GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Kirpianuscus The name of director could be more significant than the film itself. because , to know the map of Argento universe is real useful for understand "Phenomena". a real good horror. if you ignore the flaws and admire cultural references. and the good performances - Donald Plesance is the most easy example. the work of young Jennifer Connelly is decent and a good revelation for young public to discover the first steps of an interesting actress. in same measure, it is a film of atmosphere. and one of remarkable demonstrations of special art of Dario Argento. a film like a trip across memories. because familiar pieces are present and, in same measure, the drops of magic/old myths are a precious gift.

christopher-underwood I had, probably still have somewhere, an ex-rental video of a much truncated version of this under the title, Creepers, and a chimp on the cover. The tape was in a wretched state and whenever I peeped at it, it always seemed to catch Donald Pleasance chatting in a vaguely Scottish accent. It would seems I was put off watching the film because a Blu-ray viewing now had me completely blown away. It is similar in tone to Suspiria and if not quite as rounded and utterly convincing there are compensations. For a start, here Argento has the young girls he wasn't allowed to use in the earlier film and a big difference it makes is that the 14 year old Jennifer Connelly is believably naive and worried yet aware of her affinity with insects. It makes the bullying aspect of the school more realistic as well. If the film doesn't always flow perfectly, move it certainly doe. As before there are terrifying chases to the sound of Goblin, but here other heavy metal outfits and I certainly heard the voice of Lemmy. All in all this is a great to look at thrilling film with a thunderously good soundtrack and a wonderful performance from young Connelly.

Sam Panico Within the first two minutes of the movie, you realize you're watching an Argento film. A tourist misses her bus, somewhere in the Swiss countryside, before she is attacked by an unseen person and then beheaded.Fast forward a bit and we catch Jennifer (Jennifer Connelly, Labyrinth, The Rocketeer) arriving at the Richard Wagner Academy for Girls — did I tell you this is an Argento movie? The head of the school, Frau Brückner (Dario Nicolodi, Argento's wife (at the time) and mother to his daughter Aria, who also co-wrote Suspiria and appeared in Deep Red, Inferno, Tenebre and Opera amongst other films) already sets up an air of menace. Even her roommate offers no relief, telling Jennifer how much she wishes she could have sex with the heroine's famous actor father. At this point, Jennifer relates a horrifying story about how her mother left her — it's a moment of pure pain in a film that hasn't led you to expect it. That's because it's a true story. The true story of how Dario Argento's mother left his family.Jennifer tends to sleep walk, which leads her through the school and up to the roof, where she watches a student get murdered. She wakes up, falls and runs from the murderer, ending up in the woods where she's rescued by Inga the chimp — again, did I mention this is an Argento film? Inga works for forensic entomologist John McGregor (Pleasence). Argento was inspired by the fact that insects are often used in crime investigation to learn how old a body is and worked that into this film. McGregor learns that Jennifer can talk to the bugs.After returning to the school, things go from bad to worse. Jennifer's roommate is murdered and a firefly leads our sleepwalking protagonist to a glove covered by Great Sarcophagus flies, which eat decaying human flesh, which can only mean that the killer is keeping his bodies — again, Argento.At this point, Phenomena pays tribute to Carrie, with the other students making fun of her in regards to her love of bugs. She calls a swarm of flies into the building and collapses, which leads to Frau Brückner recommending her to a home for the criminally insane. Luckily, Jennifer runs to McGregor, who gives her a bug in a glass case that she can use to track the murderer. Again, you know who. The bug leads Jennifer to the same house we saw at the beginning of the film.Read more at https://bandsaboutmovies.com/2017/08/29/phenomena-1985/

skybrick736 The opening sequences in Phenomena are a true testament to a dying art of film-making cinematography by capitalizing on an area's landscape. The mountain background and cold atmosphere provided a chilling bleak outlook for the character left behind by a tour bus. Argento's craft is driving a thrilling story full with brutally graphic kill scenes but also masterfully suspending the monster or true horror for the climax. Pheonomena is a perfect example of this blueprint, keeping the viewer completely engaged with odd insect sequences, horrifying kill scenes, all while keeping the mystery alive to the very end. It's also interesting to watch the mixture of English speaking actors, Connelly the American, Pleasance being British along with a host of Italian actors. The dubbing is noticeable but Argento managed to make this a non-issue by off- camera shots and solid editing. There are some corny, unneeded aspects of the story and the ending could have finished more eloquently but it's still a superb, must-watch horror film.