Tag Archives: Dario Argento

Once Upon a Time in the West + Four Flies on Grey Velvet

Posted on July 16, 2020 by Alice Thirteen
Once Upon a Time in the West + Four Flies on Grey Velvet

Ennio Morricone through casual viewing. Italy gives exploitation a high-art spin. Totally unintentional: Dario Argento appears everywhere. How Once Upon a Time in the West creates tension differently than the well-cited Mexican stand-off. The Sergio Leone color coded hat system for differentiating protagonists and antagonists. Different films require different musical motifs! A unique byproduct of playing against type. Four Flies on Grey Velvet’s plot cheat allows audiences to live deliciously. To focus on the plot is to miss out on the piece. No colored hat system to be found. Continue reading →

Zombi 2 + The Bird with the Crystal Plumage

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Alice Thirteen
Zombi 2 + The Bird with the Crystal Plumage

Old Italy meets some more oldish Italy. Gaillo exists outside of a bubble. Why Tarantino meets Rodriguez. Zombie, Zombie 2, Zombi 2, Zombie Flesh Eaters, and whatever else the fuck this movie is called. What is the makeup effects impact of Zombi 2? Choose your own sequel. Dario Argento returns with The Bird with the Crystal Plumage with a teeth a. Starting in your skin. A new voice defies Italian horror. Who wrote the title of this film? Continue reading →

Ghosts of Mars + Giallo

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Alice Thirteen
Ghosts of Mars + Giallo

Blacksheep comebacks from horror giants. Continuing to find insight on two directors Double Feature knows front to back. John Carpenter’s enemies that can not be reasoned with. Loving a film the director himself can’t stand. Secret things you can do to get more fun out of a film. Pretending there’s a hidden scene where Jason Statham was put in a timeout. The space frigate genre. Pretending there’s an unreliable narrator. A flashback within a flashback. Audiences cheering on protagonists without thinking. Applauding for martian genocide. The real secret reason Ghosts of Mars is notable – Ghosts of Mars is the most accurate adaptation of the gaming franchise Doom. Revisiting Dario Argento’s influence on the giallo genre. Skeptics approach the elements of giallo, including the paranormal. Is Dario Argento’s film Giallo self-referential? A conversation about the sexual theme (or lack of) in the film. Where this killer falls in the pantheon of movie killers. The purpose Linda serves. Continue reading →

Tenebre + Secret Beyond the Door

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Alice Thirteen
Tenebre + Secret Beyond the Door

Two films that dramatize secrets. Dario Argento does something different with Tenebre. The music! The meta! The future! Commentary on horror cinema and literature. Invoking themes. Inspired by Fritz Lang. Secret Beyond the Door’s real secret is how to remember the fucking title. When the truth begins. The Bluebird fable. Alice tells the real Bluebird tale. A cautionary fable of feminine curiosity. Double Feature hosts struggle to emulate terrible women jokes, only to makes themselves too sick to go on. You know what else is sick? The bible. Rooms + Psychology. Helping the audience open their minds. Encouraging critical thinking in a crowd. Continue reading →

Suspiria + John Carpenter’s Vampires

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Alice Thirteen
Suspiria + John Carpenter’s Vampires

Double spook-show. Living in a pitch black vacuum. Another satisfied cinematic customer. Dario Argento’s leading ladies. Reexamination of female empowerment? Associations between space and horror. Not that kind of space. Colored light and Dario Argento’s stage love. Camera work with a sense of humor. Using camera pans for laughs. The most notable Goblin score yet. Some insight into Argento and skepticism. James Woods in John Carpenter’s Vampires! A new era of Carpenter. Ongoing musical developments. The Baldwin role. Action, action, cross-dissolve. Vampires that shoot fireworks. What brand of unique vampire mythology? Favorite vampire death. The mother-fucker of all climaxes. Sure-fire ending. Continue reading →

Ichi the Killer + Opera

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Alice Thirteen
Ichi the Killer + Opera

Pet the white cat! A secret to making Starbucks Frappuccinos at home. Horror in the years before and after Ichi the Killer. Blowjob Foley. Using sex in horror when you can’t show the sex parts. Ambitious violence. A contender for worst CD scene in Double Feature history. What inspired Takashi Miike? Karen! Misdirection via overwhelming. Attacking the senses. How do you not talk about psychic Animals? Dario Argento and the opera. Brian Eno, David Bowie, and I’m Afriad of Americans. Backwards Diva walkout. Betty, the hot little 80s final girl. Buying into the needles. The best bit of action violence in Opera. The worst plan ever. Slasher deaths and ending fake-outs. The Year 4 theme revealed. Continue reading →

Deep Red + The Gore Gore Girls

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Alice Thirteen
Deep Red + The Gore Gore Girls

Petting the white cat. Deep Red (Profondo Rosso) requires subtitles. Previous Dario Argento recap. Goblin is kicking ass on the case. The color of blood. Running over heads. Dario Argento, psychic animals, and investigating murders. Red herrings. The most terrifying scenes. Gimmicks holding up upon rewatching. Were you thrown off here? The eyeliner clue. Flying Tom Tom vs bookends. Chicago in films! Herschell Gordon Lewis. The invention of the splatter films. Under and over exposed? The joys of poorly made film. Herschell’s gore. Chocolate milk nipples. Breaking the fourth wall. Continue reading →

Stage Fright (Deliria) + Phenomena

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Alice Thirteen
Stage Fright (Deliria) + Phenomena

Italian horror, back to back. Artsy slashers. Michele Soavi / Michael Soavi and StageFright / Stage Fright / Deliria. Soavi and Argento. Deliria as a slasher film. Irving Wallace. Slasher naming conventions. Station wagons. Cats in the cupboard. The italian giallo sub-genre. Is Stage Fright a satire? Merging art and stabbing. The comedic scapegoat. Peter the Director (played by Brandon). Why the psychologic and the supernatural so often go hand-in-hand. How do you show a mental breakdown on screen? A humanistic love of crazy people. Do insects have telepathic abilities? No. Easing you into the crazy. Italian dubbing. What a clapboard is for. The pros and cons of dubbing. Music and score. Prog metal. Simon Boswell. What the fuck is happening at the end of Phenomena? Continue reading →