking brought her face to face with the killer and its victim. And, although she remains oblivious to the actual identity of the murderer until much later in the film, she has, by this stage, already seen their face obscured behind a pane of broken glass. Her relationship with insects and her hatred for the school eventually brings her to McGregor, who believes that Jennifer's special bond with the insects could hold the key to discovering the killer's identity, and together, the two hatch a plan to use the insects to retrace the Danish tourist's steps, to, eventually, lead them to the home of the killer. All of this sounds like complete and utter nonsense when looked at in print (which, to some extent, I suppose it is), but Argento clearly believes in his concept and somehow makes the whole thing plausible... by toning down his usually mind-bending visual style (the baroque colour schemes, cinema-scope compositions and atmospheric camera movements are put aside, with the director going for a much colder visual look, with soft blue hues and black and white production/costume designs captured by a camera that tends to observe from a distance, only rarely getting involved in the action) to give the fantasy a baring in reality, and to somehow, make the whole thing seem a little more believable. Where the film does falter, slightly, is in areas of performance and dialog... the main cast are fine, with the young Jennifer Connelly creating that right balance of bratish adolescence and other-worldly awe as the young girl with the baffling gift, whilst Donald Pleasence brings the same gravitas and sense of overriding authority that he brought to films like Death Line and John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness, but the majority of the supporting players are virtually characterless, one dimensional ciphers, handicapped by atrocious dubbing and the director's heavy-handed exposition. That said, there is fine support from Argento's former partner/fixture/muse Daria Nicolodi in a pivotal role... and although she's subsequently stated that Phenomena is the performance of hers that she likes least of all, I think she creates a truly memorable and quite sympathetic character, who, it must be said, looks surprisingly attractive with glasses and a bad perm!! Perhaps another shortcoming of the film is the dated visual effects, which, quite honestly, were probably dated even by 1985 standards (the swarm of insects' looks like it was crudely photo-shopped in, whilst the point of view shots from the insects are as cheesy as can be). However, these criticisms are quite tenuous, with Argento (for the most part) managing to overcome these minor set-backs to deliver a uniquely bizarre, beautiful and unbelievably violent collage of fairytale/horror/fantasy/schlock.

• Alexis N

  
  What the hell? This creep-out horror flick is gory and gross. It has a really lame plot and the music is weird and/or punk rock. Jennifer Connelly is so gorgeous, it's unreal. I had a really hard time finding this movie to watch, but I'm glad I did, so I can go after the… More
  What the hell? This creep-out horror flick is gory and gross. It has a really lame plot and the music is weird and/or punk rock. Jennifer Connelly is so gorgeous, it's unreal. I had a really hard time finding this movie to watch, but I'm glad I did, so I can go after the next unicorn.

• AJ V

  
  This is another very cool horror movie from Argento, and it stars Connelly, who gives a great performance. I also loved the crazy heavy metal soundtrack, that was awesome. If you like Argento's work you should really see this one.

• Ken S

  
  Like most Argento films it's awesomely atmospheric. Like most Italian horror films the ending is bat shit insane. Lets just say it involves a swarm of flies, a flaming deformed retarded kid and a razor wielding monkey.

• Robert C

  
  One of my fovorite lines in a horror film: "Is anyone homne?...I'm a foeigner and I'm lost." As a huge Argento fan, I find thngs to love in all of his films. In this one, the "surprise ending" is possibly one of my favorites. A real treat for giallo… More
  One of my fovorite lines in a horror film: "Is anyone homne?...I'm a foeigner and I'm lost." As a huge Argento fan, I find thngs to love in all of his films. In this one, the "surprise ending" is possibly one of my favorites. A real treat for giallo fans.

• Anthony L

  
  This film shouldn't be very good. It has a stupid story, terrible acting and an awful script. It's not terrible though, it's genius! Argento is an acquired taste but you can't argue with a Monkey killing a women with a razor blade because she killed her master on a… More
  This film shouldn't be very good. It has a stupid story, terrible acting and an awful script. It's not terrible though, it's genius! Argento is an acquired taste but you can't argue with a Monkey killing a women with a razor blade because she killed her master on a chair lift because he might have found out about her deformed son who decapitates young girls, can you!? Luckily Connelly has power over insects who help her save the day! Bizarre x 100 but brilliant. Donald Pleasence is also very good, he is still very sorely missed!

• Conner R

  
  While I don't think it is as good as some of Dario Argento's other work, it's a very different style from what he's normally used to. The setting is almost fantasy like, where the impossible is made possible. Jennifer Connelly was great, even for it being her… More
  While I don't think it is as good as some of Dario Argento's other work, it's a very different style from what he's normally used to. The setting is almost fantasy like, where the impossible is made possible. Jennifer Connelly was great, even for it being her second movie. The film making is still amazing and it is very good for what it is. There are a lot of great moments and it is a film that shouldn't be overlooked.

• Curtis L

  
  The first 4/5ths of this movie were pretty slow, but once she becomes lady of the flies, gets chased by a mutant 4 year old and gets aided by a razor-wielding chimpanzee, well it's like coming home again.

• Lafe F

  
  A weird Dario Argento movie which doesn't make much sense to me. Jennifer Connelly plays a girl who can communicate with insects. She gets involved in a series of murders at a private girls' school in Switzerland, and the bugs help guide her to the killer. Donald Pleasance… More
  A weird Dario Argento movie which doesn't make much sense to me. Jennifer Connelly plays a girl who can communicate with insects. She gets involved in a series of murders at a private girls' school in Switzerland, and the bugs help guide her to the killer. Donald Pleasance plays an invalid entomologist with a chimpanzee servant. Daria Nicolodi (Dario's ex-wife) plays the school headmistress. The killings are not to impressive in this one. I like the Swiss scenery. There's are some heavy metal songs and some weird dream sequences. The finale is pretty amazing, with a pool full of maggots and body parts, and a freaky mutant child. It's more funny than scary. One of my least favorite Dario Argento classics.

• Tim S

  
  Very nice, especially the over-the-top score. The very end was particularly great.

• Dr Blood  

  
  If you must have a Dario Argento film in your collection, this is the one to have. Stylish and sometimes difficult to follow, it nonetheless delivers the goods horror-wise.

• Adam M

  
  a horror movie that tries to surpass everything you expect in horror movies, and a fairytale at the same time, with a pre-Labyrinth Jennifer Connelley as the magical heroine

• Drew S

  
  Phenomena has aged far better than Suspiria, since it has some semblance of a plot and intelligence. Not much - it's still Argento - but it's there. Argento uses his fantastic cinematography abilities to full effect here and creates some really amazing shots. The man has his… More
  Phenomena has aged far better than Suspiria, since it has some semblance of a plot and intelligence. Not much - it's still Argento - but it's there. Argento uses his fantastic cinematography abilities to full effect here and creates some really amazing shots. The man has his talents, even if writing and eliciting good performances isn't one of them. Connelly isn't bad, given that she was 15 when she did this, but it's a weird role and she seems way too composed considering some of the things she's seeing. None of the other performances are very good at all. I do like the premise, though. It's kind of fairytale-ish. A neat spin on horror.

• Steve B

  
  I prefer the original PHENOMENA to this, the edited American release.

• Matt P

  
  The movie packs enough visuals to keep the audience engaged and has Argento's signature style, but Argento needed to let himself go more. If you're going to give us a nightmare, really give it to us. He held himself back this time, which is disappointing.

• Ryan M

  
  7.3/10 While not as great as past efforts such as "Deep Red" and "Suspiria", Dario Argento's "Phenomena" is still a damn fine horror film. It's not a genre classic, and it's not powerful horror, but what works here works very,… More
  7.3/10 While not as great as past efforts such as "Deep Red" and "Suspiria", Dario Argento's "Phenomena" is still a damn fine horror film. It's not a genre classic, and it's not powerful horror, but what works here works very, very well. I'm always up for Argento's one-of-a-kind directorial style; although one such vision has been decaying over the years (see Argento's "Phantom of the Opera"). However, "Phenomena" came out just when Argento was getting used to this whole horror exercise, and luckily, these were some of his best days. "Phenomena" is an experience rather than a story, and while it's a departure from "Suspiria" and its style-over-substance approach, this film has good characters. The plot is speedy enough for it to be consistently entertaining, and there's even more pretty Argento-colors to go around. So yes, this is a well-shot, well-directed, and all-around good horror flick from Argento. What can be expected from such a genre master? If you like horror films, then you will get what you came for when you watch "Phenomena". For once, here's a horror film that does not always want to treat us to cheap scares. "Phenomena" scared me with visual brilliance and gore, which is as admirable as these movies get. Dario Argento loves serial killers, and he also loves everything supernatural. What I love about Argento is his originality; his creativity. Here, he's made a creative horror film that dazzles not only visually, but conceptually. It's about a girl who can control and communicate, perhaps telepathically, with insects. She moves to a new school- an Academy, if you may- and is not accepted due to these claims as well as her nigh consistent sleep-walking. There is a killer on the loose around Campus, and the girl's powers get the attention of an aging, handicapped entomologist. This man believes that our heroine can solve the murder and expose the killer through herself and the insects, since they seem to know where the corpses lie. This alone makes for a genuinely entertaining movie, but many could have screwed the concept over with bad execution. Luckily, that's just not the case with this film. It's good, and well-directed on most ends. I like the way that Argento handles his horror scenes. They are truly horrific, while many other scenes like it lack such artistry. It's magnificent, really, to see what an artist has created here. This is not Argento's finest work, but then again, it's a work none the less; and I'm therefore fine with whatever flaws this film may have. "Phenomena" is none the less a creative, energetic, and entertaining horror-feature. It stars Jennifer Connelly as its lead, and this is one of her greater performances. "Suspiria" and "Deep Red" are the best you can get when it comes to Argento, and I think you should watch those films before you watch this one. Argento is, what I call, an "artistic horror filmmaker". He knows what he's doing. Well...most of the time, to say the least. Love him or hate him, Argento has a grasp of his concept, his premise, his characters, and his visual detail. He rolls them all up into one big freaking ball of horror, sees how we like it, and perceives it for his own viewing. I believe that Argento should be proud of "Phenomena". I can't guarantee that everyone will like it- in fact, some find it empty- but if you're familiar with horror, and among other things, if you LIKE horror; then this is one to see. Plus, it has a really cool horror soundtrack that tends to get the blood pumping. It's atmospheric, gory, and visually stunning. And it has a scene where bugs attack a physically-deformed child. Yeah, I can totally get into that.

• Sylvester K

  
  If you can survive the first 10 minutes of the film, you still may not be able to watch the rest. It's a bizarre tale of a girl with the power of communicating with insects being targeted by a serial killer. The soundtrack was very... 80s which I consider weird to be used by… More
  If you can survive the first 10 minutes of the film, you still may not be able to watch the rest. It's a bizarre tale of a girl with the power of communicating with insects being targeted by a serial killer. The soundtrack was very... 80s which I consider weird to be used by Argento, but aside from the score it's generally an entertaining horror film with gore and grub.

• Quinto W

  
  Phenomena seems to constantly alternate between two plots that never really come together, one of them is very stupid and it involves Jennifer Conelly connecting with insects, the other one about a serial killer that ends in the most ridiculous way I have ever seen - twice! The acting… More
  Phenomena seems to constantly alternate between two plots that never really come together, one of them is very stupid and it involves Jennifer Conelly connecting with insects, the other one about a serial killer that ends in the most ridiculous way I have ever seen - twice! The acting is so atrocious I would have never imagined in 1985 that Connelly would become the great actress she is now. Still, Dario Argento knows how to create great ambience and a creepy atmosphere that did manage to engage me and have me at the edge of my seat, well, bed during the entire running time and I have to admit that I did scream one time.

• Marcus W

  
  Outstanding horror movie that Hollywood should envy. The likes of Raimi, Craven and Carpenter are all capable of producing decent horror movies but none of them as consistently or as well as Argento There are so many elements at work here and so much going on yet it all clicks… More
  Outstanding horror movie that Hollywood should envy. The likes of Raimi, Craven and Carpenter are all capable of producing decent horror movies but none of them as consistently or as well as Argento There are so many elements at work here and so much going on yet it all clicks together perfectly leaving a film that is never predictable, flawlessly written and totally engaging. My only nag has to be for the heavy metal music which seemed totally out of place.

• John M

  
  A 15 years old Jennifer Conelly's acting is simply very good, a perfect performance from the beginning to the end. The supporting cast is also very good. As usual for Argento, the movie is impressively photographed on great, scary locations. ¨Phenomena¨ is a different film from… More
  A 15 years old Jennifer Conelly's acting is simply very good, a perfect performance from the beginning to the end. The supporting cast is also very good. As usual for Argento, the movie is impressively photographed on great, scary locations. ¨Phenomena¨ is a different film from Argento that is partially a Giallo, and partially a horror film with psychic and transcendental elements,

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